Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov

The Admiral Gorshkov was an aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy. Originally named Baku, she was the fourth of the Type 1143 aircraft carrying cruisers, known as the Kiev class. The ship was laid down in 1978, launched in 1982 and commissioned in 1987. The Baku was built to a modified design to the other three Kiev class vessels in terms of her armament; however, she carried an identical air wing, consisting of a squadron of twelve Yak-38 'Forger' V/STOL aircraft, twelve Ka-27 'Helix-A' ASW/SAR helicopters and two Ka-31 'Helix' AEW helicopters. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the ship was renamed Admiral Gorshkov. In 1994, following a boiler room explosion, the ship was docked for a year of repairs. Although she returned to service in 1995, she was finally withdrawn in 1996 and offered for sale. Russia and India came to an agreement over the sale of the ship, which they had been haggling over for many years, in 2004, following which the ship will be extensively refitted in order to replace the existing Indian aircraft carrier INS Viraat. This refit will involve stripping all of the weaponry from the ship's foredeck, allowing her to operate the Mig-29 'Fulcrum' aircraft that have been purchased. The ship will be operated in a STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Assisted Recovery) configuration, with a 14 degree ski-jump on the bow and three arrestor wires on the stern. It is estimated that the ship will enter service in the Indian Navy in 2008.