Posted on 10/25/2016 7:03:28 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
During the Cold War, Russias navy prioritized moving huge numbers of cruise missiles around the globe, threatening the power-projection capabilities of American Carrier Battle Groups. In the 1950s and 1960s, aircraft carriers were seen by Soviet military elites as imperialist tools of aggression, and any initiative by the USSR to build one of their own was shot down by the powers that be. Eventually this began to change, but only gradually.
The Kiev class that was launched in the 1970s was a puzzling cross-breed compromise between a heavy missile cruiser and a helicopter and VTOL (Yak-38) tactical jet carrier. Eventually Russian ship designers were allowed to develop the Soviet Unions first dedicated fixed-wing aircraft carrier out of the Kiev class design, but it couldnt stray too far from its predecessors missile carrying philosophy. The ship that resulted was something unlike anything contrived in the westa fixed-wing aircraft carrier that also packed a massive punch of its own, regardless of whether its air wing was deployed on its deck or not. This would ship would eventually be known as the Kuznetsov class, with the first example being launched in the early 1980s.
DOD
A Kiev class heavy aviation cruiser.
People always seem to be a little confused by Admiral Kuznetsovs unique designation as a heavy aircraft-carrying missile cruiser instead of as a conventional aircraft carrier. At first glance, the ship does seem to pack a lot more missile punch than an American supercarrier, and way more than an American Midway class carrier of the 1980s, which is of similar size and displacement.
The Admiral Kuznetsov is equipped with no less than 24 rotary-style vertical launch systems, with eight missile cells each. These fire the SA-N-9 "Gauntlet" point air defense missile, and a whopping 192 of these missiles are carried in all. In addition, the ship bristles with a virtual wall off close-in weapon systems (CIWS), including six AK-630 cannons and no less than eight (notoriously formidable) Kashtan missile/cannon CIWS systems. The ship even sports its own anti-submarine defenses with a pair of UDAV-1 anti-submarine/anti-torpedo rocket systems. Although the UDAV-1 system is a less complex concept, American carriers are just beginning to field a capable defense against torpedoes today.
All this armament is impressive, but it is defensive in nature. Admiral Kuznetsovs real offensive punch comes from 12 massive SS-N-19 Shipwreck/P-700 Granit supersonic anti-ship missiles. Each of these beasts weighs in at 15,500 pounds about the same as a combat configured F-5E Tiger II fighter. They can be armed with a 1,600-lb conventional warhead, a fuel-air explosive warhead or a nuclear warhead.
A rare photo of a P-700 Granit missile. Its air intake is covered here, when uncovered it resembles the one found on a MiG-21.
These missiles were designed in the late 1970s, and intended to allow Russias future capital ships to be able to reliably strike American carrier battle groups from outside the range of their surface-based weapon systems. In combat, the missiles would be launched in large salvos, then scream toward their targets as fast as mach 2.5 at altitude, or about mach 1.5 while low over the water.
The missiles were very advanced for their time, integrating networking and automated cooperative swarm tactics. They were launched at a target (or targets) usually based on third party data, such as coordinates derived by a scout ship, a maritime patrol aircraft, or even a submarine. They would fly toward their targets from over 350 miles away on inertial navigation, then as they approached the suspected target area, one missile out of the swarm would pop up to higher altitude to use its own active radar and anti-radiation sensors to obtain updated targeting info. It would then classify these targets and assign them to missiles in the swarm below.
If the pop-up missile were destroyed another one would automatically take its place. The missiles could also accept updates from third party sources as well and supposedly had connectivity to the now defunct Soviet-era EORSAT satellite network. Once in the terminal attack phase of their flight, each surviving missile would acquire its own target, and prosecute that target, blazing over the horizon at supersonic speeds and giving (presumably) American close-in weapon systems little time to react.
There is no doubt, the P-700 was born to be a high-end carrier killer. Their speed and numbers would overwhelm a Carrier Battle Groups defenses, and their individual warheads were large enough to register a kill even on Americas largest surface combatants. The Soviet Navys aspirations were clear, with dozen of missiles available on Kirov class battlecruisers, Oscar class nuclear guided missile submarines, and the carriers that would eventually be known as the Kuznetsov class, Soviet surface action groups could have filled the air with these deadly missiles.
Even today, with only one Kirov class (soon to be two) battlecruiser, five Oscar class submarines and one Kuznetsov class carrier in service, when paired together or even operating alone, they represent a formidable threat. Thankfully American CIWS capabilities, the AEGIS combat system deployed aboard US Navy cruisers and destroyers, and the electronic warfare capabilities on all of these ships, as well as the passage of time time, has likely blunted the danger posed by these missiles to some degree.
