Vikramaditya Carrier to Start Sea Trials in May

Sea trials of the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya are scheduled to start on May 25, Russia’s Sevmash shipyard said.
The vessel, which was originally intended for the Soviet Navy, but then refitted for India, will be taken to the White Sea and then to the Barents Sea where it will stay for three to four months.
“After sea trials are complete, we plan to transfer the carrier to India by December 4,” Sevmash said.
At present, the Vikramaditya’s main power generators are being tested and the sleeping and living quartes are being fininshed. Crew training was completed in late March, Sevmash said.
The Vikramaditya, previously known as the Admiral Gorshkov, is a Soviet-made Project 1143.4 class aircraft carrier. It was sold to India in 2004 but will be delivered only in 2012, after a refit that lasted eight years and was the subject of an on-going dispute between the two sides over cost.
India has already started taking delivery of MiG-29K naval fighter aircraft for the Vikramaditya.

RIA Novosti