Admiral Kuznetsov is an aircraft carrier or aircraft-carrying cruiser. Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov - Admiral of the Fleet. Russian aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov". Comparison with competitors

An aircraft carrier is a type of warship that includes a certain amount of combat aircraft, which also represents the main strike force. On board there is a runway of the required length for aircraft take-off, hangars, facilities for refueling, maintenance and flight control. Despite its large dimensions, the aircraft carrier is a highly maneuverable ship and responds quite quickly to deployment signals. One of the representatives of such military equipment is the aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov. More on this below.

Such ships are used by many countries to perform duty services along the water borders of a particular state. They are also intended to assist in the event of enemy forces invading territory. They are used to destroy various enemy boats, as well as to destroy airborne equipment located above the water and in the coastal zone.

An aircraft carrier must have a powerful power plant and a large supply of fuel in order to remain at a distance from the shore for a long period.

Historical path

The first steps towards the construction of the above-mentioned cruiser were taken in 1982. It changed its name several times due to historical events. Finally, in 1990, after lengthy sea trials, his final name appeared on board - “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov.” And a year later, the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser was in Russian naval service. This is a reliable fact.

At the time of the start of construction, aircraft carriers were already in service. Each of them performed specific functions. However, the ship "Admiral Kuznetsov" had a significant difference. That is, it has elongated deck dimensions. This allowed aircraft to perform the traditional type of takeoff and landing.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in the early 1990s, the Russian Navy became quite concerned that the Ukrainian authorities might lay claim to ownership of the cruiser. Therefore, at the end of 1991, he was secretly transported to the city of Severomorsk, which was the new home base of the aircraft carrier Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov. Since that time, he has undergone many tests of various kinds. It is also replenished with a new combat unit - SU-33 serial fighters.

In 1995, in honor of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy, the aircraft carrier-cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov set out on a cruise to the Mediterranean Sea. After passing, he stopped off the coast of Tunisia. At the same time, an American ship was also present there. This allowed some training trials to be completed jointly. According to eyewitnesses, during the joint mooring of the two aircraft carriers, there were corresponding takeoffs and landings of aircraft from both the Russian and American fleets. Some Russian military personnel were even able to ride on US aircraft. The aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" did not disappoint and the command was satisfied with further exercises. But there were some negative sides too. Throughout the entire sea voyage, there was a constant failure of the power plant, and there were problems with other ship systems. This indicated his incomplete combat readiness. And just a short period of time after arriving home, after a thorough repair, the cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov set off on another journey again. Operation Kursk took place in 2000 not without his participation.

In 2004, the cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov sailed into the North Atlantic together with nine ships of the Northern Fleet. The main purpose of the trip was to test the takeoff and landing of the new SU-25KUB fighter. This was followed by regular trips on duty (2005-2007). And in 2007, the cruiser set off on another voyage to the Mediterranean Sea, where everything went well.

Of course, in addition to successful voyages, emergency situations also occurred on board the aircraft carrier, from which not a single ultra-modern warship in the world is immune:

1. The first incident happened at the end of 2004. As a result of the next trip, a minor accident occurred on board the cruiser while landing on the deck of the SU-25UTG. But, fortunately, everything ended with only damage to the plane’s landing gear, and the ship did not suffer significant losses.
2. Misfortune also befell the aircraft carrier in the early fall of 2005 in the North Atlantic. Here the cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov suffered more significant losses. When two SU-33 fighters were landing, one lost control and fell into the water. The pilot ejected already at great depth. The second device was saved through the joint efforts of the crew. They tried to destroy the sunken car, which contained secret technological developments, using water bombs. However, this could not be done. The cause of the emergency turned out to be a break in the arrester cable.
3. The next emergency occurred in January 2009. While staying in the Turkish port of Akzas-Karagach, there was a sudden fire in the bow of the deck. The crew managed to cope with this situation on their own, but the sailor died in the process. The aircraft carrier itself did not suffer significant damage.

