INS Vikramaditya: The Giant Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya, one of the largest aircraft carriers in the Indian Ocean, has the potential to carry over 30 aircrafts including a combination of Kamov 28, Kamov-31, MiG-29K/Sea Harrier, ALH-Dhruv, Sea King and Chetak helicopters. With over 1,600 personnel on board, INS Vikramaditya is literally a ‘Floating City’. With a capacity of over 8,000 tonnes of LSHSD, she is capable of operations up to a range of over 7,000 nautical miles or 13000 kms. 7,000 nmi INS Vikramaditya is the Indian Navy’s largest Short Take-Off But Assisted Recovery (STOBAR) aircraft carrier, warship converted from the Russian Navy’s Decommissioned Admiral Gorshkov (Vertical Take Off and Landing – VTOL) missile cruiser carrier. INS Vikramaditya was commissioned into service in November 2013 for the Indian Navy. INS Vikramaditya (lit. 'Valour Comparable to the Sun') [note 1] is a conventionally powered STOBAR aircraft carrier currently serving as the flagship of the Indian Navy. It is a modified Kiev class aircraft cruiser purchased from Russia and entered into service in 2013. [19]
