Russian aircraft carrier-The Admiral Kuznetsov
Posted on 01/31/2008 7:04:42 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Nice cruise - pity about the propaganda
16:39 | 30/ 01/ 2008
MOSCOW. (Nikita Petrov for RIA Novosti) - A combined naval strike group from the Northern and Black Sea fleets, headed by Russia's only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, is currently completing exercises in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
The Black Sea Fleet's flagship, the missile cruiser Moskva commanded by Capt. Igor Smolyak, will shortly set a course for its home base - Sevastopol. But first it will call at Portugal's capital Lisbon, where the crew will take a well-earned rest and tour the city, before brief joint tactical maneuvers in the Bay of Biscay with a Portuguese ship.
The grand finale of the Atlantic exercise will be a coordinated maneuver between the naval strike group and long-range aviation. In the last days of January and early days of February more than 40 Russian aircraft will converge over the ocean.
They will include Tu-160 (Blackjack) and Tu-95MS strategic missile aircraft, Tu-22M3 long-range bombers, MiG-31 (Foxhound) and Su-33 fighters, Il-78 (Midas) refuellers, and A-50 early warning aircraft. The aircraft will practice reconnaissance, attacks on a dummy enemy with missiles and bombs, and aerial combat.
The Admiral Kuznetsov, with the anti-submarine ships Admiral Chabanenko and Admiral Levchenko, and the supply ships Sergei Osipov and Ivan Bubnov, will then head towards Severomorsk, the base of the Northern Fleet.
The Russian vessels will again skirt Europe's western coast, escorted by planes of Russia's long-range aviation squadrons, and ships and aircraft from NATO countries.
In early February, the strike group will return home. They will have covered some 12,000 nautical miles.
The Russian navy has acquitted itself well on this cruise, putting on a performance worthy of its country and the St. Andrew's Flag. All types of missile and artillery weapons were fired.
The maneuvers included live firing of all the full armory of missile and artillery systems, including the Bazalt anti-ship attack system; the Fort medium-range system; the Osa-M close range surface-to-air system; as well as AK-130 130mm artillery and six-barrelled AK-630M 30 mm cannons.
The missiles and shells successfully hit their targets - as was extensively reported on Russian TV.
Fighter pilots and helicopter crews from the Admiral Kuznetsov and the Admiral Chabanenko confirmed the hits. American and German sailors who watched the exercise can also vouch for the results.
This was a performance by the sailors and pilots to be proud of. If only the same could be said for the TV crews.
Television reports waxed lyrical about "the revival of the Russian navy," and were liberally peppered with phrases like "our ships have nearly ousted the 6th U.S. Fleet from the Mediterranean" and "the St. Andrew's Flag is back in the ocean expanses."
Wishful thinking was always the undeclared principle of Soviet party propaganda. And somehow this principle has grown and expanded on television, especially with regard to the army and navy.
It is not very gentlemanly to compare our only, gas turbine propelled, aircraft carrier accompanied by three warships, with the U.S. 6th Fleet. Neither in make-up, nor in combat capability.
The Kuznetsov, for example, has about 50 aircraft. The nine nuclear-powered Nimitz-class carriers of the United States navy each carry 80. They also carry four E-2C early warning aircraft, which can spot targets hundreds of kilometers from the ship. Our ship has no such planes. There is no need to continue.
The revival of the navy is also too early to discuss.
The Admiral Kuznetsov was laid down at Nikolayev (now in Ukraine) in 1982 and entered service in the 1990s. Russia has no other aircraft carriers either sailing or under construction. No production facilities yet exist for their production.
The Admiral Levchenko was built in 1988. Its cousin Admiral Chabanenko was laid down in 1990 and commissioned in 1999, while the Moskva was completed in 1983. Its first name was Slava.
Russia does not yet build new cruisers or Chabanenko-class anti-submarine destroyers. It is now looking forward to a new class of ships - frigates. How they will fare is a big question. So it is too soon to lavish praise on the navy.
Especially since its Main Command plans to move from Moscow to the Admiralty building in St. Petersburg, while the Institute of Naval Engineering, which is currently occupies the building, is to be relocated to Pushkin, a suburb of St. Petersburg.
All this will call for huge effort and expense. The top brass will probably have no time left to deal with the construction of new cruisers, frigates or corvettes. Let alone to revive the navy.
It cannot be ruled out that the television campaign about the "revival of the Russian navy," has been deliberate: to turn public attention away from the big scandal over the move to St. Petersburg, and, above all, to divert the attention of naval veterans, who are protesting against the move and have even sent an open letter to President Putin.
