01/11/2014: The name means Strong as the Sun.
The carrier as pictured is in transit to its homeport of Karwar on the western coast.
The vessel is seen in the Arabian Sea under escort by INS Viraat, an earlier but upgraded carrier and other ships of the Western fleet.
It has arrived at its homeport.
The aircraft carrier will be fitted with many weapons and air defense missiles in India and will be fully operational next year.
The Indians are building out their navy to deal with 21st century security and defense missions.
The carrier is viewed as an essential part of dealing with evolving challenges.
The Indian Naval Chief Admiral DK Joshi commented in December 2013 that as a carrier-centric force, the Navy was looking forward to the arrival of INS Vikramaditya and to integrate her “into our operational architecture.”
“Given our vast maritime domain, far-flung island territories, national interests, and the extremely dynamic geo-strategic environment, INS Vikramaditya’s recent commissioning has further bolstered our carrier centric ‘blue-water’ capability,” he had said in his annual Navy Day (December 4) press interaction.
Notably, the Navy had planned for induction of three aircraft carriers right from the late 1990s, with the aim that at least two carrier task forces would always be available while a third one would be under maintenance and replenishment.
In addition to the Vikramaditya (aka Adniral Gorshkov) acquired from Russia, India’s indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant is being build at Kochi shipyard and should be ready for induction in 2017.
Plans are there to begin construction of a second indigenous carrier, of about 60,000 tons plus.
The Directorate of Naval Design (DND) is already considering what equipment should be on board, and according to Vice Chief of the Navy Vice Admiral Robin Dhowan, all options from nuclear to steam propulsion, steam-powered catapults or Electro Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), the type of aircraft and escort vessels and so on are on the table for both INS Vikrant and the second indigenous carrier.
The Indian Navy is in touch with General Atomics, which has been permitted by Pentagon to make presentations to the Indian Navy.
https://sldinfo.com/an-end-of-the-year-update-on-the-indian-navy-building-out-the-carrier-fleet/
[slidepress gallery=’ins-vikramaditya’]
Story provided by our partner India Strategic.
These pictures of INS Vikramaditya have officially been released by the Directorate of Public Relations, Ministry of Defence.
http://www.indiastrategic.in/topstories3123_Indian_Navy_aims_three_aircraft_carriers.htm
http://www.indiastrategic.in/topstories3149_INS_Vikramaditya_photo_essay.htm
For a related story which looks at Indian naval aviation see the following:
http://www.indiastrategic.in/topstories2034_Indian_Naval_Aviation_gets_combat_gems.htm
And for a video which shows the Mig-29K naval Fulcrum operating aboard the Indian aircraft carrier Vikramaditya see the following:
http://theaviationist.com/2013/10/11/mig-29k-new-video/