Aerospace Diary

AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE  »  AUGUST 9, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS A line-up of MiG-29Ks belonging to Indian Navy squadron 303, which was commissioned in late May for service aboard the INS Vikramaditya. (Photo: Indian Navy) August 9, 2013, 10:30 AM India will launch its 37,500-ton  indigenous aircraft carrier ( IAC -1)  on August 12 at the Cochin Shipyard in Kerala. The ship is scheduled for induction by the end of 2018. Meanwhile, the former Russian aircraft carrier  Admiral Gorshkov , now the  INS Vikramaditya,  conducted final trials in the Barents Sea this week with its squadron of MiG-29K combat jets embarked. It is due to be delivered by year-end, after a delay of more than four years. Designed by the Directorate of Naval Design, the  IAC -1 will be named  INS  Vikrant . It is 260 meters (850 feet) long and 60 meters (200 feet) wide. Powered by four gas turbines, it will be capab...

Defense Aviation Week & Space Technology Mar 01 , 2010 , p. 34 Neelam Mathews Goa, India Russian fighter takes on bigger role in India’s defense Printed headline: MiG-29K Rebound The Indian navy has inducted the first four of 16 Mikoyan MiG-29K multi-role naval fighters and is establishing shore-based training while it pushes Russia to speed up arrival of the aircraft carrier they were bought for. The fighters were purchased in 2004 as part of a $1.5-billion deal that included the Kiev-class Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier. Their Feb. 19 induction ceremony marked the first new aircraft in the navy’s inventory in two decades. Now that India is beginning to receive shipments of MiG-29K naval fighters, flying here with a Sea Harrier in the lead, it is building a shore test facility for them in Goa. Pix Credit: INDIAN NAVY The navy has a pending deal to boost its MiG -29K inventory to 45 with a follow-on order for 29 aircraft. As a result, the new jets have become so hi...

GOA, India — Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony has now confirmed that India will order an additional 29 MiG-29K combat jets for the Indian navy. This follows the chief of naval staff, Adm. Nirmal Verma, who in his first news conference after becoming chief last year told Aviation Week that more MiG-29Ks would be ordered in Phase Two. The news comes as the Indian navy prepares to induct four Mig-29Ks – part of an order for 16 signed in 2004, of which 12 will be single-seat MiG-29Ks and the rest double-seat trainers (MiG-29 KUBs) – by the end of the year. The order for the additional 29 would be a contract option of the 16 MiG-29Ks, bringing the total order to 45. The MiG-29Ks are to operate from the 44,570-ton Admiral Gorshkov carrier,to be renamed Vikramaditya, which got caught in a web of financial uncertainty and political wrangling between India and Russia. Now there is a belief that the deal for the additional aircraft will be signed and the price of the Gorshkov will be decided ...

News India’s Navy Ordering More MiG-29Ks Aerospace Daily & Defense Report Dec 04 , 2009 , p. 12 Neelam Mathews India’s navy has decided to order 29 additional MiG-29K aircraft, Adm. Nirmal Verma says. The Phase Two purchase will come under an options clause of a previous order of 16 of the aircraft that will delivered soon. That would bring the total number of MiG-29Ks ordered to 45. Aerospace Daily spoke to Verma recently during his first news conference after becoming Chief of Naval Staff. The first four of the aircraft from the initial 16 ordered will be delivered by the end of this year, Verma confirmed. Two of the aircraft will be trainers and the other two single seaters. They are for the controversial Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier. Some aircraft parts have already started to arrive, with assembly expected by the end of January 2010. Delivery of the rest will be made by 2011. Virtually all trials have been completed, with the last trial conducted Dec. 2. Firing trials are...