After a delay of five years, the $2.3 billion INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier was on Saturday inducted into the Indian Navy, giving a strategic boost to its maritime warfare capabilities.
The mammoth 44,500-tonne warship — India’s largest naval vessel — was commissioned into the Navy at Sevmash Shipyard in this northern Arctic port during a colourful ceremony attended by Defence Minister AK Antony, Russian Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin and senior Government and naval officials of the two countries.
Antony expressed his satisfaction at the delivery of the aircraft carrier after years of waiting during an interaction with the Indian media in the hangar under the deck, but conceded there was a time “when we thought that we will never get her”.
Speaking during the ceremony held on the flight deck of the refitted vessel, Antony said INS Vikramaditya would significantly enhance the Indian Navy’s reach and capability.
Noting that aircraft carriers have been part of the navy’s force structure since independence, he said: “The induction of Vikramaditya, with its integral MiG29K fighters and Kamov-31 helicopters, not only reinforces this central policy but also adds a new dimension to our navy’s operational capabilities.”
He added, “This project has been a unique one, challenging both the Russian and Indian sides alike...The successful culmination of (the) project truly symbolises the time-tested special and privileged strategic partnership between our two great nations.”
Braving chilling winds and snow on an overcast morning, scores of Russian and Indian dignitaries, including Indian Ambassador Ajai Malhotra, Defence Secretary RK Mathur, Indian Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi and his Russian counterpart Admiral Viktor Chirkov, attended the commissioning ceremony.
The transfer deed of the aircraft carrier was signed by Igor Sevastyanov, the deputy director of Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport, and Captain Suraj Beri, the commanding officer of Vikramaditya.
The Russian flag on the vessel was lowered and the flag of the Indian Navy was raised in its place. In a traditional Indian ritual, a coconut was broken against the ship’s side. The warship was first scheduled to be delivered in 2008but the deadline was repeatedly postponed over the past five years.
The carrier will be escorted to India during a nearly two-month voyage by a group of warships to secure a safe sail to its new base at Karwar on the Arabian Sea coast.
Vikramaditya is a Kiev-class aircraft carrier that was commissioned by the Russian Navy in 1987 under the name Baku. It was later renamed Admiral Gorshkov and last sailed in 1995 in Russia, before being offered to India.
The warship with a length of 284 metres will have MiG-29K naval combat aircraft and Kamov 31 and Kamov 28 anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance helicopters.
The MiG 29-Ks will provide a significant boost to the Indian Navy with their range of over 700 nautical miles, extendable to more than 1,900 nautical miles with mid-air refuelling, and an array of weapons like anti-ship missiles, beyond visual range air-to-air missiles and guided bombs and rockets.
After almost nine years of negotiations, the initial $1.5 billion contract for retrofitting the carrier and buying 16 MiG-29 deck-based fighters was signed in 2004. The delays in the delivery of the aircraft carrier had become a major irritant in Indo-Russian relations.
By the end of 2007, when it became clear that Russia would not deliver the radically redesigned vessel by the 2008 deadline, ties dipped to an all-time low.However, the two countries inked an additional agreement under which India agreed to pay a higher price for its refit.
