Russia delivered Vikramaditya aircraft carrier to Indian navy. The ship was originally manufactured in USSR as “Admiral Gorshkov” aircraft carrier and then it was refurbished and renamed, Lenta.ru reports.
The solemn handover ceremony was held at Sevmash enterprise. Russian ensign was hauled down and the Indian ensign was hoisted at the aircraft carrier. The wife of Suraj Berry, the ship’s captain, broke a coconut against Vikramaditya’s side.

The ship should become the flagship of the Indian fleet in the near term. It will depart to its base soon. This is the second aircraft carrier in the fleet of Indian navy. India already has “Viraat” aircraft carrier (originally constructed as British “Hermes” in 1959).

According to the contract, Russian officials should have delivered Vikramaditya to India in 2008. However, a number of delays took place during refurbishment of the ship and the delivery was rescheduled for late 2012. Nevertheless, the Russian party failed to deliver the ship in time, because thermal insulation of seven out of 8 steam boilers has broken down during sea trials.

The agreement for delivery of the ship to India was signed in 2004. The Indian party got the ship for free; however India had to pay for its refurbishment and purchase MiG-29K/KUB fighters, Ka-27 and Ka-31 helicopters for the carrier. The initial value of this contract was $1,5 billion, but in the course of the project the price increased to $2,3 billion.