Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov

Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov was a modified Kiev class aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy, originally named Baku. Sometimes Gorshkov is considered a separate class due to its improvements including a phased array radar, extensive electronic warfare installations, and an enlarged command and control suite. In 2004, she was sold to India for conversion into a STOBAR carrier to be named INS Vikramaditya.

History

The ship was laid down in 1978 at Nikolayev South in Ukraine, launched in 1982, and commissioned in 1987. The delay in commissioning was largely caused by software bugs in the new command and control system.

The ship was renamed Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, as the city of Baku was now in independent Azerbaijan. Sergey Gorshkov was responsible for the expansion 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 Although she returned to service in 1995, she was finally withdrawn in 1996 and offered for sale.

On January 20, 2004, Russia agreed to sell the Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov to India, though payment details are still being worked out. The original price was $947 million. The upgrade would be undertaken by Russia’s major shipyard, Sevmash...
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