The thing that is most confusing about the Kuznetsovs hard-hitting anti-ship missile arsenal is that it seems to be non-existent when you examine the ship. These are big missiles their launch tubes take up a large portion of the massive nuclear-powered Kirov class battlecruisers bow. No such structures are apparent on the Kuznetsov, which looks like, well, just an aircraft carrier.
But look closer and youll see signs that the ships 12 P-700s are sitting right below the surface of the forward flight deck. Two parallel rows of eight vertical launch tubes are flush mounted, and covered with the same non-skid surfaces as the rest of the ships flight deck. The launch cells disappear as soon as their hatches are closed.
It seems like an interesting design choice to have 30 ton fighters, armed and full of fuel, thundering their way over some of the most powerful anti-ship missiles ever devised, but Soviet designers had their goals to achieve, and they made it work. It is hard not imagine the vigorous debate over shoehorning these missiles into the USSRs only true fixed-wing carrier design, as the space could have been used for aviation related needs. But one way or another the Kuznetsov ended up with this funky feature, one which it has lugged around long after the Soviet Union was no more.
Over the last decade there has been talk about having P-700 Granit missile capability stripped from Admiral Kuznetsov. The area below deck where the missile farm is located would be opened up for more hangar space, a feature the ship has always been short on. This was supposed to happen during a major refit that would see the ship redeployed sometime in the 2017-2018 timeframe. It seems the overhaul never happened, and instead a light refit was executed, as the ship was prepared to sail for the Syrian coast once again in late 2016. This time it would be packing new and upgraded aircraft that would actually fly combat missions over the embattled country.
Whether the P-700 missile tubes are still active and filled with live rounds is unknown. Its possible, as the ship is slated to go through a much deeper refit when it returns from its Syrian deployment. On its return home, this capability will most likely be removed, once and for all, with new hangar space making room for the Kuznetsovs modernized air wing that will increasingly be made up of MiG-29KR strike fighters and KA-52K attack helicopters.
Other improvements slated for the ship during its deep refit are rumored to include new gas turbines, replacing the dated boiler system that has plagued the ships reliability for years. New missile defense systems, including medium-range surface-to-air missiles and a navalized version of the Pantsir point defense system would be added. New communications systems and sensors would also replace long-obsolete ones.
Russias lone carrier has had a colorful past to say the least. It has had three names, Riga, Leonid Brezhnev and Tbilisi before becoming the Admiral Kuznetsov. Kuznetsovs sister ship, the Varyag, is now Chinas first carrier, the Liaoning. How it got to China is a whole saga unto itself.
Admiral Kuznetsov sat for years before being reactivated, and the way the Russians supposedly moved her from the Black Sea to the Severomorsk following the fall of the Soviet Union is interesting to say the least. One Russian wesbite recounts a legend that may be more fiction than fact, but it is entertaining nonetheless:
Following the collapse of the USSR, the Admiral Kuznetsov could have been inherited by Ukraine, which claimed ownership of it. In 1991, the ship, then assigned to the Northern Fleet, underwent tests with the Black Sea Fleet in Feodosia, leaving it in Ukrainian territory. However, the first deputy commander of the Northern Fleet flew to Ukraine at once and stepped in. The vice admiral gave the order to raise the anchor immediately and head for Severodvinsk. With its navigation lights off, the ship left its harbor and spent more than three weeks sailing to its permanent base without any aircraft and without two thirds of its crew, who were off-duty at the time. Having saved the aircraft carrier, the vice admiral rightly judged that the sailors would catch us by train, and that the aircraft remaining at the onshore airbase would get there by themselves.
Sadly, in recent years the ship has been more associated with tragedy than triumph, especially in the western press. Its drags around a thick black smoke trail that makes the ship seem like an antique propaganda tool more than a fighting ship. On previous deployments the carrier has suffered chronic mechanical failures, and deadly mishaps. An ocean-going tug follows the ship around as a precaution not exactly the sign of a first rate naval vessel. Its fixed-wing fighter aircraft, the Su-33, is visually impressive, but not exactly cutting edge even when it entered service decades ago. Up until a recent light upgrade, its combat capabilities were largely discounted.
But things seem to be looking up for Russias lonely carrier. New aircraft and investments in the ship appear to be materializing, albeit slowly. Russia plans on keeping Admiral Kuznetsov in service for at least another decade, but it will likely soldier on far past then. In the meantime, the world will be watching the ship and its upgraded contingent of aircraft, and what they will be doing off the shores of Syria.
