Key Points and Summary: The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, a Soviet-era relic, has spent eight years in dry dock and is unlikely to return to operational service.
-Plagued by accidents, obsolete technology, and poor maintenance, the carrier’s history is riddled with failures, from its mazut-powered engines emitting black smoke to mishaps during flight operations.
-Despite massive refit expenditures, the Kuznetsov remains a symbol of inefficiency, highlighted by untrained carrier pilots and outdated aircraft.
-With some of its crew now fighting in Ukraine, the Kuznetsov faces an uncertain future, likely destined to rust in port as a monument to Russian naval shortcomings.
Russia’s Admiral Kuznetsov: A Carrier Doomed to Never Sail Again?
The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is a perfect icon from the Soviet Union-era, aged, unreliable, and poorly maintained military hardware.
It has been in dry dock for eight years and probably will never sail again. Built during the Soviet era, it is Russia’s lone aircraft carrier and has been nothing short of a disaster.
The ship was in such bad shape that the Kremlin transferred some of the sailors assigned to the Kuznetsov to form a mechanized infantry battalion to fight on the ground in Ukraine.
It is currently in Murmansk harbor and will probably stay there until someone with leadership skills and common sense scraps it. In 1991, an overworked and poorly maintained Kuznetsov left Murmansk harbor bound for the Syrian coast. US naval forces of the 6th Fleet shadowed her, not because of her combat worthiness, but because the Americans feared “she might sink.”
History of the Admiral Kuznetsov
Since Day 1, the carrier has been a harbinger of poor design, engineering, training, lousy equipment, and bad luck.
The Kuznetsov is a Cold War relic — and not a particularly good one. It was launched in 1985 and was then known as the Riga. It was commissioned into the fleet in 1991. The Soviets wanted to build carriers to project power worldwide, like the United States.
However, the US had more than 50 years of experience. The Russians were starting from scratch, building aircraft carriers, and it showed.
The ship began as the Riga, the Leonid Brezhnev, the Tbilisi followed, and the Kuznetsov. Since its commissioning, it has only gone on seven patrols. And many of those deployments were typical of what the ship has suffered. Mainly fires and fuel spills.
A Smoking Heap By Using Mazut
The Admiral Kuznetsov doesn’t rely on nuclear power for the engines. But rather a sticky, tar-like substance called mazut. During the Cold War, this fuel was popular due to its thick viscosity.
While older military and commercial vessels relied on mazut in the past, its use was about finished by the 1970s. The substance’s numerous shortcomings have led manufacturers to use nuclear or gas turbine propulsion systems instead. But not the Kuznetsov.
Admiral Kuznetsov. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The fuel spews thick black smoke, making the carrier easy to find in the ocean and hindering flight operations. Before it ever set sail, the Kuznetsov was obsolete.
Why don’t the Russians put large gas turbines or nuclear reactors in the vessel? The Soviet Union and now Russia can’t produce large naval engines. Those have always been made in Ukraine. Now, with the war still raging, the Russians aren’t going to get Ukraine to sell them anything, let alone a carrier engine.
The Russian navy puts two tugboats out with the Kuznetsov in the event the ship broke down, which it did in 2012 and had to be towed back to Syria. When the boilers went down, which was often, the ship could only make four knots. That is some power projection.
Carrier Pilots, Flight Operations Crews Are Untrained
Unlike the US carriers, which use a steam-powered catapult to launch aircraft off the flight deck, the Russians used a bow ski ramp. This system is simpler than the steam catapults used on many Western carriers. While this design limits take-off speed, it provides pilots with a smoother, less stressful launch.
Aircraft accelerate towards and lift off the deck at lower speeds, with their afterburners engaged.
They only used the ramp twice during the war in Syria in 2016-2017. Both times, the aircraft crashed when landing when the faulty arresting wires gave way. And the Kuznetsov only carries about 30 fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
She carries about 18 outmoded Su-33 aircraft, six MiG-29 K multirole fighters, and a mix of Ka-27 and Ka-31 helicopters, which are used for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), search and rescue (SAR) and early warning operations.
Admiral Kuznetsov. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The carrier pilots haven’t had any carrier takeoffs or landings since the debacle in Syria eight years ago. They are not even close to being combat-ready, even if the carrier is to be relaunched. And one must wonder how many of those pilots (if any) are still flying.
Major Refit, Accidents, and Lots of Money Wasted on Admiral Kuznetsov
The ship has been as accident-prone as they come. A welding accident started a fire that killed two workers and injured many more. A PD-50 dry dock sank that was holding the ship, and a crane fell, gashing a massive hole in the flight deck. A second fire set the timeline for the carrier to rejoin the Navy back even further.
Moscow has spent a fortune constantly overhauling a ship that can never compete with US aircraft carriers at sea.
However, Putin wants the prestige of having a mobile airfield to project power worldwide. The Russian Navy needs some good news after the disasters in the Black Sea with the sinking of the Black Sea Fleet flagship, the Moskva, and the landing ship Caesar Kunikov. It should have been scrapped years ago.
With much of their crew now cannon fodder in Ukraine operating as infantry, it doesn’t sound like the Admiral Kuznetsov will sail in 2025 or, most likely, ever again.
And even if she did, she’d be sunk in very short order, going against any Western Navy. Or the West could just watch her sink on her own.
A starboard quarter view of the Russian Navy Northern Fleet aircraft carrier ADMIRAL FLOTA SOVETSKOGO SOYUZA KUSNETSOV exercising at sea.
About the Author
Steve Balestrieri is a 19FortyFive National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing for 19FortyFive, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in other military publications.
