INS Vikramaditya (Sanskrit, Vikramāditya ( भा नौ पो विक्रमादित्य) meaning "Brave as the Sun"[note 1]) is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier which entered into service with the Indian Navy in 2013. She has been renamed in honour of Vikramaditya, a legendary 1st century BCE emperor of Ujjain, India. Originally built as Baku and commissioned in 1987, the carrier served with the Soviet and later with the Russian Navies (as Admiral Gorshkov) before being decommissioned in 1996 as she was too expensive to operate on a post-Cold War budget.[17][18][19] The carrier was purchased by India on 20 January 2004 after years of negotiations at a final price of $2.35 billion.[1] The ship successfully completed her sea trials in July 2013[20] and aviation trials in September 2013.[21] She was commissioned on 16 November 2013 at a ceremony held at Severodvinsk, Russia.[22][23] On 14 June 2014, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi formally inducted INS Vikramaditya into the Indian Navy and dedicated it to the nation.[24][25] Design[edit] The hull design is based on the Admiral Gorshkov launched in 1982, but has a larger full load displacement. 1750 out of 2500 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.[8][57][58] Structural modifications[edit] Construction of the 900 tonne ski-jump in place on Vikramaditya at Sevmash Shipyard in Russia The most intricate modification was the conversion of the VTOL carrier to a STOBAR carrier. This involved removal of all the armament, including the P-500 Bazalt cruise missile launchers and the four Antey Kinzhal surface-to-air missile launchers fitted on the front, to make way for a 14.3° bow ski-jump ramp. The 20-ton capacity elevator beside the ship's island superstructure was unchanged, but the aft lift was enlarged and its lift capacity increased to 30 tons. For STOBAR operations, three 30 m arrestor wires and three restraining gears on the stern of the angled deck were fitted. Sponsons were installed to increase the breadth at the flight deck, for fitment of the ski-jump, for strengthening of arresting gear and runway area, and for elongation of the aft end to increase the length of the landing strip aft of the arresting gear. 234 new hull sections were installed to achieve the desired shape, and the total steel added to carry out these modifications amounted to 2500 tons.[8][57][58] The superstructure profile of the Admiral Gorshkov platform could accommodate powerful planar or phased array radar systems with the "billboard style" antennae, which was first observed on the United States Navy's USS Long Beach, along with extensive command and control facilities to conduct an aerial campaign. Extensive revamp of sensors was carried out, and long range air-surveillance radars and advanced electronic warfare suites were fitted, which enable the maintenance of a surveillance bubble of over 500 km around the ship. An aft mast was installed to accommodate various communication antennae. These changes needed 2300 km of new cables, and 3,000 km of new pipes.[8][58][59] The eight boilers were replaced by new generation boilers, converted to take diesel fuel utilising LSHSD instead of furnace fuel oil, each providing a steam capacity of 100 tonnes per hour.[60] The new high-pressure boilers are highly efficient and have high levels of automation. They power four propellers in four shaft configuration, producing a total thrust of 180,000 horsepower (134,226 kW) at the shaft, and a top speed of over 30 knots. Six turbo alternators and six diesel alternators generate 18 MW of electricity to power various equipment. Modern oil-water separators as well as a sewage treatment plant were incorporated to meet international standards. Six new Italian Wärtsilä 1.5 MW diesel generators, a Global Marine communications system, Sperry Bridgemaster navigation radar, a new telephone exchange, new data link and an IFF Mk XI system were added. Hotel services were improved with the addition of two reverse osmosis plants producing 400 tons of fresh water per day, as well as York International refrigeration and air conditioning, and a new galley together with improved domestic services and accommodation for 10 female officers.[57][58][61] Combat systems[edit] Kamov Ka-31 "Helix" performs the airborne early warning role. The MiG-29Ks are the main offensive aircrafts of the carrier. The combat systems on board the carrier are controlled by LESORUB-E, the computer-aided action information system. It gathers data from the ship’s sensors.

• published: 02 May 2016
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