Vikramaditya-class (modified Kiev)

The Vikramaditya class aircraft carrier, currently serving as the flagship of the Indian Navy, is a conventionally powered Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) vessel. The ship was originally built as the Kiev-class aircraft cruiser Baku and commissioned into the Soviet Navy in 1987. Renamed Admiral Gorshkov in 1991, the vessel served with the Russian Navy until its deactivation in 1996. India purchased the ship on 20 January 2004, and the Sevmash Shipyard in Severodvinsk, Russia, undertook reconstruction to convert the hybrid cruiser into an aircraft carrier.

To enable STOBAR operations, workers removed the P-500 Bazalt cruise missile launchers and Antey Kinzhal surface-to-air missile bins from the bow to install a 14.3-degree ski-jump. Modifications included three 30-meter arrestor wires, three restraining gears, and an enlarged 30-ton capacity aft lift. Propulsion is provided by eight high-pressure boilers burning Low Sulphur High Speed Diesel, alongside six Wärtsilä 1.5 MW diesel generators. The combat systems are managed by the LESORUB-E action information system, integrating the CCS Mk II communication complex, Link II tactical data system, Sperry Bridgemaster navigation radar, and Resistor-E air-traffic control system. The carrier is armed with four AK-630 close-in weapon systems and a Barak 1 surface-to-air missile system in a 24-missile vertical launching system configuration. The air group operates up to 34 aircraft, including Mikoyan MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB fighters, Kamov Ka-31 airborne early warning helicopters, Kamov Ka-28 and Westland Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopters, and HAL Dhruv and HAL Chetak utility helicopters.

INS Vikramaditya was commissioned on 16 November 2013 and arrived at its homeport, INS Kadamba at Karwar, in January 2014. The Indian Navy declared the carrier operationally deployed in May 2014. The vessel conducted port visits to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Male, Maldives, in early 2016. In January 2020, the carrier undertook flight trials of the naval variant of the HAL Tejas. The carrier has participated in exercises including Milan 2024 and joint maneuvers in October 2024 with an Italian Navy group led by ITS Cavour. The Indian Navy also conducted dual-carrier operations with the carrier and INS Vikrant in June 2023, March 2024, and August 2024. In November 2024, the Indian Ministry of Defence contracted Cochin Shipyards for a short refit and dry docking of the carrier.