India's first Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya to start sailing end-January
India's first aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is expected to come out of major refitment at Karwar Naval base end of this month and will be at the center of events when Premier Narendra Modi addresses the Combined Commanders Conference in March.
The battleship is expected to start sailing around January 30 and sea trials will commence soon.
While the Indian Navy expects flight trials on both INS Vikramaditya and its successor INS Vikrant to take place before monsoon, the two operational aircraft carriers will add heft to India's naval footprint in the Indo-Pacific.
A decision on the procurement of 26 maritime strike fighters including eight trainers for INS Vikrant will also be taken soon with French Rafale-M and US F-18 being the two principal contenders.
It is understood that the Indian Navy has already submitted the trial reports of the two fighters to the india's Defence Ministry and based on the performance of the fighters the decision will be taken by the india's government.
The INS Vikramaditya has Russian MiG-29K fighters as main weapon on board, while a landing of maritime LCA is also being considered on INS Vikrant as a test case scenario this year.
Both the aircraft carriers will be based on India's western coast till a jetty to handle the huge war machines is ready at Vishakhapatnam on India's eastern seaboard.
In the meantime, the Indian Navy is considering leasing a jetty at Kattupalli Port in north Chennai to dock the aircraft carriers with another carrier jetty being considered at Campbell Bay in Island territory of Andamans and Nicobar Islands.
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