Today, the ship "Admiral Kuznetsov" is one of the representatives of heavy naval artillery. Its main tasks are to defeat targets of a certain nature that pose a threat to the state. The heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov looks worthy alongside similar combat units from various countries. How can you not be impressed by a huge twenty-story building that moves unhindered through the water element? There are 8 boilers on board the aircraft carrier and 4. With their help, it can accelerate to a maximum speed of 29 knots. At this pace, it covers up to 3,800 miles, and at a speed of 18 knots - 8,500 miles. In order to be convinced of its power, you can at least look at the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, a photo of which is presented in this text.

Design Features

There is a lot of interesting things here. The Admiral Kuznetsov model has the following decks: smooth and additional take-off. These are important design elements. There is a take-off ramp at the rear of the ship, which means that the architecture of this ship is smooth-deck. This is an essential design feature. There is also a corner flight deck with an area of ​​14,700 m², and a developed superstructure on the starboard side. The existing springboard, which is located in the bow, has a descent angle of 14 degrees. Its implementation is integral with the hull of this aircraft carrier, which has 7 decks in height and two necessary platforms.

Chassis

As already mentioned, this aircraft-carrying cruiser has an improved power plant. It consists of 8 steam boilers and 4 turbines, each with a capacity of 50,000 liters. With. As a result, this system is capable of accelerating a huge machine to 29 knots and maintaining this speed for a long time. Also, the specified power plant has additional containers for fuel. With the help of such a system, this heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser is capable of staying on the water for a long time. The maximum range at a speed of 18 knots is approximately 8,500 miles.

Armament

In this regard, the appropriate equipment has been determined. The armament on the ship "Admiral Kuznetsov" is represented by aviation equipment and missile launchers. This is an important fact. The first type includes all kinds of Russian military aviation. This includes about 28 aircraft (SU-33, MiG-27K, YAK-141 series fighters) and 24 combat helicopters.

In addition, the aircraft carrier includes a number of short-, medium- and long-range missile launchers. These devices can at any time either deliver a targeted blow to the enemy or prevent a torpedo or missile from being hit. In all likelihood, they will be improved in the near future as a result of a complete modernization of the said ship.

Electronic equipment

This is also an important piece of equipment. Electronic equipment on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov allows you to constantly have a picture of the exact location of similar equipment nearby. It includes the Lumberjack system and the Mars-Passat multifunctional device. This also includes devices such as Fregat-2M, which allows you to detect targets in three-dimensional space, and Podkat, for detecting aircraft at low altitudes. This ship also has certain communication and flight control systems. All this allows you to accurately determine the enemy’s position and deliver effective strikes, as well as have constant communication with your allies.

Technical characteristics of this cruiser

The following is taken into account:

• The main manufacturer of the aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov” is the Black Sea company for the construction of warships in the city of Nikolaev.
• Developer: Nevskoye PKB OJSC.
• The maximum speed of the ship is 29-30 knots. The usual chassis is 18.
• The maximum range in optimal driving is 18,000 miles.
• In offline mode it can work for about 45 days.
• It has a displacement of 58,500 tons.

Crew

Of course, to keep the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov afloat, a significant number of qualified crew is needed. It consists of 1960 people, of which 200 are officers. Due to the fact that the main combat power is represented by aviation equipment, there are 626 pilots on board. Of these, the command staff consists of 40 people. Also on the said ship there are 3857 necessary rooms. This includes 387 cabins, 50 showers and 6 dining rooms, 120 storage rooms.

Improvement

Although the aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov has been proving its full combat readiness for many years and quite effectively fulfills its assigned tasks, like all equipment, it requires appropriate modern modernization. The designers and developers of the ship are not going to stop there and in the near future they plan to improve this combat vehicle, giving it additional power and installing additional modern weapons.

First of all, modernization will affect the power plant, since this is the most problematic place and often leads to minor breakdowns. It is planned to replace the existing boiler-turbine installation. In this regard, several options are being considered, that is, they are going to replace it with a gas or nuclear turbine installation. This will limit the number of breakdowns and also add additional load-bearing capacity to the ship.

