page_title: Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov / Design
caption_attribution_description: English: A view of the superstructure and radar equipment aboard the Soviet Kiev class VSTOL aircraft carrier Baku (CVHG-103). Radar installations on the Baku exhibit extensive technological changes from the other three Kiev class carriers. A covered Ka-27 Helix helicopter is parked on deck.
context_page_description: Admiral Gorshkov was an aircraft carrier of the Soviet Navy and the Russian Navy from 1987 to 1996. The ship's original name was Baku when she was commissioned in 1987. Sometimes Admiral Gorshkov is considered a separate class due to her improvements including a phased array radar, extensive electronic warfare installations, and an enlarged command and control suite. She was launched in 1982, and was in service from 1987 to 1991 in the Soviet Navy as Baku, and from 1991 to 1996 in the Russian Navy as Admiral Gorshkov. In 2004, she was sold to India and converted into a STOBAR carrier now named INS Vikramaditya.
context_section_description: The fourth of the Project 1143 aircraft carrying cruisers, Baku had many differences from the rest of the class, trialing technologies to be used on the Admiral Kuznetsov. The most obvious is the massive passive electronically scanned array above the bridge. This was the phased array antenna for the Mars-Passat ("Sky Watch") 3D air search radar, comparable to the US SCANFAR radar. Like SCANFAR, Sky Watch proved troublesome and was probably never operational.
  The biggest change to the weapon systems was the replacement of the SA-N-3 'Goblet' and SA-N-4 'Gecko' SAM launchers with four SA-N-9 'Gauntlet' VLS launchers. This allowed room for another two SS-N-12 'Sandbox' launchers. The two AA guns of the Kievs were replaced with 100 mm guns, and the SUW-N-1 launcher was removed.
  The air wing was the same as the other Kievs, consisting of a squadron of twelve Yak-38 'Forger' V/STOL aircraft (until they were retired in 1992), twelve Ka-27 'Helix-A' ASW/SAR helicopters and two Ka-31 'Helix' AEW helicopters. Flight operations were assisted by the distinctive new Cake Stand TACAN.
  Baku was used for trials of the Yak-141 Freestyle supersonic VTOL fighter.
caption: View of Baku's island superstructure, showing the Mars-Passat (NATO: Sky Watch)[9] phased array radar scanners
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