INS Vikramaditya in Action
INS Vikramaditya is the Indian Navy’s largest short take-off, but assisted recovery (STOBAR) aircraft carrier and warship converted from the Russian Navy’s decommissioned Admiral Gorshkov vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) missile cruiser carrier. INS Vikramaditya was commissioned into service in November 2013.
The warship has been extensively refurbished with new propulsion systems, hull sections, sensors and flight deck. It was operationally deployed with full complement of MiG-29 aircraft in May 2014.
The vessel can carry more than 30 long-range multi-role fighters with anti-ship missiles, air-to-air missiles, guided bombs and rockets. The aircraft aboard the carrier include MiG 29K / Sea Harrier combat aircraft, Kamov 31 radar picket Airborne Early Warning (AEW) helicopter, Kamov 28 naval helicopter, Sea King helicopter, ALH-Dhruv, and Chetak helicopter.
Vikramaditya has a larger full load displacement than when the ship was originally launched in 1982 as Baku. 1,750 out of 2,500 compartments of the ship were re-fabricated, and extensive re-cabling was done to support new radars and sensors.
The elevators were upgraded, and two restraining stands were fitted, allowing combat aircraft to reach full power before making a ski jump-assisted short take-off. Three arresting gears were fitted on the aft part of the angled deck, and navigation and carrier-landing aids were added to support fixed-wing “short take-off but arrested recovery” (STOBAR) operations.
