Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Chernomorskiy yard, Nikolayev |
| Laid down: | December 1978 |
| Launched: | April 17, 1982 |
| Commissioned: | January 1987 |
| Decommissioned: | 1996 |
| Status: | Sold to India January 20, 2004 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 45,000 tons full load |
| Length: | 273.1 m overall |
| Beam: | 31.0 m |
| Draught: | 8.2 m |
| Propulsion: | 4 shaft geared steam turbines, 200,000 shp |
| Speed: | 32 knots (59 km/h) |
| Endurance: | 13,500 nautical miles (25,000 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Complement: | |
| Armament: | 6 × twin SS-N-12 Sandbox SSM launchers (12 missiles), 24 × 8-cell SA-N-9 vertical SAM launchers (192 missiles), 2 × 100 mm guns, 8 × AK-630 30 mm CIWS, 10 × 533 mm torpedo tubes, 2 × RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers |
| Aircraft carried: | 12 Yak-38M fighter aircraft 20 Kamov Ka-25 or Kamov Ka-27 helicopters |
Admiral Gorshkov was a modified Kiev class aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy, originally named Baku. In 2004, she was sold to India for conversion into a STOBAR carrier to be named INS Vikramaditya.
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[edit] Differences to other Kiev class carriers
The fourth of the Project 1143 aircraft carrying cruisers, Baku had many differences to the rest of the class, trialling technologies to be used on the Admiral Kuznetsov. The most obvious is the massive planar array above the bridge. This was the antenna for the Mars-Passat ("Sky Watch") 3D air search radar, comparable to the US SCANFAR radar if not the AN/SPY-1 used by the Aegis combat system. Like SCANFAR, Sky Watch proved troublesome and was probably never operational.
The biggest change to the weapon systems was the replacement of the SA-N-3 Goblet and SA-N-4 Gecko SAM launchers with four SA-N-9 Gauntlet VLS launchers. This allowed room for another two SS-N-12 Sandbox launchers. The two AA guns of the Kievs were replaced with 100 mm guns, and the SUW-N-1 launcher was deleted.
The air wing was the same as the other Kievs, consisting of a squadron of twelve Yak-38 'Forger' V/STOL aircraft (until they were retired in 1992), twelve Ka-27 'Helix-A' ASW/SAR helicopters and two Ka-31 'Helix' AEW helicopters. Flight operations were assisted by the distinctive new Cake Stand TACAN radar.
Baku was used for trials of the Yak-141 Freestyle supersonic VTOL fighter.
[edit] History
The ship was laid down in 1978 at Nikolayev South (Shipyard No.444) in Ukraine, launched in 1982, and commissioned in 1987. The delay in commissioning was largely caused by software bugs in the new command and control system.
The ship was renamed Admiral Gorshkov after the collapse of the Soviet Union, as the city of Baku was now in independent Azerbaijan. Sergey Gorshkov was responsible for the expansion of the Soviet Navy during the Cold War.
In 1994, following a boiler room explosion, the ship was docked for a year of repairs. Although she returned to service in 1995, she was finally withdrawn in 1996 and offered for sale.
[edit] Sale to India
After years of negotiations, on January 20, 2004, Russia and India signed a deal for the Admiral Gorshkov, 12 single-seat MiG-29K 'Fulcrum-D' and 4 dual-seat MiG-29KUB, 6 Kamov Ka-27 and Ka-31 'Helix' helicopters, facilities and procedures for training pilots and technical staff, delivery of simulators, spare parts, and establishment maintenance on Indian Navy facilities.
The ship was free; India will pay the Russians ~US$800 million to upgrade it and an additional US$700 million on the aircraft and weapons systems. Upgrade plans involve stripping all the weaponry from the ship's foredeck to make way for a Short Take-Off But Assisted Recovery configuration. A 14.3 degree ski-jump on the bow and three arrestor wires on the angled deck will allow operation of MiG-29K 'Fulcrum' and Sea Harrier aircraft.
It is estimated that the ship will be handed over to the Indian Navy in 2008 as INS Vikramaditya.
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