Air Wing of INS Vikramaditya Finished Tests

25.10.2012 Tests of deck-based aircraft for light aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (former Admiral Gorshkov) being modernized in Russia for Indian Navy have been completed in full, said Sergei Korotkov, Director General of Russian aircraft building corporation MiG.

"We have accomplished the second phase of shipborne tests", he told reporters.

According to Korotkov, the state orderer signed a protocol "that we have done this work and don't need the ship any more [for test flights]".

As was reported by the Vzglyad newspaper, on Oct 15 Russia rejected India's claims for the carrier's delivery delay. The press says the penalty could have been $115 mln.

Indian Navy was supposed to receive Vikramaditya in 2008. It was announced in Oct 2012 that the client would get the carrier not earlier than in the fall of 2013 due to problems happened to steam boilers.

It is believed that Sevmash shipyard would eliminate all defects by the summer of 2013, then start sea trials, finish them and hand over the ship to India in the fourth quarter of 2013, said Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdiukov.

Russia will present edited and approved work schedule to the Indian party by the end of the current month.

The contract for modernization of Russian aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Gorshkov for India was signed in 2004. Upon completion, the light aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya will become a flagship of Indian Navy.

The contract provided $974 mln for recovery and upgrading of the aircraft carrier, and $530 mln for delivery of sixteen MiG-29K fighters and ship-based ASW helicopters Ka-31 and Ka-27.