Jetline marvel

30
JETLINE marvel I January 2015
INS Vikramaditya (Sanskrit, Vikramāditya meaning "Brave as the Sun 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 BC emperor of Ujjain, India.
Originally built as Baku and commissioned in 1987, the carrier served with the Soviet (until the dissolution
of the Soviet Union) and Russian Navies before being decommissioned in 1996 as she was too expensive
to operate on a post-Cold War budget. The carrier was purchased by India on 20 January 2004 after years
of negotiations at a final price of $2.35 billion the ship successfully completed her sea trials in July 2013]
and aviation trials in September 2013. She was formally commissioned on 16 November 2013 at a
ceremony held.
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 and data links and creates
comprehensive situation awareness. The CCS MK II communication complex is installed for external
communications and the Link II tactical data system enables integration into the Indian Navy’s networkcentric
operations. Modern launch and recovery systems are installed for handling different aircraft - the
LUNA landing system for Mig-29Ks and the DAPS Landing system for Sea Harriers. The Resistor-E
automated air-traffic control system has been installed, which provides assistance during approach,
landing and short range navigation down to a distance of 30 meters short of flight deck to the pilots.
Along with various other sub-systems, it provides navigation and flight data to ship-borne aircraft
operating at long distances from the carrier
The ship can carry more than 30 aircraft, with an air wing composed of MiG-29K/Sea Harrier fixed wing
aircraft and Kamov-31, Kamov-28, Sea King, ALH-Dhruv and Chetak helicopters. The MiG-29K swing role
fighter is the main offensive platform. Its maximum take-off length from the carrier is between 160–180
metres. It has a range of over 700 nautical miles (nm), which can be extended to over 1,900 nm with aerial
refueling; and its weapons include anti-ship missiles, beyond-visual-range missiles, guided bombs and
rockets
The ship does not have a close in weapon system (CIWS) yet, which will be added during April-June 2015
at the Karwar naval base. The systems being evaluated are Barak and Shtil. Till an air-defence system is
installed, the carrier will depend on its accompanying battle group for air defence and long range missile
firing. During the first scheduled refit in 2017, the carrier will be armed with the Barak 8 long-range airdefence
system (LR-SAM), which is currently being tested. It is launched from vertical launch cells, and
has a strike range of 6–70 km. The carrier will carry up to 48 missiles
After commissioning, the carrier began a continuous 26-day journey of 10,212 nautical miles to
its homeport at INS Kadamba,Karwar, from Severodvinsk on 27 November 2013, with a short stopover
in Lisbon. It is under the command of Commodore Suraj Berry, who is her first Indian captain. Apart from
her Indian crew, she also carried 177 Russian specialists from Sevmash, who will remain on board for one
year, as part of the 20-year post-warranty services contract with the shipyard. During the journey, it
encountered a storm in the Barents Sea where she linked up with her escorts frigate INSTrikand and fleet
tanker INS Deepak