Weapons will also undergo some changes. In the future, it is possible that the Granit missile launchers will be eliminated. As a result, the area of ​​aircraft parking spaces will increase, and, accordingly, the number of aircraft units themselves will increase. Kinzhal missile launchers are also subject to replacement with improved medium-range anti-aircraft devices. This is important. For short-range installations, it is planned to replace the existing ones with the Pantsir-S1 complex. It will include 4-6 anti-aircraft artillery devices. With all this, it is planned to install a modern system of radio-electronic equipment on the specified aircraft-carrying cruiser. With its help, interactions with other warships will be monitored in the future.

It is planned to equip the aircraft carrier with catapults as a launch system. Since no one is going to give up the runway and jumps in the future, then, accordingly, they will be located on the corner deck. To ensure launch using steam catapults, it is necessary to have a nuclear power plant. This is what the developers are striving for. But if the ship has a gas turbine installation, then the steam catapults will be replaced by electromagnetic ones. This device is not an innovation in combat shipbuilding. Many foreign aircraft carriers already have a similar system in use. It was also tested by our developers even during the existence of the Soviet Union. Therefore, it is worthwhile to correctly fit it into the design of the Admiral Kuznetsov ship.

The number will include 26 MiG-29K fighters and helicopters (from 18 to 28 units). In general, the release of the updated cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov is planned for 2020. By this time, the release of the new generation T-50 fighters is already expected, which will undoubtedly appear on board the ship.

It’s even scary to imagine the capabilities of the updated cruiser, including the existing ones!

Current condition of the ship

Today, this heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser protects the interests of Russia. In general, he copes well with the assigned tasks. It has advanced weapons and is capable of preventing almost any enemy invasion. And it was his campaign in the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic that renewed the presence of the Russian navy in the World Ocean. Such types of warships as the indicated cruiser are in service with most countries. Therefore, Russian developers are making every effort to modernize it.

Conclusion

Having read the above, everyone can imagine what the aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov is, what functions it performs, and what kind of military equipment it has. Overall, this ship is definitely an impressive combat unit of the Russian Federation army.

The editors received a letter from a serviceman who served for some time on the aircraft carrier Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov. We think this material will be of interest to the reader, since the process of reducing our fleet, sadly enough, is ongoing. And the more important becomes the competent, high-quality and full-fledged operation of those few modern ships that remain in our fleet.

With a guide to the Ark

First, a small description of the size and general location of the only Russian aircraft carrier.

The total displacement of the Kuznetsov has now probably already exceeded 60,000 tons. Its greatest length is more than 300 m, width is 72 m.

The main power plant of the ship, at the behest of various leaders from our recent past, was made boiler-turbine, and not nuclear (like the Americans) - four-shaft, with a total power of 200,000 hp, previously provided a speed of 29 knots (but this was back in 1990. ).

The ship has 8 tiers of superstructure, 7 decks and 2 platforms, bow and stern MKO (4 boilers and 2 GTZA in each), 5 power compartments (with diesel and steam turbine generators); a hangar with a length of more than 150 and a width of 26 m, occupying the space between the 2nd and 5th decks in height and connected to the flight deck by two aircraft lifts measuring approximately 14x16 m (if not for their on-board location, our Sukhoi would be lifted from the hangar or lowered into it -33 with a length of about 21 m would be simply impossible), as many as 6 galleys, a punishment cell and its own guardhouse.

Perhaps this is quite enough for a narrative, the purpose of which is not a technical description of the ship, but an outline of its “social status”.

For convenience, the entire ship is divided into “gatherings” - from the 1st to the 53rd. The same system was used on the ships of Project 1143. For those who were not there, we explain: all the gangways (except for the “island”) are numbered; in this case, the ladders, located one below the other, carry one number, even ones on the left side, and odd ones on the right side.

Example. Let's say we need to send a messenger - "golden hooves" (I beg your pardon, defender of the fatherland, i.e. sailor) to the command communications post (CPS). And he, the sailor, even though he served for a year, still does not know where this CPS is located (a common occurrence). Then he should be told: “Go to the 17th gathering, 4th deck, to the KPS.”

