Admiral Flota Sovetskovo Soyuza Kuznetsov is an aircraft carrier (heavy aircraft carrying cruiser (TAVKR) in Russian classification) serving as the flagship of the Russian Navy. She was originally commissioned in the Soviet Navy, and was intended to be the lead ship of her class, but the only other ship of her class, Varyag, has never been commissioned and was sold to the People's Republic of China by Ukraine under the condition she would never be refitted for combat. Kuznetsov Russian aircraft carrier was named after the Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov.The Admiral Kuznetsov's main fixed-wing aircraft is the multirole Su-33. It can perform air superiority, fleet defense, and air support missions and can also be used for reconnaissance and searching for naval mines. It is augmented by the twin seat Su-33UB, which is also used for pilot training along with the Su-25UTG. The carrier also carries the Kamov Ka-27 helicopter for anti-submarine warfare and small transport.
| General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | Admiral Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier |
| Displacement: | 65,000 tons full load |
| Length: | 1,005.5 ft (306.5 m) o/a 900 ft (270 m) w/l |
| Beam: | 237.2 ft (72.3 m) o/a 125 ft (38 m) w/l |
| Draft: | 29.9 ft (9.1 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam turbines, 8 turbo-pressurised boilers, 4 shafts, 200,000 hp (150 MW) 2 × 50,000 hp (37 MW) turbines 9 × 2,011 hp (1,500 kW) turbogenerators 6 × 2,011 hp (1,500 kW) diesel generators 4 × fixed pitch propellers |
| Speed: | 32 knots (37 mph; 59 km/h) |
| Range: | 3,850 nmi (7,130 km) at 32 kn (37 mph; 59 km/h) |
| Endurance: | 45 days |
| Complement: | 1,993 (total); 1,960 ship's crew 626 air group 40 flag staff 3,857 rooms |
| Armament: | • 8 × AK-630 AA guns (6×30 mm, 6,000 round/min/mount, 24,000 rounds) • 8 × CADS-N-1 Kashtan CIWS (each 2 × 30 mm Gatling AA plus 16 3K87 Kortik SAM) • 12 × P-700 Granit SSM • 18 × 8-cell 3K95 Kinzhal SAM VLS (192 missiles; 1 missile per 3 seconds) • RBU-12000 UDAV-1 ASW rocket launchers (60 rockets) |
| Aircraft carried: | 12-15 × Sukhoi Su-33 fighters 5 × Sukhoi Su-25UTG/UBP aircraft 4 × Kamov Ka-27LD32 helicopters 18 × Kamov Ka-27PLO helicopters 2 × Kamov Ka-27S helicopters |
For take-off of the fixed wing aircraft, the Admiral Kuznetsov uses a ski-jump at the end of its deck. On take-off aircraft accelerate toward and up the ski-jump using their afterburners. This results in the aircraft leaving the deck at a higher angle and elevation than on an aircraft carrier with a flat deck and catapults. The ski-jump take-off is less demanding on the pilot, since the acceleration is lower, but on the other hand results in a clearance speed of only 120-140 km/h (75-85 mph) requiring an aircraft design which will not stall at those speeds.
The cruiser role is facilitated by the Kuznetsov's complement of 12 long-range surface-to-surface anti-ship Granit (SS-N-19) cruise missiles. This armament justifies the ship's type designator "heavy aircraft carrying cruiser".
On December 5, 2008 the aircraft carrier and several other vessels left Severomorsk heading for the Atlantic on a tour which was announced would be lasting several months and which would include combat training including joint drills with Russia's Black Sea Fleet and visits to several ports in the Mediterranean. On this tour while the Admiral Kuznetsov anchored off Turkey on January 7, 2009 a small fire broke out on the ship. One crewmember was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning. The fire was caused by a short-circuit. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies the Admiral Kuznetsov is routinely followed by two tugs in case of breakdown.
On February 16, 2009, the Admiral Kuznetsov, along with other Russian naval vessels was involved in a large oil spill while it refueled off the south coast of Ireland.
