Source : Navy Recognition
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| Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya firing Barak 1 surface to air missile (Picture source: Defence Decode) |
According to a tweet published by Defence Decode on August 31, 2022, the Indian navy’s aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya has successfully launched Barak 1 surface-to-air missile (SAM).
INS Vikramaditya is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier and the flagship of the Indian Navy which entered into service in 2013. Originally built as Baku and commissioned in 1987, the carrier served with the Soviet Navy and later with the Russian Navy (as Admiral Gorshkov) before being decommissioned in 1996.
Indian navy's aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya test firing Barak 1 surface-to-air missile (SAM) pic.twitter.com/PL3pNXE4oB
— Defence Decode® (@DefenceDecode) August 31, 2022
The carrier was invested by India on 20 January 2004 after years of negotiations at a final arms sales price of $2.35 billion. The transformed ship successfully completed her sea trials in July 2013 and first STOBAR aviation trials in September 2013.
As completed, Vikramaditya has a larger full load displacement than when the ship was originally launched in 1982 as Baku. 1,750 out of 2,500 compartments of the ship were re-fabricated, and extensive re-cabling was done to support new radars and sensors.
The elevators were upgraded, and two restraining stands were fitted, allowing combat aircraft to reach full power before making a ski jump-assisted short take-off.
Three arresting gears were fitted on the aft part of the angled deck, and navigation and carrier-landing aids were added to support fixed-wing “short take-off but arrested recovery” (STOBAR) operations.