Currently, a multi-national carrier group, with the French nuclear-powered carrier Charles De Gaulle at it center, is also prowling the eastern Mediterranean. Once the Kuznetsov and the largest Russian surface action group assembled since the end of the Cold War arrive on station, the eastern Med will become a crowded patch of sea and sky. That much traffic could make things interesting to say the least.
As of publishing this piece, Admiral Kuznetsov and its escorts are steaming past Portugal and approaching the Strait of Gibraltar. We will keep you updated as the deployment unfolds.
I believe into the Seventies, that the Soviets were doing underway refueling from bow to stern with the oilers.
I found that amazing.
And the flight deck missile launcher is a cool idea. But I would expect the Japanese Navy to have some sage advice about how keeping 20,000 pounds of explosives and god only knows how much rocket fuel 3 feet below a flight deck might be a bad idea.
Very solid points. I see these stories here all the time about how US Carriers are hopelessly vulnerable to the new “weapon X’.
I think in real life, attacking a US Carrier battlegroup is very dicey business. Very few are up to the task. They will get hurt very bad, and there are not good odds of success for them.
I know what what we have and I know what we can do and what we can’t. You don’t see what you can’t and its not your fault. Internet research is nice but it is only 30% accurate Wikipedia does a nice descriptive job but does have lots of inaccuracies. Actual naval combat scenarios are not developed using Wikipedia or other public sources. The Russians have also been understating and hiding its strength for awhile. It is larger than listed in the online resources and is growing as they are rapidly taking things out of the reserve fleet and restoring them to service. They are getting ready for war.
Study this battle and learn:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tsushima
There are lots of parallels of what can happen to us today.
Thank you for the link.
I’m well acquainted with the Battle of Tsushima. I lived in Japan for several years, and has spent much of my adult life learning Naval History. I am not an expert, but can speak broadly, competently and conversationally about naval matters with someone who is.
There are a lot of parallels to nearly anything, it is one thing humans are very good at.
What I know about this isn’t solely from the Internet, it is from a life of accumulated study, of paying attention to these things long before the Internet came around, and having practical experience with a portion of it.
So sure, I don’t know about all the top-super-secret stuff the Russians are building with funds from some store of money somewhere, or rusting ships they are taking out of some god-forsaken rusting anchorage somewhere and restoring to modern capability. I also don’t know what our military has that they aren’t talking about either.
I just don’t buy it. What I do buy is a lot of people who have a hankering to see the Soviet Union rise again. They long for those “good old days” while forgetting that behind all that was the fixings of “The Gulag Archipelago”. But I do see that as a real danger.
Believe what you will. I know reality.
“I am not an expert, but can speak broadly, competently and conversationally about naval matters with someone who is.”
You sure do and military technology and history has also been my hobby too since I have been 9 years old. I have a awesome library of books on various subjects. But there is huge difference between book knowledge and reality that will change your perspective. It would shock you to find out how book knowledge only barely scratches the surface.
I suspect that getting hit with a 1,600-lb warhead at mach 2.5 (let alone a swarm of them) would sink pretty much anything, except maybe Iowa class battleships that were made to take hits from other battleships. IIRC those missiles were a major reason Reagan reactivated the old battleships.
Great article for a lay person like me. Keep posting Sukhoi-30mki.
BTTT, thanks
Russia is as likely to shoot their own Carrier as they are shoot anything else.
Just look back at the Kursk.
100% they put the WAR in warship alright, no confusing their ships wi cruise liners
It would damage but not sink a 95,000 tonne CVN.
“...And each of those guns fires more guns...”
Twice!!!! :^)
Our adversaries having been playing psyops for 40 years with imaginary killer weapon to make duped Americans thing carrier are obsolete. Our enemies drool over our naval air capabilities and know they cannot ever compete with us. They wish they had them.
Keep in mind that the author, and by extension the site War is Boring, has been implicated in pro-Russian propaganda.
Nice but even a close hit will set off those missiles in their tubes.
They are shoot and scoot and hope to live weapons.
This is an interest of mine.
Care to share the title of the book?
” Sinking it”
Carriers are WWII relicts. They would be the first to go in a nuclear exchange. ICBM/SLBM are no longer just ballistic but targetable.
Armchair admirals who know noting about naval warfare and strategy are being ridiculous that call CVN's relics and are playing into the propaganda of the rest of the hostile world which is desperately trying to develop fixed wing naval aviation capabilities.
Every weapons system in vulnerable to being destroyed that is why it is called war.
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