Admiral Kuznetsov class aircraft carrier
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The ''Kuznetsov''-class aircraft carrying cruiser (Russian: Авиано́сцы ти́па «Кузнецо́в» ''Avianо́stsii Tipa "Kuznetsо́v"''), Soviet designation Project 1143.5, is a class of
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
s operated by the
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
and
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
navies. Originally designed for the Soviet Navy, the ''Kuznetsov''-class ships use a ski-jump to launch high-performance conventional aircraft in a STOBAR configuration. The design represented a major advance in Soviet fleet aviation over the carriers, which could only launch
VSTOL A vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) aircraft is an airplane able to take-off or land vertically or on short runways. Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft are a subset of V/STOL craft that do not require runways at al ...
aircraft. The Soviet Union's classification for the class was as a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, which permits the ships to transit the Turkish Straits without violating the
Montreux Convention The (Montreux) Convention regarding the Regime of the Straits, often known simply as the Montreux Convention, is an international agreement governing the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits in Turkey. Signed on 20 July 1936 at the Montreux Palace ...
. However, the Chinese variants are classified as aircraft carriers. Because of the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
in 1991, the three ''Kuznetsov''-class ships were built over a protracted construction period of almost four decades. Two ships were originally laid down at the Nikolayev South Shipyard in the
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
, to be followed by the first of the ''Ulyanovsk''-class nuclear-powered
supercarrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a n ...
s. Only the lead ship had been commissioned when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, and the ship now serves in the Russian Navy. Construction of her sister ship ''Varyag'' was abandoned until 1998, when an independent Ukraine sold the uncompleted ship to China for use as a
floating casino Floating may refer to: * a type of dental work performed on horse teeth * use of an isolation tank * the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched * Floating (play), ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes * Floating (p ...
, along with a complete set of blueprints. ''Varyag'' was eventually completed and commissioned in 2012 as China's first aircraft carrier, the Type 001 aircraft carrier . China subsequently constructed a third ship to a modified Type 002 design, commissioning in 2019.


Role

The ''Kuznetsov''-class ships were described by their Soviet builders as ''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 Soviet fleet. In its fleet defense role, ''Admiral Kuznetsov''s
P-700 Granit The P-700 ''Granit'' (russian: П-700 "Гранит"; en, granite) is a Soviet and Russian naval anti-ship cruise missile. Its GRAU designation is 3M45, its NATO reporting name SS-N-19 ''Shipwreck''. It comes in surface-to-surface and subma ...
(SS-N-19
NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...
: ''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 ''Kuznetsov'' are intended for
air superiority Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...
operations to protect a deployed task force. The carrier also carries numerous helicopters for
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
(ASW) and search and rescue (SAR) operations.


Transiting the Turkish Straits

The Russian naval system classifies its ''Kuznetsov''-class ship as a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser because it was fitted with long-range anti-ship cruise missiles. Under the 1936
Montreux Convention The (Montreux) Convention regarding the Regime of the Straits, often known simply as the Montreux Convention, is an international agreement governing the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits in Turkey. Signed on 20 July 1936 at the Montreux Palace ...
, aircraft carriers heavier than 15,000 tons may not pass through the Turkish Straits. Since ''Kuznetsov'' exceeds the
displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
limit, it would have been confined to the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
if it had been classified as an aircraft carrier. However, there is no tonnage restriction on other
capital ship The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet. Strategic im ...
s operated by
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
Powers. Turkey has allowed to pass through the Straits, and no other signatory to the Montreux Convention has objected to its designation as an aircraft cruiser. The Chinese Navy regards its Type 001 ships as aircraft carriers. The Chinese aircraft carrier ''Liaoning'' is armed with air-defense weapons, but it is not equipped with the anti-ship or anti-submarine missiles that are on ''Admiral Kuznetsov''. Instead, the hangar bay was extended to carry more aircraft.


History

In October 1978 the Soviet government decided to continue the production of additional Project 1143 (''Kiev''-class) aircraft carriers, with the fifth vessel built with improved features like
catapults A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of store ...
and arresting gear. This resulted in the Project 1143.5 plan created by the Nevskoye Bureau and approved at the end of 1979. As originally planned, Project 1143.5 was to have a full load displacement of 65,000 tons, CATOBAR capability, and an air wing based around fixed-wing aircraft and Kamov helicopters. However, by 1980 Soviet defense minister
Dmitry Ustinov Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov (russian: Дмитрий Фёдорович Устинов; 30 October 1908 – 20 December 1984) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union and Soviet politician during the Cold War. He served as a Central Committee se ...
ordered the deletion of the catapults, reduction of the ship's displacement by 10,000 tons, and revision of the air component toward
VSTOL A vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) aircraft is an airplane able to take-off or land vertically or on short runways. Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft are a subset of V/STOL craft that do not require runways at al ...
aircraft. The design was revised to support only VSTOL aircraft under the project name "Nitka", but then was revised again to its final configuration to provide for fixed-wing aircraft by adding a 12-degree ski-jump.


