CONNAN
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2009
- Messages
- 3,381
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
- Location
Gorshkov to be handed over to India by Dec '12 - India - The Times of India
NEW DELHI: After closely examining the ongoing refit work on Admiral Gorshkov in Russia, the Navy is now confident the aircraft carrier will be ready for harbour trials by early-2011 to ensure it can be handed over to India by December 2012 or so.
This comes after a naval team, led by controller of warship production and acquisitions Vice-Admiral N N Kumar, recently visited Russia to examine the 44,570-tonne Gorshkov at the Sevmash Shipyard.
"There has been substantial progress since the last examination in September 2009. Around 99% of the structural work and almost 50% of the cabling work has been completed on the carrier. Almost all large-size equipment, like engines, diesel generators and the like, has been installed,'' said an officer.
With India earlier this year agreeing to the revised refit cost of $2.33 billion for Gorshkov, after three years of bitter wrangling since the earlier agreement inked in January 2004 had earmarked only $974 million for it, Russia has appointed a high-level apex committee to oversee the work on the carrier.
Along with the fresh Gorshkov agreement, India also inked a contract with Russia for 29 more MiG-29Ks for $1.46 billion in March this year. These fighters will be in addition to the original 16 MiG-29Ks ordered through the $1.5-billion package deal for Gorshkov signed in January 2004.
The Navy plans to deploy two carrier-battle groups (CBGs) by 2014-2015, as reported by TOI earlier. The first CBG will be centred around Gorshkov, rechristened INS Vikramaditya, while the second will be on the 40,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) being constructed at the Cochin Shipyard, which Navy hopes to get by 2014.
As of now, the Navy is "stretching'' the operational life of the 50-year-old 28,000-tonne INS Viraat, even though it's left with only 11 of its Sea Harrier jump-jets.
NEW DELHI: After closely examining the ongoing refit work on Admiral Gorshkov in Russia, the Navy is now confident the aircraft carrier will be ready for harbour trials by early-2011 to ensure it can be handed over to India by December 2012 or so.
This comes after a naval team, led by controller of warship production and acquisitions Vice-Admiral N N Kumar, recently visited Russia to examine the 44,570-tonne Gorshkov at the Sevmash Shipyard.
"There has been substantial progress since the last examination in September 2009. Around 99% of the structural work and almost 50% of the cabling work has been completed on the carrier. Almost all large-size equipment, like engines, diesel generators and the like, has been installed,'' said an officer.
With India earlier this year agreeing to the revised refit cost of $2.33 billion for Gorshkov, after three years of bitter wrangling since the earlier agreement inked in January 2004 had earmarked only $974 million for it, Russia has appointed a high-level apex committee to oversee the work on the carrier.
Along with the fresh Gorshkov agreement, India also inked a contract with Russia for 29 more MiG-29Ks for $1.46 billion in March this year. These fighters will be in addition to the original 16 MiG-29Ks ordered through the $1.5-billion package deal for Gorshkov signed in January 2004.
The Navy plans to deploy two carrier-battle groups (CBGs) by 2014-2015, as reported by TOI earlier. The first CBG will be centred around Gorshkov, rechristened INS Vikramaditya, while the second will be on the 40,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) being constructed at the Cochin Shipyard, which Navy hopes to get by 2014.
As of now, the Navy is "stretching'' the operational life of the 50-year-old 28,000-tonne INS Viraat, even though it's left with only 11 of its Sea Harrier jump-jets.
