The replacement of the outdated single Russian aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov” should be built on the slipway “A” of the Baltic plant in St. Petersburg, writes “Military-Industrial Courier”
The newspaper calls this place “one and only option for the whole of Russia.” This circumstance is explained by the fact that the slipway “A” of the plant “has a length of 350 meters and the maximum launch weight of vessels is more than 20 thousand tons.” The publication reminds that the recent launch of the nuclear-powered icebreaker “Ural” weighing 19 thousand tons was made “without difficulty.”
The publication notes that “the minus of the slipway is [its] width”, which “does not allow building the entire hull of the aircraft carrier.” The publication writes that the aircraft carrier “will have to be built without airborne sponsors.”
Another “major disadvantage” of the enterprise is called “the impossibility of building buildings from large blocks.” “The plant builds buildings using a construction method – from steel sheets and small structures, which can be lifted by a portal crane with a lifting capacity of 75 or 80 tons,” the newspaper notes.
The publication concludes that the creation of an aircraft carrier “with a displacement of about 40-44 thousand tons” “is quite within the scope of modern Russian industry, and without the reconstruction of shipbuilding enterprises, by the forces of the Baltic plant.”
In May, TASS, referring to materials published on the public procurement website, reported that the outer surfaces of the only Russian aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, which is currently being repaired at the Murmansk branch of Zvezdochka, are scheduled to be painted by September 1, 2022.
In December 2019, the American magazine The National Interest called “Admiral Kuznetsov” and other Soviet cruisers of Project 1143 “Krechet” “just a piece of rust.”
At present, the Russian Navy (Navy) has one aircraft carrier. The heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov” was laid down in 1983, and in 1991 it was enlisted in the Northern Fleet. Commissioned only in 1995. It is designed to carry about 50 planes and helicopters, carries 12 launchers of 4K-80 heavy rockets “Granit”, 8 anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems “Kortik” and 24 anti-aircraft missile systems “Dagger”. The maximum length of an aircraft carrier reaches 306 meters, width – 72. In the 1990s and 2000s, the ship was repaired several times. “Admiral Kuznetsov” in November 2016 took part in its first military operation (in Syria) and, unfortunately, lost two aircraft (MiG-29K and Su-33). It is currently under renovation. The aircraft carrier will receive an improved air defense system and “Pantsir” naval systems, as well as new power equipment.