Now let's take a walk around the ship. First, let's climb aboard the aircraft carrier along the ladder. It is located in the midship area on the starboard side (if the Kuznetsov is in the factory). On the platform of the right ladder (4th deck) we will be met by a watch officer on the ladder, with a cutlass, and a Marine with a bayonet. If you make an “authorized person”, you can quite easily pass for one of your own (documents are rarely checked on the gangway) and enter the ship. Having climbed to the 3rd tier of the superstructure (residential), we will begin the inspection from here.

Here, the assistant commander and the EMBC commander ("senior engineer") live in single cabins. Going lower, on the ladder we come across a “block post”. This phenomenon is worth talking about separately, especially since this type of watch does not exist on any other ship. A “block post” is a conscript sailor who acts as a guard for a certain area (deck, gangway, etc.) under his control. He does not guard secret objects at all, but light bulbs, fire hoses, fire extinguishers, stands, loud bells, etc. And since the sailor can fall asleep, leave, and finally this wealth can be taken away from him at night, a safety net is also made. Thus, fire extinguishers and fire hoses may not be displayed at all - and indeed, you will not find them anywhere on the ship. The only exception is the time of “highest” reviews, when the ship is walked around the “E.I.V.” with his retinue (commander, first mate, etc.). Then everything that is available is exposed, and the “block posts” are necessarily doubled. An inquisitive reader may ask: “What about the light bulbs? After all, you can’t remove them, otherwise how can you walk in complete darkness?” I hasten to reassure you: this problem has long been solved at a high ideological and technical level. Light bulbs: a) glued with epoxy resin; b) wrapped with wire - preferably barbed; c) supply current to the wire or lampshade. All this is usually used in combination. And still, these damn light bulbs are stolen.

Let's get back to our walk. The commander and flagships live on the tier below; here is a “block post”, which means light and carpets. Let's go down to the second, gallery deck, located between the hangar and the flight deck. There are “checkpoints” here, which means there is light. But don’t delude yourself, because the BC-5 is always ready to “help”, so you need to keep the flashlight (there’s nowhere without it) at the ready. Having gone down to the deck below, we will walk along the 3rd deck on the port side (it is walkable from bow to stern). There are also “checkpoints” and lights here.

Now let's turn on the flashlight and go even lower... Here we will witness another aircraft carrier miracle that makes this ship unlike any other. You can walk along the clean 3rd deck, flooded with light, but as soon as you go down below, you find yourself in the “catacombs” - with destroyed posts, abandoned cabins, all this is without light and very often flooded (sometimes with sewage, so the smell "high quality") Below is the same. Of course, this is not the case everywhere (no more than 60% of departures are below the 3rd deck). If you find yourself at a lit gathering, it means there are crew quarters or warehouses for the supply service.

We go down even lower, into the holds. Everything there is covered in fuel oil and water, there are heaps of garbage here and there (it’s a long way to carry it to the pier, and they’re only allowed there at a certain time, but tidying up on the ship is always done, so they throw garbage into the hold). Do you know how much fuel oil and water we have in our holds? How much, how much? 50 tons you say? Sorry, this is rude. After all, we are an aircraft carrier, and not some kind of gunboat. Then 500. Well, impressive - almost 10 railway tanks. It's still wrong - add another zero, and it will be just right. Dissatisfied exclamations from the outside are possible: they say, we swam, we know, and we had this too, we lived only in the superstructure. May I know what kind of ship this is? Ah, BOD “Udaloy”! This is the one that has been laid up for 10 years after the fire, and the crew on it is 30 people. Sorry, the comparison is incorrect, we are not telling you about a layaway ship, but about an entire aircraft carrier that goes to sea!

We declare with full responsibility that there is simply no other ship like it. Now in the Northern Fleet all ships are divided into two groups: “running”, i.e. clean, tidy and ready to go to sea, but standing still due to lack of fuel, and the ships are “slack” (nowadays the majority of them). “Kuznetsov” is the only hybrid that “runs and sucks.”

