" India's Soviet-era carrier arrives six years late" Topic

Better late then never I guess. Robert

India's Soviet-era carrier arrives six years late
by Staff Writers
New Delhi (AFP) Jan 08, 2014

"A refurbished former Soviet aircraft carrier arrived Wednesday in India six years late, ending a wrangle that strained ties with the country's top arms supplier Russia.

The Cold War-era ship, which set sail from the Russian city of Severodvinsk in mid-November, was escorted by Indian warships into Indian waters.

A naval spokesman said the INS Vikramaditya had arrived at Karwar, its home base in the western state of Karnataka.

Critics have described the Vikramaditya, built as the Admiral Gorshkov and originally commissioned in 1987, as a white elephant because of its higher-than-expected price tag and long delays in arriving.

A preliminary pact for refurbishing the vessel was signed in 1998 -- two years after the Kremlin mothballed the 44,500-ton carrier.

It took six years for the two sides to reach a final agreement that valued the deal at $771 USD million and stipulated delivery in 2008.

But the cost of refitting the 284-metre (937-foot) ship ballooned to $2.3 USD billion, according to Indian officials. Deadlines were repeatedly extended, creating a bitter wrangle with Russia."
link

I hope they got a price adjustment for the 6 years of unexpected depreciation on the vessel.

Sounds like they didn't though, since the price tripled.

I've read that there was plenty of changes to the initial contract spec/conditions from both sides. For instance, boilers original insulation was asbestos-based. Several years ago, Indian side decided that they should keep up with current world policy to asbestos stuff and demanded to replace it. Initial replacement didn't work, as the boilers were overheating and the ship couldn't reach design speed. Also, all electronics specs was changed several times – as we have 15 years from contract draft to handing the vessel to new owners…

I can only imagine how messed up the electronics fits make government contracts…

And of course there is the INS Viraat,
Antony witnesses Indian Navy's battle readiness exercise
by Staff Writers
Visakhapatnam, India (IANS) Feb 16, 2012
TMP link

So the Indian Navy is now one up on the Chinese. Robert

Well, it's good to see the "new" carrier finally delivered. Shame that the Indians haven't built any locally (yet), shipbuilding is a great way to stimulate an economy with high-paying jobs!

Just look at the US, Newport News Naval Shipyard specifically. We pour billions into that place, and every so often they spit out a carrier or sub!

Will be interesting to see how well the Indians can get the Su30s or MiG29Ks to fly. I would imagine that they'd be rather competent (long military tradition in-house, plus the British traditions). But only a dozen MiGs, ouch! Small flight group, indeed, when a Nimitz carries at least 5x the birds. Even a Midway-class carrier could haul ~50 birds with a 1980s carrier air wing (F4s and F18s, no F14s or S3s), and the US made a *huge* jump in carrier size from the Midways to the Forrestal/Enterprise/Nimitz classes just to carry a useful number of the larger aircraft!

But aren't the carriers more likely to be used against countries in the region other then against the USN? Robert

Sailing toward the home port of Karwar, in Karnataka, India – INS Vikramaditya (R-33) sailing alongside INS Viraat (R-22) and INS Talwar (F-40) Krivak II class guided missile frigate. Photo: Indian Navy

India and the US are (as far such things go) partners in the region. India's carriers help offset China's growing power in South Asia.

Next to the USN, China's biggest regional rival is India. It will now be a catch-up race, as they bring their air wings up to speed. Even for the IN, as the Mig-29 is significantly different than the Harriers they've been operating for decades.

India does have cat and trap experience. They flew sea hawks until the early 1980s