A new era has dawned in India’s naval combat capabilities as the Aircraft carrier. INS Vikramaditya was commissioned into the Indian Navy at a Russian shipyard on November 16 after a transfer deed signed by Igor Sevastyanov, the deputy director of Russian arms exporter Rosoboron-export and Commodore Suraj Berry, the commanding officer of Vikramaditya, ending a five-year delay to the $2.33 billion project. The 44,570-tonne carrier, which will operate supersonic MIG-29K fighters from its deck, is the largest-ever warship to be inducted by India, as also the most expensive single military platform ever bought. India’s solitary carried till now, the 55-years-old INS Viraat, will now be a poor second at 28,000-tonne. Earlier called Admiral Gorshkov, INS Vikramaditya was commissioned at the Sevmash Shipyard in northern Arctic at a ceremony attended by defence minister A K Antony, Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin and senior officials of the two countries. The warship, with its array of fighters, helicopters and other weapons systems, will go a long way in bolstering the Navy’s blue-water capabilities, and is already being described as “a game-changer” in the region. The ship is likely to set sail for India within a fortnight and reach its home port of Karwar in January 2014, following which the Navy will operationalise it in a few weeks with the first landing of its MIG-29K aircraft.The Inside Look Presenting the first look at the insides of the carrier, the Navy showcased the bridge from where the mammoth vessel would be commanded. Outfitted with the latest in navigation, communication as well as combat management systems, the bridge is a technological leap for the Navy. The crew quarters are also impressively roomier. The flight operations control room is part of the additions and has a live video link in monitor the aircraftAIRCRAFT CARRIER· 284 metres– the length of the “floating airfield” or the length of 3 football fields put together.· Stands 20 storeys tall.· Can carry over 30 aircraft MIG-29K/Sea Harrier, Kamov 31, Kamov 28, Sea- King, ALHDhruv and Chetak helicopters.· Capacity to carry 8,000 tonnes of fuel.· Generates on-board 18 MW of power.· Has surveillance radius of almost 500km.
