Admiral Kuznetsov is Russia’s one and only aircraft carrier – and it might be their last.
The warship has a lot of problems – that much is clear.
Will she ever sail again? We asked a top expert to explain the vessels issues:
Admiral Kuznetsov: Explained
Russia’s apparent inability to bring its sole aircraft carrier back to active service is merely one of many challenges, complexities, and problems associated with the Admiral Kuznetsov carrier.
Apart from its troubled history including an onboard fire and massive fuel spill, the ship also suffers from several clear performance deficits.
Aircraft Carrier Performance
For instance, the Russian Navy’s only aircraft carrier does not launch fighters with steam catapults but instead relies upon a bow ramp. This “forces reductions in the planes’ takeoff weight and patrol time,” according to a 2013 report from War is Boring.
What this means simply is that to whatever limited extent the carrier can operate, its performance would appear to be marginal at best.
A ramp launch not only limits sortie rate but, as described in the article, requires that fighters be launched with less fuel and less ordnance, something which greatly impedes mission functionality.
Added to this, the carrier brings little if any ability for the already floundering Russian Navy to project power globally in any kind of impactful way.
It may not be clear how many aircraft the Admiral Kuznetsov can travel with, yet its ability to launch powerful bombing campaigns appears marginal or even non-existent.
Even if Russia’s Naval ambitions were more regional in nature, meaning largely restricted to the Black Sea and an ability to intimidate NATO allies along its border such as Bulgaria and Romania, its sole carrier would seem ill-equipped to exact any kind of substantial combat impact.
Previous plans for the carrier indicate that Russian military leaders have been hoping the Kuznetsov will serve all the way to 2050 or beyond, yet that ambition appears to be clearly at odds with reality and available facts on the ship.
There is also the question as to whether the ship will even return at all, as numerous reports on the carrier such as one from Pravda, say the ship’s metal structures and third deck are almost entirely corroded.
“Ship repairmen warned the military that the condition of Admiral Kuznetsov does not allow it to be deployed due to the high probability that it would sink or capsize. During the examination, it was revealed that the metal structures below the third deck of the ship were significantly corroded. The holds are filled with muddy water, which makes it impossible to examine the ship in detail from the inside,” the Pravda paper states.
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Kris Osborn is the Military Affairs Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University
