INS Vikramaditya sets sail for sea trial in White Sea
INS Vikramaditya (“Brave as the Sun”, former Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov) left the docks of Sevmash this early morning and set sail for extensive 120-day sea trials in the White Sea. The vessel has undergone retrofitting and upgrade at the yards of Russian shipbuilding company for the Indian Navy, RIA Novosti reported.
Originally, the sea trials were scheduled for May 25, but later postponed for June 8. The vessel has mixed Russian-Indian crew onboard. The ship’s commanding officer is Cap. 1 rank Igor Ryabko. After initial sea trials in the White Sea, the ship will head for the Barents Sea, where the tests be held with the participation of aircrafts.
Russia is due to hand over the vessel to India in December this year, after a delay of four years caused by differences over retrofitting costs. Under a 2004 contract, the overhauled aircraft carrier was to be delivered to India in 2008 but its refit was delayed as Russia hiked its price to almost triple of the original quote. The two sides eventually agreed on the new price of $2.33 which included $ 85 million for a complete set of blueprints that will allow the Navy to carry out repairs at Indian shipyards, DefenceNow reported.
The ship will be operated in a STOBAR configuration, with a 14.3 degree ski-jump on the bow and three arrestor wires on the stern of the angled deck.
The Kiev class aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov (until Oct. 4, 1990, the Baku) was built in 1978–1982 at Ukraine’s Mykolaiv-based shipyard.
