Photos: The INS Vikramaditya like you’ve never seen it!

Thanks a ton to Mr White in the last comments section, here are rare and never before seen photos of the INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov) aircraft carrier under refit at Sevmash, Russia. These are just some of the photos. As Mr White has pointed out, there are 178, charting out every step of the refit, including some splendid B/W historical ones. Don’t miss these. The link is provided below.

Photos ©Copyright Igor

25 thoughts on “Photos: The INS Vikramaditya like you’ve never seen it!”

  1. to shiv and MR WHITE

    this shows immenseness of work repairing of old ship and convert it to a aircraft carrier is not easy

    is there pictures of inner compartment available like parking area for aircraft and helicopters and living rooms

    also i heard that hull strenghtening has been completed by end of this october and ship will b in the water

  2. to anon above

    ya it almost rebuilding not refurbishing,ship will sport all new systems except hull,and thats y its taking time for delivery,

    all ships get rusted actually ship is outdoor in extreme condition thats y iron tends to rust but once it painted it will not look like much better

  3. Sir, i still think we have the chance to withdraw from this timely project rust bucket..go for the Uss Kitty Hawk while there is still time. ganpat from Niagara Falls NY

  4. to Mr Ganpat above

    its not rsuty,just c the pics below shivalik class frigate it also looks rusty and prject 15a destroyers they also look rusty

    p15a

    http://bp3.blogger.com/_zUe7sq7m3h0/SBCJKaAUldI/AAAAAAAAAKE/eMwkscxEAMQ/s1600-h/3rd+P-15A+closer.JPG

    shivalik class

    http://bp2.blogger.com/_zUe7sq7m3h0/SAtUGjMHJZI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/shpjuT5aVDM/s1600-h/INS+Sahyadri+oblique.JPG

    all these ships look rusty but when they get painted they will look better

    and kitty hawk is simply too old almost 50 years by 2011,and v don’t need any more american junk like USS TRENTON in which our sailors died

  5. And yes, I was looking for such a treat for a long time. When I found this link yesterday accidentally, I had nothing to do and my entire day was a great one. It looks awesome in every photograph. The photographer really enjoyed taking it in his camera. Looks fantastic. Kudos to Igor(the photographer) He managed to get the historical records and MIg29Ks also. There is a photograph with Indians who are associated with Vikramadithya. The sad part in it is everything in Russian. Someone can translate few important things if possible.

  6. @All
    The unborn child looks rusty always. Any ship before painting will always looks rusty, that too this ship is in the northern most shipyard of Russia. Look at the Snow everywhere around the ship. Hull strengthening is completed and the ship will be launched in November. Its more than Refurbishing, we can say it as Rebuilding. Every part inside the Hull was taken off and new components getting installed everywhere.

    @Ganpat and anons
    Rebuilding a carrier is not a small thing. It can be seen as a moving 25 story building. How long will the Americans take to build and furnish a 25 story building and to make it work. Some 3 or 4 years?? Think about the same building has to be moved in water under extreme temp and pressure conditions, should contain world class technologies, weapon systems, communication modules, flight deck and hangar etc etc… Every thing will take definitely not less than 10 years. Northrop Grumman with world class technologies is still building USS George Bush for the past 12 years, it will take another 2 or 3. This has consumed more than $6 billion dollars already. But think about russian shipyards, They are way too behind the american technologies and they cost us less than those of americans. Russian products are always suit to the Indian water conditions and our men are used to it more than american. They are proved to be more stronger than anyother shipyard can manufacture in the world. American products have more of Technology whereas Russian products have more of Reliability.
    India always look for reliable vessels and thus they go for Russian.

  7. Is it really becoming an aircraft carrier or a rust sailing in sea???

    @ Mr.White…

    USS George Bush is a Nuclear Powered Aircraft carrier with over 90 fixed wing aircrafts etc etc. It was ordered on January 26, 2001, so it is being built since 8 yrs or so, not 12+ years…

    I feel India should have built an aircraft carrier on its own…

  8. Sorry My mistake.. It is 8 years, not 12. Any how its going to be another 2 or 3 years to make it to full combat. I accept its a mamooth nuclear carrier no way to be compared with the Vikramadithya. But if India need to build such as this ,it will swallow more than half of our defense budget for an year. No more acquisitions will happen for next 3 to 4 years for Navy. Remember we are still a developing nation getting “USED” ships and military goods from Developed countries. But still we managed to start build a carrier of our own indigenously(The IAC in cochin shipyard).

