Indian Navy to retire carrier Viraat (Hermes) in 2016
Posted: 18 Feb 2015 17:08
Indian Navy to retire carrier Viraat in 2016
India's ex-Hermes carrier is to retire in early 2016, following the International Fleet Review in Vishkhapatnam
The Indian Navy will then only operate a single carrier, the former-Russian carrier INS Vikramaditya , until the 40,000-ton indigenous build INS Vikrant arrives in 2018
The Indian Navy will retire INS Viraat , its 56-year old 24,000-tonne ex- Hermes Centaur-class aircraft carrier, in early 2016, official sources said.
The sources added that the carrier's escalating maintenance costs and the depletion of its Sea Harrier air arm - now down to just 10 aircraft - had prompted the navy's decision to de-commission Viraat .
The carrier will come out of service after the International Fleet Review in Vishkhapatnam in February 2016.
India's ex-Hermes carrier is to retire in early 2016, following the International Fleet Review in Vishkhapatnam
The Indian Navy will then only operate a single carrier, the former-Russian carrier INS Vikramaditya , until the 40,000-ton indigenous build INS Vikrant arrives in 2018
The Indian Navy will retire INS Viraat , its 56-year old 24,000-tonne ex- Hermes Centaur-class aircraft carrier, in early 2016, official sources said.
The sources added that the carrier's escalating maintenance costs and the depletion of its Sea Harrier air arm - now down to just 10 aircraft - had prompted the navy's decision to de-commission Viraat .
The carrier will come out of service after the International Fleet Review in Vishkhapatnam in February 2016.