The hangar is not adjacent to the launcher bay.

Thanks a lot! May I know where you got those drawings?

From those pics it’s unlikely that removing the Granits will allow for a hangar extension as people have speculated. That area can better be used for additional fuel bunkarage or storage of ammunition for the aircraft.

I think they are making use of the under-deck space…

This is the below deck space where the arrestor gear & restraining claws are installed. The picture is not giving me a correct perspective to estimate the ceiling height.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qh1DL49l5P8/T8SceqgGHxI/AAAAAAAAALo/d_RYGxHSxwo/s1600/arrester+system.JPG
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MFxGhmTIcRY/T8ScyKP3PcI/AAAAAAAAAMg/LBNb7bBmLII/s1600/IMG_7260.JPG

From the below pictures we get an idea about the below deck space between the flight deck and the hanger that probably runs all along and around the hanger (& above it as well). My estimate of its height is anywhere between 6.5 – 7.5 feet. And the mess hall photos does somewhat back up my estimation.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZAtem3s9hKQ/T8SdXxs8lSI/AAAAAAAAAPY/ZeXIZPChJIo/s1600/IMG_7335.JPG
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iDAE0uA7MXU/T8SdbrTZn5I/AAAAAAAAAPo/ziAl1bh_jec/s1600/IMG_7338.JPG

Below is the officers mess room. From the pictures, to me, both seem to be of the same height and is on the same deck level. i.e this mess hall is either directly beneath the flight deck or under the island (more likely).
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ihqpOfLYjdo/T8SczhIc0iI/AAAAAAAAAMo/suBuausV72k/s1600/IMG_7261.JPG
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EnBSOgmN2JU/T8Sc1Y8aabI/AAAAAAAAAMw/Ub9dUizTM-8/s1600/IMG_7262.JPG
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZxesXFX51DI/T8Sc2lu8ZbI/AAAAAAAAAM4/ZejIPlfwneE/s1600/IMG_7263.JPG

too bad Jamwal did not upload the pictures of the supplies being stocked. I’m attaching those pictures below. From the pictures it looks like the storeroom & mess and related area is probably in the front under the flight deck…

In short what i wanted to convey based on my observation and interpretation from photos is that, almost all the available under-deck space (above & around the hanger) has been probably used to its maximum for crew housing, mess facilities, stores etc.

Actually, this pic of the aft lift shows that the hangar is directly below the flight deck. Yes, there is some space between, but that appears to not even be the height of one man, let alone enough for the messrooms and such you suggested.

You have to remember that thanks to the original aviation cruiser design, the Vikramaditya’s hangar only has about half the total length of the ship and is much smaller in terms of surface area than the ship’s deck. The arrester mechanism, messrooms etc below the flight deck are probably in areas beneath the deck that are not occupied by the hangar, which would mean they are placed around, and not above, the hangar.

One thing I’m slightly dissapointed with is how many of the pics of control panels and operator stations feature old-fashioned ‘steam gauge’ dials instead of modern digital displays and equipment.

Does anyone know where these are used? Propulsion control equipment?

Now that INS Vikramaditya has started sea trials and is to be ready to be delivered on 4th December…what are the plans for Kuznetsov?
Will she be docked for upgradation this year itself after INS Vikramaditya vacates Sevmash or are they going to waste time and prolong it?

@TR1
reconstruction might be significant, but it is unlikely to have any structural changes like Admiral Gorshkov as Kuznetsov is a full blown aircraft carrier. The only thing that I see is probably removal of the Granit missile silos. It need to be seen if they go in for Nuclear power plants.

Russian Marine Nuclear plants
http://www.okbm.nnov.ru/english/npp

Everything will depend on funding allocation. In the past many Russian ships and subs have sit at pierside or in dry dock for years intermittent allocation for repair. I have a feeling the Russian Navy will wait till they can finalize a fairly steady flow of funds before moving it in dry dock; else the Kuznetsov may suffer a similar fate as the Kirovs, which have been awaiting refurbishment for over a decade.

