Indian Navy's aircraft carrier Vikramaditya (ex-Admiral Gorshkov) starts second sea trials

The ship is being operated by a Northern Fleet crew, many of whom have experience with carrier operations on the Russian Navy's Admiral of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov. Also on board are Sevmash shipyard specialists and Indian Navy officers.

The crew includes Northern Fleet aviation personnel, who test the carrier’s radar systems, air defenses, communications and air direction systems.

India and Russia signed a $947 million dollar deal in 2005 for the purchase of the carrier, but delivery has already been delayed twice, pushing up the cost of refurbishing the carrier to $2.3 billion.

The Vikramaditya - as the Admiral Gorshkov - was originally laid down in 1978 at the Nikolayev South shipyard in Ukraine, launched in 1982, and commissioned with the Soviet Navy in 1987.