On September 17, 2012, the Indian Navy revealed the Admiral Gorshkov (still to be named INS Vikramaditya) had failed its sea trials. The refitted aircraft carrier could not reach "full speed" due to malfunctioning boilers. "Some of the 44,500-ton warship's eight boilers malfunctioned during the strenuous full-steam trials". The Indian Navy had planned on commissioning the Vikramaditya on December 4, 2012, "Navy Day". Because of the failed sea trials, the warship must undergo repairs and modifications that will delay its commissioning for about 11 months, until October 2013
Date: May 3rd, 2014 8:07 PM Author: Odious house striped hyena
India's fault. They insisted on using non-asbestos insulation when the design called for asbestos. Russkies warned them it would limit top speed. They later replaced the boiler insulation with asbestos and problem solved.
Date: May 10th, 2014 6:16 PM Author: Odious house striped hyena
Gorshkov has been running fine since the insulation issue was resolved. It's a fine ship. Putin is currently building 2 new shipyards for carrier construction. By 2020 a new Russian carrier will be in construction. By 2025 2-3 new battle groups will be in the water. The Soviet fleet lives and will always live. People are already calling the new design the Vladimir Putin Class.