Aircraft Carriers II (Closed to posting)

​

The Indian Express said:

Ending a nine-year wait, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya will be inducted into the Indian Navy by Defence Minister A K Antony at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, Russia on Saturday.

The first aircraft carrier to join the Navy in over two decades, Vikramaditya, the former Gorshkov, will set sail for India after the handing-over ceremony. It is likely to be greeted by a ship that already has a very special place in the Navy. INS Viraat, India's lone aircraft carrier, is said to be heading to Oman to escort the Vikramaditya home.

In a show of strength and capability, the two aircraft carriers are expected to sail together in the Arabian Sea before the Vikramaditya heads for its final berthing place in Karwar. The deployment will be one of the last overseas sailings for INS Viraat that has been in service with the Indian Navy since 1987 and is overdue for retirement, given that the hull is now over five decades old.

For Vikramaditya, the long journey home will be challenging — it will be unarmed, and will sail without weapons or fighter aircraft on board while making the transition from freezing seas to tropical waters. The Navy is planning a five-ship escort.

After it sets sail from Severodvinsk, the Vikramaditya, commanded by Commodore Suraj Berry, will be met by INS Deepak, a tanker ship, near Murmansk. Also tailing the aircraft carrier will be a Talwar-class frigate. Additional ships will join the convoy near Gibraltar. Though the final route home has not been revealed, the ship is likely to use the Suez Canal and will meet the Viraat once it reaches the Oman coast.

The escort is required especially as the route through the Suez will raise serious security issues given the multiple threats that can emerge in the region. The Navy has been tightlipped and has prepared the carrier for a sixty-day sail. This means that a route skirting Africa is also not being ruled out.

Click to expand...

World Maritime News said:

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division’s multipurpose amphibious assault ship America (LHA 6) returned Saturday from successful builder’s sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico. The America spent five days operating the ship at sea, where it conducted more than 200 test events.

“It’s an awesome feeling riding this ship, knowing the hard work that took place to get her ready for sea trials,” said George Jones, Ingalls’ LHA 6 program manager. “The LHA 6 team continued to work diligently during our time underway. The ship performed well, and our team will work to ensure LHA 6 will be prepared for her acceptance trials. We have confidence this will be a great opportunity for America to prove her mettle as she prepares to enter the U.S. Navy fleet.”

During builder’s trials, America performed all required sea trial evolutions, including the operation of the gas turbine/electric-powered propulsion system. Other tests included anchor handling, flight operations, and combat systems’ evaluations.

“America, designed to take sailors and Marines into harm’s way, proved her seaworthiness during builder’s trials,” said Richard Schenk, Ingalls’ vice president of test and trials. “The test and trials team implemented a rigorous schedule of testing, including a day of dock trials, before the ship left. The Ingalls team and the ship performed very well. We look forward to continuing the hard work on our company’s newest large-deck amphibious ship as our test group works with the LHA 6 program/ops team to prepare for acceptance trials.”

The ship will now prepare for acceptance sea trials in late January to demonstrate the same tests and operational success to the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV).

When America enters the fleet, she will be the flagship of an Expeditionary Strike Group, strategically positioning Marine Expeditionary Units ashore across a full spectrum of missions, including humanitarian, disaster relief, maritime security, antipiracy and other operations while providing air support for ground forces.

America-class ships are 844 feet long and 106 feet wide and displace 44,971 long tons. The gas-turbine propulsion system drives the ships in excess of 20 knots. They will accommodate a crew of 1,059 (65 officers) and 1,687 troops. The America-class will be capable of carrying a Marine Expeditionary Unit, including Marine helicopters, MV‐22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and F‐35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft.

The newest class has an increased aviation capacity to include an enlarged hangar deck, realignment and expansion of the aviation maintenance facilities, a significant increase in available stowage for parts and support equipment, and increased aviation fuel capacity.

Click to expand...

​

Yahoo News said:

Moscow, Nov 16 (IANS)

Russia handed over the refurbished aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya to the Indian Navy in a ceremony at the Arctic port of Severodvinsk on Saturday.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony attended the ceremony, Xinhua quoted arms exporter Rosoboronexport as telling local media.

The warship, previously known as the Admiral Gorshkov, is a Project 1143.4 or modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier commissioned by the Soviet Navy in 1987 and decommissioned in 1996 as it was too expensive to operate on a post-Soviet era budget.

India and Russia signed a $947 million deal in 2004 for the purchase of the carrier, but the original 2008 delivery deadline was delayed twice, pushing up the cost of refurbishing the ship to $2.3 billion.

India has already started taking delivery of MiG-29K naval fighter aircraft for the carrier.

INS Vikramaditya successfully completed its sea trails in July and aviation trails in September.

INS Vikramaditya's commissioning is being described as "a game changer" in naval circles, and is expected to project India's maritime power far beyond its shores. This is India's second aircraft carrier and the navy's biggest warship.

The aircraft carrier will be escorted by other warships during its voyage back home. It is expected to arrive in India by February 2014, Russian officials said.

Click to expand...

Reuters said:

(Reuters) - Russia handed over a $2.3 billion aircraft carrier to India on Saturday after years of delays, extending the South Asian country's maritime reach in the Indian Ocean as it looks to counter China's assertive presence in the region.

The handover, at a shipyard near the Arctic Circle, underlined close defence ties between Russia, the world's No. 2 arms exporter, and the world's largest arms customer, India.

The retooled Soviet-era ship was commissioned into the Indian Navy at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, on the White Sea, in a ceremony attended by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, and Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony.

The ship, built in the final years of the Soviet Union and named the Admiral Gorshkov, will now be escorted by warships to India in a two-month voyage from Russia's northern coast. It has been renamed INS Vikramaditya.

A recent upgrade means that the carrier, originally designed to carry Yak-38 vertical take-off aircraft, has been requipped to carry Mig-29K fighter jets. It can carry up to 30 aircraft and will have a crew of around 2,000.

India signed a deal to buy the carrier in 2004 after a decade of negotiations. Its reconditioning was to be finished in 2009, but the price was increased and delivery postponed until 2012 under a new agreement, according to the Indian navy.

The handover was later delayed by another year.

India's first, British-built, aircraft carrier was bought in the 1960s and was decommissioned in 1997. Another ex-British carrier, the INS Viraat, is in operation but is reaching the end of its service.

India is on a push to modernise its mostly Soviet-era military, and plans to spend $100 billion in the next 10 years doing that. It buys about 60 percent of its arms needs from Russia, but has started a diversification drive recently.

China last year put its first-ever aircraft carrier, another retooled Soviet-made craft called the Liaoning, into service amid tensions with Japan over contested islands and a show of strength in the South China sea.

India launched its first domestically-built aircraft carrier this year, but it will not be fully operational until 2017.

Click to expand...

Jeff Head said:

​

Click to expand...

kwaigonegin said:

Russia's DPM looks a LOT like Putin in that picture.. lol

Click to expand...

FORBIN said:

The Indian Navy finally received its modified carrier...

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

Jeff Head said:

Pictures coming out of Sevrodvinsk, Russia today withe Indian Carrier, INS Vikramaditya hand over and commissioning:

Bridge of the Virkamaditya
​

Click to expand...