Admiral Kuznetsov |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | Chernomorsky Shipyard 444 |
| Operators: | Soviet Navy Russian Navy People's Liberation Army Navy |
| Built: | 1982-1990 |
| In commission: | 25 December 1990 - |
| Building: | 1 (Ex-Varyag is under outfitting in China) |
| Planned: | 2 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Active: | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Kuznetsov |
| Type: | CV |
| Displacement: | |
| Length: | 305 m (1,001 ft) |
| Beam: | 72 m (236 ft) |
| Draught: | 11 m (36 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Steam turbines 80,000shp[2] 200,000 shp (150,000 kW) |
| Speed: | 30 knots (56 km/h) |
| Range: | 8,500 mi (13,700 km) @ 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 1,500 |
| Armament: | 12 P-700 Granit (SS-N-19 Shipwreck) anti-ship missiles 192 3K95 Kinzhal(SA-N-9 Gauntlet) SAMs 8 Kashtan CIWS mounts 6 AK-630 AA guns 1 UDAV-1 ASW rocket launcher |
| Aircraft carried: |
41[1]
|
| Aviation facilities: | Angled arrested landing flight deck Bow ski jump |
The Admiral Kuznetsov class aircraft carriers (also known as Project 1143.5, the Brezhnev class, or the Kreml class[4]) has only one functional unit, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov. The only other ship in her class, Varyag, was never commissioned by the Soviet Union or Russia or Ukraine. She was sold to the People's Republic of China, and later fitted for service with the Chinese navy.[5]
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While designated an aircraft carrier by the West, the design of the Kuznetsov class implies a mission different from that of western carriers. The term used by her builders to describe the Russian ships is tyazholiy avianesushchiy kreyser (TAKR or TAVKR) - “heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser” - intended to support and defend strategic missile-carrying submarines, surface ships, and maritime missile-carrying aircraft of the Russian fleet.
In its fleet defense role the Kuznetsov's P-700 Granit (SS-N-19 NATO reporting name: Shipwreck) anti-ship cruise missiles, 3K95 Kinzhal (Gauntlet) Surface-to-Air missiles, and Su-33 (Flanker-D) aircraft are its main weapons. The fixed-wing aircraft on Admiral Kuznetsov are intended for air superiority operations to protect a deployed task force. The carrier also carries numerous helicopters for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and search and rescue (SAR) operations.
The hull design derived from the 1982 Kiev Class,[6] but is larger. The flight deck, with an area of 14,700 square meters, is of a conventional angled-deck-carrier configuration, but equipped with a 12-degree ski-jump flight deck -- instead of using aircraft catapults. This results in a configuration similar to that of the Royal Navy's Invincible-class aircraft carriers.
However, the shape of her flight deck is loosely similar to those of the U.S. Navy's and French Navy's aircraft carriers. The Admiral Kuznetsov has a so-called "STOBAR" configuration: her flight deck is equipped with landing arrester-wires, but she has no catapults. Her Su-33 fighter planes with a maximum payload can take off from her flight deck. Two aircraft elevators, on her starboard side forward and aft of her island, move her aircraft between her hangar deck and her flight deck.
In the original project specifications, the ship should be able to carry up to 33 fixed-wing aircraft, and 12 helicopters.[2]
Admiral Kuznetsov has twelve launchers for SS-N-19 (Shipwreck) anti-ship surface-to-surface missiles, unlike Western aircraft carriers which carry little organic armament. The presence of this sizable anti-ship missile capability determines its typing as an aircraft-carrying cruiser.
For long-range air defense, the ship carries 24 vertical launchers for SA-N-9 (Gauntlet) surface-to-air missiles with 192 missiles,
For close-range air defense, the ship carries eight Kashtan Close-in weapon system (CIWS) mounts. Each mount has two launchers for 9M311 SAMs, twin GSh-30 30mm rotary cannons, and a radar/optronic director. The ship also carries six AK-630 30mm rotary cannons in single mounts.
For defense against underwater attack, the ship carries the UDAV-1 ASW rocket launcher.
The ship has D/E band air and surface target acquisition radar, F band surface search radar, G/H band flight control radar, I band navigation radar, and four K band fire-control radars for the Kashtan CIWS.
The ship has hull-mounted medium- and low-frequency search and attack sonar. The ASW helicopters have surface search radar, dipping sonar, sonobuoys, and magnetic anomaly detectors.
Initially Western analysts anticipated that Admiral Kuznetsov would have a Combined Nuclear And Steam (CONAS) propulsion plant similar to the Kirov class battlecruisers and the SSV-33 command ship. However, Admiral Kuznetsov as completed was conventionally powered by eight gas-fired boilers and four steam turbines, each producing 50,000 hp (37 MW), driving four shafts with fixed-pitch propellers. Her maximum speed is 29 knots (54 km/h), and her range at maximum speed is 3,800 miles (6,100 km). At 18 knots (33 km/h), her maximum range is 8,500 miles (13,700 km).
Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov was designed by the Neva Design Bureau, St. Petersburg, and built at Nikolayev South Shipyard in Ukraine. She was launched in 1985, commissioned in 1990, and became fully operational in 1995. The vessel was briefly sequentially named Riga, Leonid Brezhnev, and Tbilisi[2] During the winter of 1995-1996 Admiral Kuznetsov deployed to the Mediterranean to mark the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy. In the autumn of 2000, Admiral Kuznetsov went to sea for rescue and salvage operations for the submarine Kursk. During the winter of 2007-2008, Admiral Kuznetsov again deployed to the Mediterranean.
Although technical and financial problems have limited operations, it is expected that Admiral Kuznetsov will remain in service until at least 2025-2035.
The Varyag was also built by Nikolayev South Shipyard. The vessel was laid down in 1985 and launched in 1988, but never commissioned. In November 1991 Russia ceased paying the shipyard. In December all work stopped. In April 1993 the Russian government voiced a desire to complete the ship but took no real steps to do so. In June 1995 the Russian and Ukrainian governments agreed on the unreasonableness of completing the ship. The ships passed to the shipyard in consideration of monies owed. Eventually sold by Ukraine to China, under the condition that she would never be refitted for combat, in 2000 it embarked on a long tow to Dalian, China, arriving in March 2002.[2]
In 2004, ex-Varyag was repainted in the colours of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and a non-skid surface was applied to her deck. In October 2006, Russia was in talks to sell China up to 50 of the Su-33 fighters which Russia operates from Admiral Kuznetsov for $2.5 billion, the status of the deal is unclear. PLAN has also sought to purchase Ka-31 AEW helicopters, and designed prop-driven AEW aircraft similar to the American E-2 Hawkeye. This suggests that the vessel will eventually become China's first aircraft carrier.[7]
By 2010 work on the carrier had been intensified and by December 2010 new photos appeared on several internet forums showing different armament and sensors being fitted to the vessel.[8]
In 2011, China confirmed that ex-Varyag was nearing completion of its initial conversion work and was due to undergo sea trials prior to commissioning in the PLAN.[9]
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