The Russian Navy has only one aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, and its track record is less than stellar. Nevertheless, Russia’s Krylovsky State Research Center reportedly continues to work to develop a nuclear-powered carrier in the mold of the US. Navy’s Nimitz-class ships.
The project, nicknamed “Shtorm,” is designed to be “a nuclear-powered, multi-purpose warship capable of carrying a large air group, with several advanced features designed to enhance Russia’s ability to project power across distant regions, particularly in the Arctic,” according to Army Recognition.
Shtorm Aircraft Carrier Design Details
Reports give some details about what the Russian designers are pursuing.
-The Shtorm will be powered by a Russian-made RITM-200 or RITM-400 nuclear reactor that might have better performance in some respects than the older reactors in U.S. Navy carriers. The Nimitz-class’ four-reactor system allows it to reach speeds above the Shtorm design requirement of 30 knots.
– The Nimitz-class is equipped with a more conventional fuel-powered propulsion system, but the Shtorm aims to use a combination of nuclear and gas turbines, with the expectation of improved operational efficiency.
– It is not clear whether the Shtorm would use Nimitz-like steam catapult launch and recovery systems, or an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System like those seen on the latest-generation Gerald R. Ford-class carriers. The flight deck is expected to feature two launch and recovery runways for continuous aircraft operations.
– The Nimitz-class recovery system is a traditional arresting-gear configuration, and the designers for the Shtorm say the Russian ship’s landing set-up would be similar. However, the flight deck would include facilities designed for a disparate range of aircraft, including the carrier-capable Mikoyan MiG-29K fighter, the stealthy Sukhoi Su-57 , and Kamov Ka-27 helicopters. This diverse complement of aircraft types would facilitate a full range of mission sets, including air defense, antisubmarine warfare, reconnaissance, and attack missions to strike targets both at sea and on land.
Feasibility and Operational Issues
Russia has talked for more than a decade about developing nuclear-powered carriers, but the initiatives have generally never moved forward. There are several reasons, chief among them that the money to develop and build carriers has not been available, especially given the economic effects of the Ukraine war.
Russia’s economy has not collapsed as many had predicted it might by this point, and it is enjoying some modest growth. But as a recent assessment by Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) reads, this growth “is fueled by the nation’s mortgaged future, and the overheated and imbalanced war economy could stall out, as has happened to other warring countries.”
There are three other major issues:
– The Soviet Union’s only carrier-building facility was the Mykolaiv shipyard on the Black Sea, which is located in what is now Ukraine, and owned by it. Given Russia’s invasion, Ukraine is not likely to ever make these yards available to Russia.
The shipyards currently servicing the Admiral Kuznetsov are not fully capable of overhauling this vessel, much less building a larger, more modern, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier from scratch.
– The MiG-29K has passed sea trials and has flown off the Kuznetsov, albeit with some losses due to technical problems. However, this aircraft has always taken off from a ski-ramp flight deck and has never been catapult-launched.
The use of a catapult for a carrier aircraft requires some substantial modifications to the nose gear. The MiG-29K was also not designed with the stresses created by a catapult launch in mind.
– The MiG-29 is a 40-year-old design and is not stealthy, as modern naval aviation requires. The only stealthy fighter in Russia’s inventory is the Su-57, which has only been built in small numbers and has never been developed in a carrier-capable variant.
The single-engine derivative of this design, the Su-75, is still in development and has never even been flown, much less put through any sea trials.
Those 4 Words: This Carrier Won’t Happen
Overall, any Russian plan for a nuclear-powered carrier seems like a far-off dream. Further, one carrier alone is not enough.
Anyone familiar with carrier operations will tell you that to have one carrier on station at all times, you need three ships – one on station, one in port being serviced and repaired from its time on sea duty, and a third one steaming out to relieve the one that is already on station.
Three or more of these ships seems like a very tall order for a Russian military that sends soldiers into battle on donkeys or on crutches, and whose frontline patrols ferry about in makeshift, garage-built Mad Max-like motorbikes.
Russia keeps talking like it is a world power on a scale with its Soviet past, but it is hard to see just where and how that is still true.
Russian Aircraft Carriers: A Photo Essay
Admiral Kuznetsov. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s last aircraft carrier. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Admiral Kuznetsov Aircraft Carrier. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Russian Navy Northern Fleet Press Office/TASS/Russian State Media
Russia’s Admiral Kuznetsov. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Admiral Kuznetsov Aircraft Carrier from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Admiral Kuznetsov. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and is now an Expert on Foreign Military Affairs with the Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego in Warsaw. He has been a consultant to the Pentagon, several NATO governments and the Australian government in the fields of defense technology and weapon systems design. Over the past 30 years he has resided in and reported from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China and Australia.
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