Russian nuclear aircraft carriers and their specifications

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Nuclear aircraft carriers are the latest generation of ships available only to the world's leading powers. However, at the same time, they are practically not listed in the Russian Navy. What is the problem? Why is the Russian Federation, which in many respects leads the international arms race, so far behind in this indicator? After all, the United States already has a fairly decent number of such ships in stock. Where are Russia's nuclear aircraft carriers? It is to this question that you will find the answer in this article. You will understand why this aspect of the arms race in the Russian Federation turned out to be so weak. You will also learn about ships of this type, which were produced in Russia, but for one reason or another did not end up in the Navy. You can also get information about the only aircraft carrier in service with the Navy, as well as whether Russian nuclear aircraft carriers are planned in the near future.

Naturally, it is unrealistic to get specific information about such projects - responsible persons may say one thing on television, another will be indicated on paper, but in reality a third may occur. Therefore, information about the future of nuclear aircraft carriers in Russia ispurely speculative.

Why are there no nuclear aircraft carriers in Russia?

Russian nuclear aircraft carriers is a very interesting topic, since one of the strongest powers in the world militarily lacks a large and important segment almost completely. How did it come about? The whole problem lies in the legacy that the Russian Federation inherited from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The catch can be found when studying the military policy of the USSR - the fact is that the state completely abandoned the production of aircraft carriers, not even considering them as a concept of ships carrying aviation power.

Already in the days of the Soviet Union, the foundation was laid for the unequal nature of this aspect in the future Russia in comparison, for example, with the United States. As a result, the Russian Federation at the beginning of its existence did not have aircraft carriers and no plans and programs for their manufacture, the country met the new millennium in exactly the same position, and today there are only rumors about when Russian nuclear aircraft carriers will appear and conversations.

Attempt to start production

You can't say that the Soviet Union didn't even try. In the early seventies, the USSR actually planned the construction of the first full-fledged nuclear aircraft carrier, which could begin the recruitment of a real nuclear fleet. A project was already created, which received the working title "1160". The aim of this project was to create by 1986 as many as threefull-fledged nuclear aircraft carriers that could catapult one of the most effective Soviet Su-27K aircraft. However, unfortunately, the plan was not destined to be implemented, since at that time the USSR was concentrating on creating heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers that could not be called full-fledged nuclear aircraft carriers for a variety of reasons. And it was then that a proposal was made to create the latest heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser with vertical take-off. It was then that the project "1160" was curtailed, and the first nuclear aircraft carrier of domestic origin was never born.

By the way, the aircraft-carrying cruiser project, which replaced the "1160" project, suffered a complete defeat. In 1991, it was completed, test runs began, which eventually led to the fact that one of the aircraft fell directly onto the deck of the cruiser and burned down there. By 1992, the project was curtailed, and the Soviet Union was left without both nuclear aircraft carriers and without cruisers with a vertical launch system, and the Russian Federation, which appeared a year later, without any baggage in the field of development of nuclear aircraft carriers.

But what happened next? Have Russian nuclear aircraft carriers appeared? History shows that they actually appeared, but they were also more likely aircraft-carrying cruisers, and they were mainly created not for the Russian Navy.

What to eat now?

When it comes to Russian nuclear aircraft carriers, classification plays a very important role. The fact is that, as such, atomicthere are no aircraft carriers in the country at all. And they have never been created either in Russia, or before that, in the Soviet Union. But if we discard meticulousness, then heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers, which have already been written about earlier, can be attributed to aircraft carriers. And then you can trace the history of how those cruisers appeared that already functioned in Russia.

The first were the cruisers "Kyiv", "Minsk" and "Novorossiysk". They were launched in the 1970s and decommissioned together in 1993. The first one stood idle for ten years until it was sent to China, where it became an exhibit of a thematic museum. The second one, two years after the decommissioning, was sold to South Korea, where they wanted to dismantle it to obtain metal, but then it was resold to China, where, like the previous one, it ended up in a thematic museum. The third was the least lucky - it was sold to Korea for dismantling, but no one bought it, so the cruiser was dismantled for parts.

As for more modern models, here it is worth paying attention to the Varyag aircraft-carrying cruiser, which was launched in 1988. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it went to Ukraine, which sold it to China, where it was improved, completed and prepared for use. As a result, it functions to this day under the name "Liaoning". Another cruiser that is still in operation is the Admiral Gorshkov, which operated until 2004, after which it was sold to India, where it was reconstructed, converted into a classic nuclear aircraft carrier and is still in service with the Indian Navy. There is another aircraft-carrying cruisercalled Ulyanovsk, which could operate in the Russian Federation - it was laid down relatively recently, in 1998, and it was planned that it would be completed by 1995. At the same time, he could still safely serve in the Russian Navy, but the project was curtailed before it was completed, and what had already been assembled was dismantled back into metal. That's how the first nuclear aircraft carriers of Russia did not get into service with the Navy.