Design


Hull and flight deck

The hull design is derived from the 1982 , but is larger in both length and beam. The ''Kiev''-class ships had only an angled flight deck, with surface weaponry on the foredeck. The ''Kuznetsov''-class is the first Soviet carrier to be designed with a full-length flight deck. The ship's 12 anti-ship cruise missiles are located in launchers below the flight deck, just aft of the ski-jump. The aircraft carriers are of a STOBAR configuration: Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery. Short take-off is achieved by using a 12-degree ski-jump on the bow. There is also an angled deck with arresting wires, which allows aircraft to land without interfering with launching aircraft. The flight deck has a total area of . Two aircraft elevators, on the starboard side forward and aft of the island, move aircraft between the hangar deck and the flight deck.


Air wing

In the original project specifications, the ship should be able to carry up to 33 fixed-wing aircraft and 12 helicopters . The primary aircraft carried are
Sukhoi Su-33 The Sukhoi Su-33 (russian: Сухой Су-33; NATO reporting name: ''Flanker-D'') is an all-weather carrier-based twin-engine air superiority fighter designed by Sukhoi and manufactured by Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association ...
fighters, naval variants of the
Sukhoi Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...
Flanker.
Kamov Ka-27 The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and currently in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-29 ...
naval utility helicopters and its subsequent variants make up the helicopter wing, providing anti-submarine, maritime patrol and naval assault mobility capabilities. In addition, the Kamov Ka-52K "Katran" attack helicopter, a naval variant of the Kamov Ka-50, can also be included in its air wing.


Armament

The ''Kuznetsov''-class ships were originally designed as aircraft cruisers. ''Kuznetsov'' carries twelve launchers for
P-700 Granit The P-700 ''Granit'' (russian: П-700 "Гранит"; en, granite) is a Soviet and Russian naval anti-ship cruise missile. Its GRAU designation is 3M45, its NATO reporting name SS-N-19 ''Shipwreck''. It comes in surface-to-surface and subma ...
(SS-N-19 ''Shipwreck'') anti-ship surface-to-surface missiles, which also form the main armament of the s. The Granits would be stored in 12 vertical launchers located beneath the ship's front deck, just before the inclined ski-jump. The top deck hatches of these launchers would open to allow the missiles to be fired, however, when open they prevented the simultaneous launch of aircraft. The heavy surface armament makes ''Kuznetsov'' different from other countries' aircraft carriers, which carry only defensive armament and rely on their aircraft for strike power. For long-range air defense, ''Kuznetsov'' carries 24 vertical launchers for
Tor missile system The Tor (russian: Тор; en, torus) is an all-weather, low- to medium-altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system designed for destroying airplanes, helicopters, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and short-range ballistic thre ...
(SA-N-9 ''Gauntlet'')
surface-to-air missiles A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
with 192 missiles. For close-range air defense, the ship carries eight Kashtan
close-in weapon system A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of ...
(CIWS) mounts. Each mount has two launchers for 9M311 SAMs, twin GSh-30 30 mm rotary cannons, and a radar/optronic director. The ship also carries six
AK-630 The AK-630 is a Soviet and Russian fully automatic naval, rotary cannon, close-in weapon system. The "630" designation refers to the weapon's six gun barrels and their 30 mm caliber. The system is mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and dir ...
30 mm rotary cannons in single mounts. For defense against underwater attack, the ship carries the UDAV-1 ASW rocket launcher. The Russian Navy reportedly removed the Granit missile tubes in the late 2000s to make room for a larger hangar bay, but it was never clear that the tubes were ever actually removed. During a major overhaul set to begin in September 2017, the P-700 tubes will be replaced with new vertical launch tubes capable of housing newer
Kalibr The 3M-54 Kalibr, (Калибр, caliber), also referred to it as 3M54-1 Kalibr, 3M14 Biryuza (Бирюза, turquoise), ( NATO reporting name SS-N-27 Sizzler and SS-N-30A) is a family of Russian cruise missiles developed by the Novator Design ...
and
P-800 Oniks The P-800 Oniks (russian: П-800 Оникс; en, Onyx), also known in export markets as Yakhont (russian: Яхонт; en, ruby), is a Soviet / Russian supersonic anti-ship cruise missile developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya as a ramjet version ...
cruise missiles. Air defense upgrades will include replacement of the Kashtan CIWS with the
Pantsir-M Pantsir-M (russian: Панцирь-М, translation="Carapace-M") is a Russian jamming-resistant naval close-in weapon system (CIWS) which entered service in 2018. Pantsir-M will replace Kashtan-M systems in Russian Navy. According to Rostec ...
and the 3K95 Kinzhal/Tor system with the Poliment-Redut system.


Electronics

''Admiral Kuznetsov'' has D/ E band air and surface target acquisition radar ( passive electronically scanned array), 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 Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
. The ASW helicopters have surface search radar, dipping sonar, sonobuoys, and magnetic anomaly detectors.


Propulsion and performance

''Admiral Kuznetsov'' is conventionally powered by eight gas-fired boilers and four steam turbines, each producing , driving four shafts with fixed-pitch propellers. The maximum speed is , and her range at maximum speed is . At , her maximum economical range is .


