Indian Navy decommissions aircraft carrier INS Viraat
Posted: 15 Mar 2017 08:30
Both owners got their money's worth from this old girl.
Indian Navy decommissions aircraft carrier INS Viraat
Gabriel Dominguez, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
07 March 2017
INS Viraat is shown here during the IN's International Fleet Review in 2016. The carrier was decommissioned on 6 March. (Indian Navy)
The Indian Navy (IN) decommissioned INS Viraat (ex-HMS Hermes), its 57-year-old 24,300-tonne Centaur-class aircraft carrier, on 6 March.
The naval ensign and commissioning pennant aboard Viraat were lowered for the last time in a ceremony held in Mumbai, ending the carrier's almost 30-year-long service with the IN.
The ceremony was attended by a number of senior IN officers, including IN Chief of Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba. First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff of the UK Royal Navy Admiral Sir Philip Jones and IN Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha (retd), who was the commissioning commanding officer of Viraat, were the guests of honour, according to an IN statement.
Commissioned into the IN in May 1987, the refurbished carrier had been 'de-operationalised' in February 2016 immediately after participating in the International Fleet Review at Visakhapatnam, as Jane's reported on 1 March.
The carrier had been commissioned into the UK Royal Navy in November 1959 as HMS Hermes and deployed to the Falklands War in 1982 before being retired in 1984. It was then sold to the IN, which had it refitted in the United Kingdom.
While in IN service, Viraat underwent four major refits and one minor refurbishment
Indian Navy decommissions aircraft carrier INS Viraat
Gabriel Dominguez, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
07 March 2017
INS Viraat is shown here during the IN's International Fleet Review in 2016. The carrier was decommissioned on 6 March. (Indian Navy)
The Indian Navy (IN) decommissioned INS Viraat (ex-HMS Hermes), its 57-year-old 24,300-tonne Centaur-class aircraft carrier, on 6 March.
The naval ensign and commissioning pennant aboard Viraat were lowered for the last time in a ceremony held in Mumbai, ending the carrier's almost 30-year-long service with the IN.
The ceremony was attended by a number of senior IN officers, including IN Chief of Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba. First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff of the UK Royal Navy Admiral Sir Philip Jones and IN Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha (retd), who was the commissioning commanding officer of Viraat, were the guests of honour, according to an IN statement.
Commissioned into the IN in May 1987, the refurbished carrier had been 'de-operationalised' in February 2016 immediately after participating in the International Fleet Review at Visakhapatnam, as Jane's reported on 1 March.
The carrier had been commissioned into the UK Royal Navy in November 1959 as HMS Hermes and deployed to the Falklands War in 1982 before being retired in 1984. It was then sold to the IN, which had it refitted in the United Kingdom.
While in IN service, Viraat underwent four major refits and one minor refurbishment