Facilities in the yard

Please note: when they talk about some miracle ship, they first give the number of guns, their caliber, the thickness of the armor, etc., and only then, in between, and even then rarely, about the living conditions of the crew. Meanwhile, this is not entirely true, because it is the crew that operates all this variety of weapons. Therefore, in order to avoid this mistake, we will pay special attention to the crew’s living conditions.

The first thing to note is the absence of heating on the ship, which, you see, is important for the North. There are many reasons for this, but perhaps the main one is the lack of a constantly operating auxiliary boiler. Therefore, steam for household needs is taken from the power plant, which is very expensive, because requires not ordinary, but special boiler water, of which there is always little in the fleet. You can also supply steam from the ENS (energy-carrying vessel pr. 305), but the pressure from there is “the cat crying” (and in the winter of 1998/1999 nothing was supplied at all). As a result, steam is supplied periodically for heating, which is not provided for in the system, because there is no condensate drain. The steam heating system runs along the BPTZ (on-board anti-torpedo protection) or, as it is called on the ship, pipe corridors, i.e. along the side. Therefore, when the steam supply stops, the pipes freeze very quickly. And then everything is like in a physics textbook: condensate turns into ice, the ice expands, the pipe bursts. As a result, there is no heating, no heat, there is frost in places on the bulkheads, and ice on the deck. The crew even wears greatcoats in the hangar. If it’s +5°C in the cockpit or cabin, then that’s already good, but if it’s +12-15°, that’s, excuse me, lordship!

In such a situation, only heating pads can save you. Since it is expensive to buy them, and it is difficult to get a ship's one, they are “sculpted” as best they can. The authorities confiscate “non-standard electrical equipment”, while its owners receive “rewards”. But the cold is not a problem, and the ranks of those dreaming of an individual electric sun are not dimming.

Most often it is not the heating pads that burn, but the transformers of the lighting network. They are simply not designed for the loads that heating pads attached to them provide. As a result, the voltage in the network is always significantly lower than the standard TAKR “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov” on the North Sea roadstead (100 V instead of 127 - far from the limit). Adding fuel to the fire is the lack of a 220 V network in the cabins (there are only 127 V, which no one needs), so everyone is trying to get 220 V for themselves. They do magic in different ways: someone “throws a phase” from 380 V, another adds phases of 127 B, the third drags kilometer-long wires from rare 220 V switchboards. And this, in turn, contributes to numerous short circuits.

But that’s not the only thing that’s scary about the cold. It permeates all ship life. After all, not only condensate freezes - the same happens to other pipes that contain water. For this reason, water is not supplied to all cabins on the 2nd deck (which is almost 60% of all ship cabins) neither in winter nor in summer. Not a single officer's shower works. Therefore, the slogan about equality and brotherhood is especially applicable here; everyone - both sailors and officers - wash in the bow (the stern does not work) personnel bathhouse. Of course, this does not apply to the command - they have their own shower.

Water is not supplied to all galleys. The lack of drainage from the cabins has also become common in winter. Accordingly, it is difficult on a ship and with latrines. There are more than fifty of them in total, but a good half of them do not work, and a significant part of the rest are locked: if you are not the happy owner of the “golden key”, then you have less “good”, especially since the Russian Defense Ministry is always ready to go in this regard towards.

Winter 1998/1999 Even the pipes in one of the main boilers froze.

Our ventilation is also bad - 50% of the fan motors burned out long ago. And without ventilation it’s difficult, because, unlike other ships, there are few portholes here, and the vast majority of living quarters do not have them at all. So, only forced ventilation is possible, and if it is not there, the cabin will smell of mold, condensation will drip from the ceiling, and the stuffiness will be like hell.

