India will induct the Rs. 2,641 crore aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya into its navy on Saturday.
The induction will take place in the presence of visiting Indian Defence Minister A K Antony and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, besides senior government and naval officials of the two nations.
The induction ceremony will take place at the Sevmash Shipyard, Russia's nuclear submarine building centre.
The INS Vikramaditya is a Kiev class aircraft carrier that was commissioned by the Russian Navy in 1987 under the name, Baku. It was later renamed as Admiral Gorshkov and last sailed in 1995 in Russia, before being offered to India.
The 44,500-tonne warship with a length of 284 metres will have MiG-29K naval combat aircraft along with Kamov 31 and Kamov 28 anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance helicopters.
After years of negotiations, an agreement to hand over the ship to India was inked in 2004 after retrofitting.
The aircraft carrier will have more than 1,600 personnel on board, a complement of indigenously-built ALH Dhruv choppers and SeaKing helicopters, besides state-of-the art weaponry, including MiG-29K naval combat aircraft and Kamov 31 and Kamov 28 anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance helicopters.
