Russians sell carrier to India

RUSSIAN CARRIER SALE TO INDIA APPROVED: The Indian parliament has approved the purchase of the former Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, and a force of 28 navalised MiG-29K fighters and six Kamov Ka-31 ASW helicopters.
The 45,000 tonne carrier has been laid up for almost a decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and an agreement was reached between the two parties on January 7 following protracted negotiations to purchase the carrier and its air complement to bolster India’s ageing naval air forces. The Indian parliament has now ratified that deal, and it was due be signed on January 20 during a visit to India by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov.
It is expected that a refit of the Gorshkov will take about four years, at which time it will replace the current INS Viraat. The Viraat is the former HMS Hermes of Falklands War fame which was first commissioned in 1959. India hopes to build its own modern aircraft carrier in the next decade to complement and then eventually replace the Gorshkov.
India will be the first and only operator of the MiG-29K. Russia operates modified Su-33 Flankers on its sole carrier, the Admiral Kusnetsov.

Source: Australian Aviation