India received 4 MiG-29K fighter aircraft from Russia

The Indian Navy received 4 MiG-29K/KUB shipborne fighter aircraft from the Russian aircraft maker MiG to bring its total inventory of such aircraft to 20. These aircraft were delivered as part of a $1.5 billion contract for 29 MiG-29K/KUB, signed in 2010 between Russia and India.

A previous contract signed in 2004 for the delivery of 12 single-seat MiG-29K and 4 two-seat MiG-29KUB was completed in 2011. The contracts for MiG-29 aircraft also include:

• pilot training
• aircraft maintenance
• delivery of flight simulators
• interactive ground and sea-based training systems.

The MiG-29K/KUB aircraft are intended for the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, the former Admiral Gorshkov. However due to delays, the MiG-29 squadron, the Black Panthers, will be based at an airfield in Goa. The INS Vikramaditya is due for delivery in 2013 after problems encountered with its boilers have been rectified.

The MiG-29K is a naval variant of the original land-based MiG-29 with the addition of:

• folding wings 
• an arrester tail-hook
• strengthened airframe
• multirole capability
• compatibility with a wide variety of air-to-air and air-to-surface weaponry

http://en.rian.ru/military_news/20121229/178478220/Russia_Delivers_Four_MiG-29K_Fighters.html

By Doomych (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons