Russia Handed Over INS Vikramaditya to India

Russia handed over to India its aircraft carrier renamed INS Vikramaditya on Saturday after a much-delayed refit and cost escalations that led to disagreements between Moscow and New Delhi.
The Indian Navy finally received its modified carrier – formerly known in Russian as Admiral Gorshkov − at the Sevmash shipyard in the northern town of Severodvinsk.
The ship was first scheduled to be delivered in 2008, but the deadline was repeatedly postponed over the period.
The Vikramaditya will be escorted to India by a group of warships to secure its safe sail to its base in base in the Arabian Sea through a classified route because it does not have any air defense systems on board.
The warship is expected to reach India by February 2014.
defense-studies