Advertising campaigns always have a hidden agenda.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
Russian aircraft carrier-The Admiral Kuznetsov
Big target to a submarine.
Ski ramp flight decks seem to be all the rage on European carriers. I wonder if that’s done to cut costs, instead of building a longer ship?
Looks like it has rust on its side...
“Looks like it has rust on its side...”
Russia needs all the allies it can get.
That depnds on the the current state of Russky ASW capabilities. In theory, any surface ship is a target for a sub; the question is what is the state of Russian ASW.
Let’s see how it matches up to Red China’s carrier.
Oh that’s right. They don’t have a carrier unless you want to count the one they are using as a casino.
The French don’t use it.
There is a ton of pics of the carrier on this site. Looks like they were taken by a sailor on a passing cargo ship (Spanish site)
http://maquetas.mforos.com/353336/6654206-sorpresita-en-el-estrecho/
All the aircraft and the ship still have red stars on them???
Not quite as big as all the US super carriers though
I was in the submarine force. Submarines rule the sea. The age of the carrier is over.
As I recall, originallythe ski-jumps were added after the ships were already built. Basically, they make for more efficiency in carrier operations by enabling planes to be loaded with more ordnance.
ASW?
Important targets.
The ski-ramp does wonders for fuel/payload, apparently. However I believe it ties the carrier to use only by vectored thrust aircraft.
Only two types of vessels at sea - submarines, and TARGETS! :)
I thought it was attack subs that kept Carrier battle groups safe from other subs? No?
Regards
Or I should say the ramp doesn’t do this, but the short length of a lot of smaller carriers e.g. Indian, UK ones - does. Don’t know really.
Yup, I think Russian Air and Naval forces still use the Red Star, they just also put the Russian Red, White and Blue flag. The star remains, the hammer and sickle are gone.
The De Gaulle can support catapaults. If the article is correct and it’s gas turbine then the Kuznetsov can’t.
Umm,nope.Most aircraft launched from a ski-jump cannot take off at maximum load,unless their max-weight is already low(like the Harrier),which has paltry endurance.So that reduces the range/payload you talk about.
Unlike a catapult launched aircraft.
Yea, it’s like an aircraft carrier with training wheels...
A Harrier can carry upto a ton of extra payload if launched via a ski-jump,which is why the Brits went ahead with that modification.
All that I’ve read about the Kuznetsov says that it has steam turbines.First time,Im reading about gas turbines.
Sometimes, when a sub fires all hell breaks loose. A sub can be in the path of a carrier group going 4 knots and no one knows it is there. You fire a shot and the crap flys from every submarine in the area.
Real carriers aren't handicap accessible.
Click on pic for past Navair pings.
Post or FReepmail me if you wish to be enlisted in or discharged from the Navair Pinglist.
This is a medium to low volume pinglist.
sia needs all the allies it can get.
====================
Oh,brother! What a card...a regular joker! 
How are you Rb? Good to see you.
One thought on another possibility of the ski ramp: Perhaps it allows for launching of aircraft, in a safer manner, in the event of high waves?
We sank the French Carrier four times during war games in the Med. It really pissed them off. We had fun.
Good to see you too, Michael. Another poster PM’d me that the ramp is an alternative for not having a catapult launch system.
No, the sole purpose of the ski jump is to allow V/STOL aircraft to get airborne with a shorter takeoff run. It replaces the catapault.
conventional or SSN ?
ahh stupid question - you guys just run nuclear... forget it
Neat pics.....
Is it just me, or is that flight deck much closer to the waterline than our carriers?
USS Glenard P. Lipscomb
It’s more a poor man’s alternative.
“Sometimes, when a sub fires all hell breaks loose. A sub can be in the path of a carrier group going 4 knots and no one knows it is there. You fire a shot and the crap flys from every submarine in the area.”
I presume you are talking about attack simulations.
Sure looks like it, doesn’t it
Interesting boat... and was it anything like Clancy described it - playing cat and mouse with the russian boomers ?
Simulation often tells you what will happen in real life.
Even ours' have rust on their sides after they've been to sea for a while. I got to see the Eisenhower from helicopter after we'd been to sea for 5 months of an 8 month cruise. The boat was orange! We later pulled in to Jebal Ali for a port call and they had contractors paint the entire exterior in three days. Quite impressive.
The grand finale of the Atlantic exercise will be a coordinated maneuver between the naval strike group and long-range aviation. In the last days of January and early days of February more than 40 Russian aircraft will converge over the ocean.
Hopefully they will collide.
Or drop out of the sky due to being old.
You be bad! Funny.
If you’re talking about the brownish area ahead of the hull number, that’s its name painted on the side.
Tad inconsistent, but hey...
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