INS Vikramaditya

INS Vikramaditya (Sanskrit, Vikramāditya meaning "Brave as the Sun" is a modified Kiev class aircraft carrier set to enter service with the Indian Navy in 2013. The ship has been renamed in honour ofVikramaditya, a legendary 1st century BC emperor of Ujjain, India, famed for his wisdom, valour and magnanimity.

Originally built as Baku and commissioned in 1987, the carrier served with the Soviet (until theDissolution of the Soviet Union) and Russian Navies before being decommissioned in 1996 as she was too expensive to operate on a post-Cold War budget. The carrier was purchased by India on 20 January 2004 after years of negotiations at a final price of $2.35 billion.The ship successfully completed her sea trials in July 2013and aviation trials in September 2013. She is expected to be in commission by November 15, 2013.

Baku entered service in 1987, but was deactivated in 1996 because she was too expensive to operate on a post-Cold War budget. This attracted the attention of India, which was looking for a way to expand its carrier aviation capabilities. On 20 January 2004, after years of negotiations, Russia and India signed a deal for the sale of the ship. The ship was free, while India would pay US$800 million for the upgrade and refit of the ship, as well as an additional US$1 billion for the aircraft and weapons systems. The Navy looked at equipping the carrier with the E-2C Hawkeye, but decided not to.In 2009, Northrop Grumman offered the advanced E-2D Hawkeye to the Indian Navy.

The deal also includes the purchase of 12 single-seat Mikoyan MiG-29K 'Fulcrum-D' (Product 9.41) and 4 dual-seat MiG-29KUB aircraft (with an option for 14 more aircraft) at US$1 billion, 6 Kamov Ka-31 "Helix" reconnaissance and anti-submarine helicopters, torpedo tubes, missile systems, and artillery units. Facilities and procedures for training pilots and technical staff, delivery of simulators, spare parts, and establishment maintenance on Indian Navy facilities are also part of the contract.

The conversion plans for the ship have seen all the armament from the foredeck removed, including the P-500 Bazalt cruise missile launchers and the four Antey Kinzhal surface-to-air missile launchers, to make way for a 14.3° bow ski-jump ramp.

These upgrade plans involve stripping all the weaponry and missile launcher tubes from the ship's foredeck to make way for a Short Take-Off But Assisted Recovery (STOBAR) configuration. This will convert the Gorshkov from a hybrid carrier/cruiser to a pure carrier.

The announced delivery date for INS Vikramaditya was August 2008, which would allow the carrier to enter service just as the Indian Navy's only light carrier INS Viraat retires. Viraat’s retirement has been pushed out to 2010–2012. The issue with the delays has been compounded by the ongoing cost overruns. This has resulted in high-level diplomatic exchanges to get these issues resolved. India has agreed to pay an additional US$1.2 billion for the project, more than doubling the original cost. However, ongoing delays with the Vikramaditya's delivery schedule, pushing the delivery to 2012, could mean that even this postponement of the Viraat's retirement may not come soon enough. As a result, the Indian Navy may find itself without an aircraft carrier for the first time since the 1960s. The indigenous Vikrant-class aircraft carrier has been delayed by at least a year and may be commissioned at the earliest in 2013 from the proposed 2012.

In July 2008, it was reported that Russia was increasing the total price to US$3.4 billion, blaming unexpected cost overruns on the deteriorated condition of the ship. India has paid US$400 million as of November 2008. However, the Russia even threatened to scrap the deal altogether if India did not want to pay the amount. In December 2008, government sources in India stated that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had finally decided in favour of purchasing Admiral Gorshkov as the best option available.The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) criticised that Vikramaditya would be a second-hand warship with a limited life span, which will be 60 percent costlier than a new one and there is a risk of further delay in its delivery.

The Indian Navy Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta defended the price for the warship saying: "I can't comment on the CAG. But you all are defence analysts, can you get me an aircraft carrier for less than USD two billion? If you can, I am going to sign a cheque right now". The statement from the Chief of Naval Staff possibly indicates that the final deal could be in excess of US$2 billion. When asked about CAG's finding that the Navy had not done its risk analysis before going in for the ship, he said, "I can ensure you that there is no such thing. There is no question, we have been looking at the ship since the late 90s."

On 2 July 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that the carrier should be completed as soon as possible so she could be delivered to India in 2012.On 7 December 2009, Russian sources indicated that final terms had been agreed on, but no delivery date was set.On 8 December 2009, it was reported that India and Russia ended the stalemate over Admiral Gorshkov price deal by agreeing on a price of US$2.2 billion. Moscow was asking for US$2.9 billion for the aircraft carrier, nearly three times the price that was originally agreed between the two sides in 2004. On the other hand, New Delhi wanted the price to be scaled back to US$2.1 billion. On 10 March, the price of Admiral Gorshkov was finalised at US$2.35 billion by both governments, a day ahead of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to India.

In April 2010, a scandal over the project emerged when it was announced that a Commodore had likely been blackmailed to influence the negotiations over the cost of Admiral Gorshkov to India. Commodore Sukhjinder Singh had been a senior figure supervising the refit of the carrier, working as the principal director for the project. He was discharged from the service due to this incident.