Know more about the floating airfield of India INS Vikramaditya

New Delhi: INS Vikramaditya, India's floating airfield, will head home this month completely transformed from the vessel it was at the time of its induction into the Russian fleet in the early 1990s. The ship has been renamed in honour of Vikramaditya, a legendary 1st century BC emperor of Ujjain, famed for his wisdom, valour and magnanimity. November 16 will mark the end of one of the longest acquisition processes the country has ever participated in as Russia hands over the former Admiral Gorshkov's spanking new avatar to India at Sevmash Shipyard in Severodvinsk. INS Vikramaditya, packed with sensors and weapons, will join the Indian combat fleet when it's commissioned by defence minister A K Antony at Severodvinsk in Russia. The ship will be operated in a STOBAR configuration, with a 14.3° bow ski-jump ramp and three arrestor wires on the stern of the angled deck. This will allow the operation of MiG-29K and Sea Harrier aircraft. The maximum take-off length for the MiG-29K on Vikramaditya will be between 160–180 metres. Originally built as Baku and commissioned in 1987, the carrier served with the Soviet and Russian Navies before being decommissioned in 1996 as she was too expensive to operate on a post-Cold War budget. A cash-strapped Russia first offered the partly-burnt Gorshkov to India as a gift in 1994, provided the costs for refit and fighters were paid. Protracted negotiations followed, with the refit cost jumping from $400 million to $700 million. In January 2004, a $1.5 billion package deal was eventually inked, with $974 million earmarked for the refit and rest for 16 MiG-29Ks. Gorshkov was then to be delivered by August 2008. But more was to follow, with Russia milking India on the ground the refit work had been grossly underestimated. Amid the bitter wrangling, which injected a distinct chill into bilateral ties, the then Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta even accused Russia of reneging from what was a "fixed price contract". Finally, a fresh deal was inked in 2010, with the refit being pegged at $2.33 billion and another $2 billion for 45 MiG-29Ks.General characteristics Class & type: Modified Kiev classType: Aircraft carrierDisplacement: 45,400 tons of loaded displacementLength: 283.5 metres (930 ft) (overall)Beam: 59.8 metres (196 ft)Draught: 10.2 metres (33 ft)Propulsion: 4 shaft geared steam turbines, 140,000 hpSpeed: 29.3 knots (54.3 km/h)Range: 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km)Endurance: 13,500 nautical miles (25,000 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h)Crew: 1,400 - 2,000 Aircraft carried Total of 30 aircraft including16 Mikoyan MiG-29K 10 helicopters, possible mix of:Ka-28 helicopters ASWKa-31 helicopters AEWHAL Dhruv