Reliability

''Admiral Kuznetsov'' has been plagued by years of technical problems. The vessel's steam turbines and turbo-pressurised boilers have been reported to be so unreliable that the carrier is accompanied by a large ocean-going tug whenever it deploys, in case it breaks down. There are also flaws in the water piping system, which causes it to freeze during winter. To prevent pipes from bursting, the water is turned off in most of the cabins, and half the latrines do not work.


Type 001 design changes

The Chinese Type 001 ships are configured as aircraft carriers. The cruise missile launchers were never installed, and the launcher base was removed during the refit to incorporate a larger hangar bay. The air-defense system consists of
FL-3000N The HQ-10 () is a short range surface-to-air missile designed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), currently in service as a point defense missile system aboard PLA Navy warships. Development The system was first adopted ...
surface-to-air-missiles and the Type 1130 CIWS.


Type 002 design changes

Several design changes were made to the Type 002 aircraft carrier. Length, width, and displacement have been slightly increased. The island of the ship has been reduced in size to increase the size of the flight deck, and it carries a 3-D phased array radar. The ship claims can carry 36 aircraft instead of the 24 J-15 fighters carried by CNS ''Liaoning''.


Ships


''Admiral Kuznetsov''

''Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov'' was designed by the Neva Design Bureau, St. Petersburg, and built at the Nikolayev South Shipyard (Chernomorskoye Shipyard) in the
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
. She was launched in 1985, commissioned in 1990, and became fully operational in 1995. The vessel was named ''Riga'', ''Leonid Brezhnev'', and ''Tbilisi'', before finally being named after Soviet admiral Nikolay Kuznetsov. During the winter of 1995–1996, ''Admiral Kuznetsov'' deployed to the Mediterranean Sea to mark the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy. In late 2000, ''Admiral Kuznetsov'' went to sea for recovery and salvage operations for the submarine . In late 2007 and early 2008, ''Admiral Kuznetsov'' again deployed to the Mediterranean. Most recently, ''Admiral Kuznetsov'' was deployed to the Mediterranean in late 2016 and early 2017 to support Russian operations in Syria. Although technical and financial problems have limited operations, ''Admiral Kuznetsov'' is expected to remain in service until approximately 2025.


''Liaoning''

The second member of the ''Kuznetsov'' class took a much more roundabout route to active service. Known first as ''Riga'' and then ''Varyag'', she was laid down by the Nikolayev South Shipyard in 1985 and launched in 1988. ''Varyag'' had not yet been commissioned when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, and the ship was left to deteriorate in the elements. In 1998, the unfinished hull was sold by Ukraine to what was apparently a Chinese travel agency for ostensible use as a floating hotel and casino. After an eventful journey under tow, she arrived in China in February 2002 and was berthed at the Dalian naval shipyard, where she was overhauled and completed as China's first aircraft carrier. In September 2012, the ship was commissioned in the
Chinese navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chine ...
as ''Liaoning''. The ship was named after the
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
where the shipyard is located, and its Chinese ship class is Type 001. Today, she serves as the first aircraft carrier of the PLAN, and its home port is
Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
.


''Shandong''

The second Chinese aircraft carrier was constructed in China according to a modified design, known as Type 002. The ship was laid down in 2013 at the Dalian naval shipyard and was launched on 26 April 2017. Sea trials began on 13 May 2018, and the ship was commissioned as ''Shandong'' on 17 December 2019.


See also

* ''Shtorm''-class supercarrier *
List of aircraft carriers This list of aircraft carriers contains aircraft carriers listed alphabetically by name. An aircraft carrier is a warship with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft, that serves a ...
*
List of aircraft carriers of Russia and the Soviet Union The list of aircraft carriers of the Soviet Union and Russia includes all aircraft carriers built by, proposed for, or in service with the naval forces of either the Soviet Union or Russia. Although listed as aircraft carriers, none of them (with ...
* List of ships of the Soviet Navy *
List of ships of Russia by project number The list of ships of Russia by project number includes all Russian ships by assigned project numbers. Ship descriptions are Russian assigned classifications when known. (The Russian term "проект" can be translated either as the cognate "pr ...
*
List of naval ship classes in service The list of naval ship classes in service includes all combatant surface classes in service currently with navies or armed forces and auxiliaries in the world. Ships are grouped by type, and listed alphabetically within. For other vessels, see ...
*
Chinese aircraft carrier programme Since the 1970s, China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has had ambitions to develop and operate aircraft carriers, and since 1985 has acquired four retired aircraft carriers for study; namely, the British-built Australian and the ex-S ...
*
Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian ''Fujian'' (18; ), named after Fujian province, is the first of the Type 003 class aircraft carrier (NATO/ OSD Fujian-class CV), and is currently fitting out. Built for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), ''Fujian'' was launched on 17 ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuznetsov Class Aircraft Carrier Aircraft cruiser classes Kuznetsov class aircraft carrier Kuznetsov class aircraft carrier