NEW DELHI, January 8 (RIA Novosti) – A refitted former Soviet aircraft carrier has reached the Indian coast after leaving Russia’s northern shipyard in mid-November, media report said on Wednesday.
The Vikramaditya, a refurbished Russian carrier formerly known as the Admiral Gorshkov, arrived at a naval base in Kanwar in the western state of Karnataka on Tuesday, Indian IBN television reported citing sources in the Navy.
The aircraft carrier was handed over to the Indian navy on November 16 at the Semvash shipbuilder and departed from Russia on November 26.
A team of Russian specialists arrived onboard the ship and will stay in India for a year to fix any possible glitches if needed.
The Vikramaditya is to become India’s second aircraft carrier. The process of the ship’s official commissioning will take between three and four months.
The refurbishments of the vessel lurched from one crisis to another since the $947 million deal was signed with Russia in 2004 for its purchase and refit.
The delays pushed up the cost of its refurbishing to $2.3 billion, sparking acrimony between Russia and India over the contract.