Admiral Kuznetsov

But are these all Russian nuclear aircraft carriers? The review does not end there, because it is still necessary to look at one instance, which is the only one that remains afloat and is part of the Navy. What is this ship? This is the Russian nuclear aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" - the only ship in the Russian Navy that can be classified as an aircraft carrier. However, at the same time, it can only be called a nuclear aircraft carrier, since, like previous models, it is a TAVKR, that is, a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser. Like all other aircraft carriers, it was built at the Soviet Chernihiv shipyard. This ship was laid down in 1985, and in 1988 it was already launched - since then it has been functioning and managed to serve both the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. It received its name only after the collapse of the USSR, before that it had several different names. Initially, it was given the name "Riga", then it was renamed "Leonid Brezhnev", after that it became "Tbilisi", and only then the Russian nuclear aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" was born. What is thisa ship that is currently the only one in the entire Russian Navy?

Ship Specifications

As you can see, the Russian Navy does not have a large number of nuclear aircraft carriers in Russia. The technical characteristics of a single heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, however, may be of interest. So, this is a ship with a rather impressive displacement - more than sixty thousand tons. Its length is 306 meters, width - seventy meters, and the height at its largest point - 65 meters. The ship's draft can be from eight to ten meters, with a maximum displacement of up to 10.4 meters. The armor of this ship is made of rolled steel, duplication of the hull with additional compartments is organized. The ship is protected from enemy torpedoes by a 4.5-meter three-layer protection - the armor layer is able to withstand a hit with a charge of 400 kilograms of TNT. As for the engines, it is worth paying attention here that a four-shaft boiler-turbine technology was used, which is not used on full-fledged nuclear aircraft carriers. However, if we talk about dry technical characteristics, then four steam turbines give a total of 200 thousand horsepower, turbo generators produce 13 and a half thousand kilowatts, and diesel generators - another nine thousand kilowatts. It is also worth noting the mover, which consists of four five-bladed propellers. What does all this add up to? In total, the maximum speed is 29 knots, that is, 54 kilometers per hour. Also worthnote the combat economic and economic speeds - the first is 18 knots, and the second is 14.

How long can this ship sail without refueling? The range, of course, depends on speed: at maximum speed, the range is 3850 nautical miles, at combat economic speed - a little more than seven and a half thousand nautical miles, and at economic speed - almost eight and a half thousand nautical miles. Regardless of the distance traveled, the autonomy of navigation is also considered, which in the case of this ship is forty-five days. The crew of such a ship has a little less than two thousand people. This is a result that Russia's modern nuclear aircraft carriers could easily surpass. After all, the characteristics were laid down about thirty years ago, so there is nothing to be surprised at. However, that's not all you can find out about the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier currently in the Russian Navy.

Armaments

Given the fact that this ship is a combat ship, it has a large set of various weapons on board, it is about it now that we will talk. "Admiral Kuznetsov" boasts a navigation system "Beysur", which allows you to conduct the most aimed fire. Before looking directly at the guns, you should also look at the radar devices - there are enough of them on the ship. There are seven different general detection radars on board, as well as two aviation control stations. Also worth paying attentionon radio electronics - on board there is a combat information and control system "Lesorub", a communication complex "Buran-2" and much more.

Well, now you can pay attention to weapons - first of all, it is worth noting six anti-aircraft artillery mounts, designed for 48 thousand shells. Of the missile weapons on board the ship, there are 12 Granit launchers, 4 Kortik anti-aircraft missile systems and four Dagger launchers. The ship also has a way to attack or defend against submarines - these are two rocket systems designed for sixty bombs.

Aviation Group

It is worth taking a look at the aircraft carrier component of the technical characteristics. "Admiral Kuznetsov" is designed for fifty aircraft that could be transported on board. Moreover, it was assumed that helicopters would also be present there. However, in reality, everything turned out to be a little different, and today this ship serves as the base for only thirty aircraft, most of which are Su-33 and MiG-29K.

Future plans

But what's next? Will a new Russian nuclear aircraft carrier appear? Or will Admiral Kuznetsov remain the only representative for a long time? A decade ago, Russians were pinning their hopes on the upcoming revision of the decree, which took place in 2009. As with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Russian Federation, ten years ago the government had no plans at all for this segment of the military market. At thatAt the same time, the main competitor, the United States of America, was already launching the tenth full-fledged nuclear aircraft carrier. But what happened in 2009? The plan was already drawn up until 2020, and there were still no nuclear aircraft carriers there. So the new nuclear aircraft carrier of Russia has not yet appeared even on paper - it exists only in words, and even then in the press, and not in the statements of official authorized persons.

Prototypes

In fact, work on the design of aircraft carriers is already underway, but the Russian Navy will receive a new generation nuclear aircraft carrier for a very long time. Certainly not in 2020. In some cases, sources report that other countries are working on aircraft carriers for Russia, but more often than not, a message flickers with a picture of a project of what Russia's nuclear aircraft carriers will look like. The photo shows a layout of a ship that could carry a huge number of aircraft by abandoning the bulky main structure and replacing it with small control towers.

Medvedev's instruction

However, people's hopes were revived in 2015, when Dmitry Medvedev instructed the Ministry of Defense to develop a plan for the introduction of nuclear aircraft carriers. This will not be the easiest task for the reason that you already know - full-fledged ships of this type have never been built on the territory of the Russian Federation and even the former Soviet Union. A nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is not the same thing as a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, so completely different technologies will have to be used. However, one way or another, the most optimistic forecastsreport that by 2020 a plan to create the first nuclear aircraft carriers intended for the Russian Navy may be proposed.