The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov serves as a quintessential symbol of Cold War-era equipment, characterized by its age, unreliability, and inadequate maintenance.
The vessel has spent eight years in drydock and likely won’t set sail again. Constructed during the Soviet period, it stands as Russia’s sole aircraft carrier and has proven to be an utter failure.
The vessel was in such poor condition that the Kremlin reassigned some of the sailors from the Kuznetsov to create a mechanized infantry battalion for ground combat operations.
Ukr
a
ine
.
Currently, it remains docked in Murmansk’s harbor and likely won’t move unless a leader with both skill and practicality decides to dispose of it. Back in 1991, the Kuznetsov departed from Murmansk’s port heading towards Syria despite being inadequately serviced and cared for. The U.S. Navy units from the 6th Fleet followed her progress, not due to concerns about her military capabilities, but out of fear that she could potentially capsize at sea.
History of the Admiral Kuznetsov
From day one, the carrier has served as an indicator of subpar design, engineering, and 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.
Nevertheless, the US possessed over
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 favored because of its high thickness.
Although previous naval and merchant ships used mazut, its usage had largely ceased by the 1970s due to various drawbacks of the fuel. These limitations prompted manufacturers to adopt nuclear or gas turbine power systems as alternatives. However, this wasn’t the case for all.
Kuznetsov
.
Thick black smoke billows from the fuel, making the carrier easily visible against the ocean and disrupting flight activities. Even before setting out to sea, the Kuznetsov was considered outdated.
Why don’t the Russians use large gas turbines or nuclear reactors in the ship? The
Soviet Union
and now
Russia
can’t produce
large naval engines
These have always been produced in Ukraine. Given that the conflict continues, the Russians won’t manage to convince Ukraine to sell them anything, not even a carrier engine.
In case the vessel encountered issues, the Russian Navy deployed two tugboats alongside the Kuznetsov. This became necessary in 2012 when the ship malfunctioned and required towing back.
Syria
When the boilers failed frequently, which happened quite often, the vessel could barely muster four knots of speed. Quite a display of force projection, isn’t it?
Carrier Pilots and Flight Operations Staff Lack Training
In contrast to U.S. carriers, which employ steam-powered catapults for launching planes from their decks, Russian vessels utilize a bow ski jump instead. This approach is more straightforward compared to the complex steam systems found on numerous Western carriers. Although this method restricts the maximum achievable takeoff velocity, it offers pilots a gentler and less strenuous initiation process.
Airplanes speed up and take off from the deck at reduced velocities, with their afterburners activated.
They utilized the ramp just twice throughout the conflict.
Syria in 2016-2017
On both occasions, the plane crashed during landing as the defective arrestor cables snapped. Additionally, the Kuznetsov accommodates roughly 30 fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
She has roughly 18 outdated items.
Su-33 aircraft
, six MiG-29K multirole fighter jets, along with an assortment of Ka-27 and Ka-31 helicopters utilized for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), search and rescue (SAR), and early warning missions.
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 vessel has had an unusually high number of accidents. A welding mishap triggered a blaze that resulted in fatalities for two workers and left numerous others with injuries.
A PD-50 dry dock
The mooring line that secured the ship snapped, causing a crane to collapse and tear open a large rift in the flight deck. This incident triggered another blaze which pushed back the schedule for the aircraft carrier’s return to service with the Navy.
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.
About the Author
Steve Balestrieri
is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense 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.
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