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Analysis: Russian Navy Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov Refit and Upgrade

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Focus - Russian Aircraft Carrier Kuznetsov Refit
 
 
 
Analysis: Russian Navy Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov Refit and Upgrade
 
The 35th Shipyard, an affiliate of the Zvyozdochka Shipyard (a subsidiary of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, USC), is starting its preparations for upgrading the Project 11435 (NATO reporting name: Kuznetsov-class) heavy through-deck cruiser, according to the Izvestia daily.
     
The 35th Shipyard, an affiliate of the Zvyozdochka Shipyard (a subsidiary of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, USC), is starting its preparations for upgrading the Project 11435 (NATO reporting name: Kuznetsov-class) heavy through-deck cruiser, according to the Izvestia daily.
Russian Navy Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov inside the dock in Severomorsk/Murmansk in 2015. Picture: Flotprom.ru
     
Valery Polovinkin, advisor to the director general of the Krylov State Research Center, said the shipyard would perform a unique operation of merging two docks together. This will result in Russia’s largest dock 400 m long and 80 m wide and capable of accommodating both warships and civilian vessels of virtually any displacement.

At present, the two docks are separated by a concrete wall mounting multi-ton wharf cranes and ship repair equipment. In addition, the docks vary in length and width. Their modernization may include the construction of a roof to allow the work in all seasons. According to plans, the wall will be pulled down, the length of the docks will be equalized to 400 m and a new berth with production equipment and port facilities will be built. This will allow not only the modernization of the Admiral Kuznetsov carrier, but maintenance of ships of all types as well, e.g. the Arktika-class nuclear-powered icebreakers in construction by the Baltiisky Zavod Shipyard. Their dimensions make them too large for any dry dock in the region now.

The closest dry dock able to accommodate such ships is on the premises of the Sevmash Shipyard. It is occupied by the Project 11442M (Kirov-class) Admiral Nakhimov nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser, which modernization will take as long as until 2020 at the least. A contract for servicing the Admiral Kuznetsov is due in June, and a decision will have been made by year-end on her upgrade by 2019. At present, USC and the Defense Ministry are negotiating the scope of work.
     
The 35th Shipyard, an affiliate of the Zvyozdochka Shipyard (a subsidiary of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, USC), is starting its preparations for upgrading the Project 11435 (NATO reporting name: Kuznetsov-class) heavy through-deck cruiser, according to the Izvestia daily.
Russian Navy Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov underway
     
The ship’s main propulsion plant and shafting/propeller unit (boilers, steam pipes, and shafts) will be repaired and then a decision will be made on the upgrade of the flight deck and arresting gear.

The planes of the carrier air wing are being changed, hence the need for a change in the dimensions of the elevators, an increase in the flight deck and a modification of its surface. This is due to the advanced carrier-based aircraft having quite different traction with the deck. In addition, the ship is to receive other aircraft as well - those to fly target designation, surveillance, reconnaissance and air wing coordination mission on the high seas. This will afford the Admiral Kuznetsov a well-balanced air wing that the carrier has lacked so far.
     
The 35th Shipyard, an affiliate of the Zvyozdochka Shipyard (a subsidiary of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, USC), is starting its preparations for upgrading the Project 11435 (NATO reporting name: Kuznetsov-class) heavy through-deck cruiser, according to the Izvestia daily.
Admiral Kuznetsov is gearing up for accommodating of Mikoyan MiG-29K/KUB fighters
     
Now, the Admiral Kuznetsov is gearing up for accommodating advanced Mikoyan MiG-29K fighters and MiG-29KUB combat trainers. Her sortie for practicing coordination with her air wing has been scheduled for the middle of the summer, and, according to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, she will depart on a Mediterranean cruise late this year. At present, the air wing is learning to take off and land on deck, using the NITKA training facility in Crimea. The facility enables the aircrews to master takeoff and landing operations on the shore in a safe manner.

Expert Alexander Mozgovoi presumes that the Admiral Kuznetsov is neither cruiser, nor aircraft carrier. The ship was designed at the time when the Navy needed both. This led to the service’s getting a cross between the two, because it is impossible to make the best of two worlds. The Admiral Kuznetsov has 12 Granit (SS-N-19 Shipwreck) missile launchers and an air wing of 24 Sukhoi Su-33 (Flanker-D) or MiG-29K/KUB (Fulcrum-F) fighters, but this does not make her an effective weapon. The ship lacks up-to-date takeoff equipment, e.g. steam or electric catapults, and, hence, is inferior to US carriers. While the Americans can launch three fighters in a minute, the Kuznetsov can launch only one. The issue of upgrading the Kuznetsov has been raised repeatedly, because her power plant should be replaced, missile systems dismounted and air defense systems beefed up.

Vladimir Tryapichnikov, chief of the Russian Navy Shipbuilding Department, said previously that the upgrade of the carrier’s weapons suite was to triple her performance. The first step in this direction is to form a new air wing on the advanced MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB fighters. These are first Russian-made carrier-based warplanes both capable of air superiority and effective against surface targets by means of precision-guided weapons. The Admiral Kuznetsov’s further upgrade will be hinged on the funds to be set aside by the Defense Ministry. According to the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), the repair and re-armament of the Admiral Nakhimov is estimated to cost from 50 billion to 150 billion rubles ($780 million to $2.3 billion). The Admiral Kuznetsov’s heavy upgrade is expected to cost more. For instance, the cost of upgrading the Admiral Gorshkov carrier for the Indian Navy had grown from $700 million to $3 billion by the time of the delivery, according to the Izvestia daily.

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