  9. All of you who are talking of Kitty Hawk – do you know what shit state that ship is in?Ask the guys who have been there during the joint exercises.Its not Kitty Hawk – its Shitty Hawk – pardon my language please!

  10. to anon above u r right

    like jalashava,kitty hawk is even more older than jalashva,it will complete almost 50 years of service life

    v don’t want any more american junk like jalashva in which our sailore died

    however v could go for HMS INVINCIBLE to replace viraat,it will still b good till 2030

    actually VIKRAMADITYA will have all new featurs except hull but hull itself has been refurbished so the ship will have life of 30 years

    most blog writers and media and some people come to cinclusion without any solid proof to support their idiotic thinking

  11. Shivji,
    Please post the emblem of the ship too, it is really beautiful.
    A floating bow from which arrows fly in four directions.
    beautiful.

  12. Too much fuss on RUSTING. A rusty question to all rust hunters. Have you people seen your car before it got painted in factory? Try getting an image. Corrosion is due to marrying of oxygen and air. Both are present everywhere unless you separate them with something. Again a question where in the world you see a metal vehicle getting painted before rolling-out? The hell of the rust you people are talking about will be removed after Vikramadiya is over with outer surface alteration and modification which is almost over.

    Eager to see you soon baby.

  13. Good photographs.. first of all!
    Now, some basic clarifications from someone in the ship-building/ repair field.
    What you see in the photographs is surface rust. That hardly affects the steel quality. Such ships are built of high strength steel, not mild steel! Once the ship is painted with the actual system of multiple aint coats, it will not rust, for a long time. So do not worry about the hull crumbling as soon as it is put in water! This ain’t a biscuit, folks!
    Next, about the capability. It is prudent to read up online regarding the potency of this mighty platform, once it is ready. The entire hull and machinery is top class, and I feel it will be in the Indian Navy for a minimum of 40 years after commission.
    As regards the time frame, building an aircraft carrier has yet to be comleted anywhere in 3-4 years! And for the cost (even including the new quotes!), it is a bargain!
    Yes, dealing with Russia and driving in commercial sense at par with the rest of the world is like teaching your 90 year old half blind granny to start using emails!! 🙂
    Junta, rest in eace. This one is going to be a dagger, and a mighty sharp and potent one at that. Just fasten your seat belts and sit tight until 2012 or thereabouts. You will have reason to be proud.
    Realistic Shipbuilder

  14. Truly said about the rust, by above person.
    Check out the photos Numbers 2,8,9 and 10. That is the painted hull, robably taken last. Reason is that all others have the layered structure for doing the work (like in buildings under constrcution). In these 4 photos, they have already been removed, to move the ship out of dock, presumably.
    Again, the other photos have snow on the dock floor. There is no snow in those parts of Russia after April/ May. So those photos are a minimum of 7 months old.
    So after all, guess the ship is coming out well and good. Seems to be a great carrier, no doubt.

  15. these guys must be kidding…The gorshkov cost escalation is ridiculous. A Nimitz class nuclear powered aircraft carrier costs about 6 billion. Why the hell should a Kiev class heavy aircraft carrying cruiser which is only half the Nimitz’s size cost 3.5 billion to refurbish.
    I think India should pay a total of around 2 billion, and put aside 12 billion to build three 45000 tonne nuclear powered aircraft carriers which can carry 40 aircraft each, which would be much more powerful than the Gorshkov.
    Only then will the Indian Navy become a true blue water navy…which can take the fight to any continent in the World..lest another Saddam decides to attack one of his smaller neighbours. I think the U.S is losing that power…and it is upto us to assist the UN peacekeeping efforts. And the best way to do that is to have a powerful Navy.
    Pakistan does not even matter. Pakistan would never win a true war against India…and they know that.

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