I personally believe the refurbishment work will be more practical, and mainly aim to modernize and overhaul the carrier for another 15-20 years of service
as opposed to a major rebuild. The boilers will be replaced and the electronics upgraded, but no nuclear reactors or steam catapults. As for the Granits, it appears they’re directly below the angled flight deck, so if the VLS cells are adjacent to the hangar it may be possible to extend the latter.

Maybe the size is due to the power 😉 ?

See the Varyag and Western carriers of similar or greater size; the TACAN isn’t nearly as large or visible as that big drum.

Do you guys have any idea what that crane in the above pic is for? If I’m not mistaken the Kuznetsov has a similar crane.

Great eye candy! I wonder what all the former naysayers think seeing her finished and afloat.:D

I wonder if that crane near the ski jump is for Search and Rescue purposes or to aid in aircraft movement on deck…

The following is from Prasun Sengupta, so apply usual filters… take it FWIW…

That article is almost certainly a farce. Prasun Sengupta has published similar articles on the ATV program in the past that have proved to be total fakes.

-The basic design will remain the same for S-5. Introducing a whole new design, that too with a completely different propulsion system(double reactors and double shafts, probably meaning double the hull diameter as well) would mean a completely new class of submarine, not just ‘Arihant class S-5’.

-The Russians are offering consultancy for this program, not complete ready-to-use designs. This was clarified by actual govt sources in an interview before. The idea of purchasing a modified Delta IV design from Rubin is as unlikely as Prasun’s own earlier fantasy that the Arihant would be based on the Akulas.

-The VM-4 is a Russian reactor design used in various Soviet-era subs such as the Victor class. The Arihant class most certainly isn’t going to be using imported reactors, nor would such an import escape notice given NSG restrictions and such. This is what first tipped me off about the fakeness of this ‘article’: Prasun has been dreaming about Russian reactors for the ATV since 2001.

AI, BSNL etc fall into same category…..the bottom line is the top guys who run these are destroying it from inside so that private players can march ahead.

I agree about the disinvestment part and that is why I said, for most Indians the magical solution to hide/escape from their own incompetence is to privatize. But why are these top guys not able to think why private entities make it work??? The magical formula is not any magic – its is proper management & accountability to back up the “plan”. The two vital elements work because, for the private “owners”, there is a sense of “bloodline bonding” for their concerns, which is lacking in PSU bosses, who gets their salaries and subsidies on time even without performing.

I’m leery of conspiracy theories about how PSU bosses are trying to sell out to the evil evil private cos and mismanaging their companies on purpose. That is usually pushed by labour unions who want to deflect attention away from factors like overstaffing and labour inefficiency/lack of accountability that could invite future curbs on their job security, salary cuts etc.

See, to make the PSUs perform like their private counterparts you would have to fundamentally change the way they work. Far less bureaucracy, far less political influence and intervention from governments, far less cronyism and hierarchy of seniority, far less job security, freedom to hire and fire, ability to fire for reasons like poor performance etc.

Governments simply can’t imagine taking such harsh measures, nor would the labour unions and their supporting leftist parties permit it. This would be even more unpopular than the recent decision to raise petrol prices. That’s why privatization is the only viable route: Pass on the company, problems and all, to private owners and they’ll make the necessary changes without having to worry about government policies and votebanks. At the least the government(and through them, the taxpayer) doesn’t have to bear the cost of keeping the PSU alive anymore. It’s not a coincidence that many companies that were privatised have been turned around and become more profitable under new ownership(Though there have been a couple of scams as well).

I agree and that was the point I was trying to make…that tax payers money is getting wasted. In short, by class apart, I meant Yantar was able to put their act together and regain part of their lost productivity, where as MDL is still inefficient and lay where it was earlier.

Give MDL some genuine competition and they will be forced to either shape up or beg for bailouts. L & T, Pipavav, Bharti, ABG Shipyards etc have all spent millions on state-of-the-art equipment for building corvettes, frigates etc. and are awaiting orders that Socialist Defence Ministers Antony and Pallam are reluctant to give. It’s all in the government’s hands and whether they have the guts to actually utilize the country’s shipbuilding capacity at the cost of alienating government worker unions and losing yet more votes.