Soviet aircraft carrier Baku
Admiral Gorshkov was an aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy. Originally named Baku, she was the fourth of the Project 1143 aircraft carrying cruisers, known as the Kiev class. The ship was laid down in 1978, launched in 1982, and commissioned in 1987. In terms of her armament, the Baku was built with a modified design relative to the other three Kiev class vessels; however, she carried an identical air wing, consisting of a squadron of twelve Yak-38 'Forger' V/STOL aircraft, twelve Ka-27 'Helix-A' ASW/SAR helicopters and two Ka-31 'Helix' AEW helicopters.
In the collapse of the Soviet Union, the city of Baku (which the ship was named after) became part of independent Azerbaijan, and afterwards the ship was renamed Admiral Gorshkov, in honour of Sergey Gorshkov commander in chief of the Soviet Navy during the Cold War. In 1994, following a boiler room explosion, the ship was docked for a year of repairs. Although she returned to service in 1995, she was finally withdrawn in 1996 and offered for sale.
Sold to India
After years of negotiations, on January 20, 2004, Russia and India signed a deal to buy aircraft-carrier Admiral Gorshkov, along with 12 single-seat MiG-29K 'Fulcrum-D' and 4 dual-seat MiG-29KUB, as well as facilities and procedures for training of pilots and technical staff, delivery of simulators, spare parts, and establishment maintenance on Indian Navy facilities. India will spend approximately US$800 million to upgrade and refit the ship. It will cost an additional US$700 million to buy 16 MiG-29K, 6 Kamov Ka-31 'Helix' attack and reconnaissance anti-submarine helicopters, torpedo tubes, missile systems and artillery units. Upgrade plans involve stripping all the weaponry from the ship's foredeck to make way for Short Take-Off But Assisted Recovery configuration, with a 14.3 degree ski-jump on the bow and three arrestor wires on the angled deck, allowing her to operate the MiG-29K 'Fulcrum' and Sea Harrier aircraft.
It is estimated that the ship will enter service in the Indian Navy in 2011 as INS Vikramaditya.
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