18.09.2012
Indian Navy plans to receive aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (former Russian aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Gorshkov) by Apr 2013, said Indian Navy's official representative P.V.S. Satish.
"We hope to receive the aircraft carrier in April", cites him information agency
IANS.
Sea trials of INS
Vikramaditya were discontinued due to problems of powerplant, and now the ship is heading back to
Sevmash shipyard to examine and repair several broken-down steam boilers.
According to package intergovernmental agreement signed in Jan 2004 in New Delhi, the hull of Russian aircraft-carrying cruiser
Admiral Gorshkov was handed over to India under condition that the ship would be modernized at
Sevmash shipyard and equipped with Russian aircraft. Russia will also train about 1,500 Indian crewmembers and construct the ship-basing infrastructure in the Indian Ocean. According to Indian sources, the contract will cost $2.33 bln.
Formerly named
Baku, aircraft carrier
Admiral Gorshkov was commissioned into Northern Fleet in 1987. After repair and retrofitting, full displacement of the carrier is 45,000 tons; length overall is 283.5 meters, beam overall is 59.8 meters. The ship is capable to accommodate 30 aircraft including deck-based fighters MiG-29K and helicopters. Crew strength of the ship is 1,924 men.