Finally, it’s worth talking about our wardroom. There is no such thing, but there is a canteen for officers, where more than 150 of them only eat - and nothing more. The premises are more reminiscent of a rural canteen for machine operators during the harvest. There are no tablecloths at all, knives are also superfluous, the dishes are not that dirty, but it is still better to wipe the cutlery “before use.” In principle, the food is cooked well, and the food is good by today’s naval standards. However, all this may not be enough, because... they steal from the buffet. Therefore, it is better not to be late for the wardroom. It probably made more sense to make several wardrooms (for example, for each warhead).

All the king's men

What a nightmare, who would live in such conditions? I'm telling you.

It was assumed that one and a half thousand people would serve on the Kuznetsov (without an air group and landing force), but gradually the crew grew to 2000. The commander is a rear admiral (this is the only floating admiral!), He has a number of assistants: a first mate (captain 1st rank) , assistant, educational assistant, combat control assistant, aviation assistant, survivability assistant and legal assistant. The ship has seven combat units, four services and three commands: navigation (BCh-1), rocket and artillery (BCh-2), mine and torpedo (BCh-3), communications (BCh-4), electromechanical (BCh-5) , aviation (BCh-6) and radio engineering (BCh-7); medical, chemical, survivability services (this is only available on Kuznetsov); control commands ("CU"), boatswain's ("BC") and commandant's commands. There is also "RO" - a security company that performs the functions of the ship's riot police.

A little more about our organization. We have an average of 10 formations per day, each lasting about 35 minutes (thus, over the course of a year we stand idle on formations for almost 65 days). At formations they always say: “The crew of the AIRCRAFT CARRIER... is completed.” And in general, the command always emphasizes that we serve on an AIRCRAFT CARRIER. Let me remind you that no one has yet changed the classification of ships of the Russian Navy, and there is no aircraft carrier there, there is only a heavy aircraft carrier cruiser. And airplanes on our ship are rare, and they visit it in rather pitiful numbers. And during formations, the commander likes to say (he generally likes to talk at formations for at least half an hour): “We must work out the aircraft carrier organization.” And this is on the fifth TAKR!

It is tough with the disembarkation of officers, midshipmen and contract sailors on the Kuznetsov. Here there is a “two-shift”: one week is released on Monday and Wednesday, from 18.00 to 7.30, and also on Saturday, from 18.00 to 7.30 Monday; and next week - from 18.00 Tuesday to 7.30 and from 18.00 Thursday to 7.30 Saturday. It turns out that in one week you rest for 64.5 hours, and in the second - 51 out of 168. Forget about the “soldier status” with all its days off - the laws of the Russian Federation do not apply here (as, indeed, on most other ships). True, some benefits are still provided: for example, you can get an apartment almost free of charge, but in the village of Vidyaevo, and this is the “devil on its horns”, and it takes four hours to get there by bus. And you will see your family once a week. You understand that only special people can serve in such conditions.

Our bosses are also amazing. On April 12, the whole country celebrates Cosmonautics Day, and we celebrate the Day of our leadership, which soars in the clouds while we, sinners, walk on earth. This style of command makes you feel like a pygmy.

After all that has been said, it is not surprising that Kuznetsov enjoys a bad reputation. The bosses everywhere are just as scary: “If you behave badly, we’ll send you to Kuznetsov (nickname: Kuzya).” Well, those who were “lucky” to get to serve on “Kuznetsov” don’t really want to serve there. Hence the high staff turnover. Every 4-5 years (at the end of the contract), the junior officers - and this is the main backbone of the ship - changes by 80%. Experienced people leave, and “greenies” come to take their place. The same applies to midshipmen. All this clearly does not contribute to improving the operation of equipment. Due to such conditions, contracts after military service on an aircraft carrier are concluded only by those who are not at all suitable for “civilian life” - and this, you see, is far from the best “human material”. It is no coincidence that not all officers consider it desirable to have “contract soldiers” on the ship.

As for the personnel, i.e. sailors, then looking at them, you believe that the USSR is alive, is living and will live. There are so many nationalities here! Russians - no more than 60%, although, it seems, only residents of the Russian Federation are called up. The point is probably that among us Russians, “mowing down a sacred duty” is considered an indicator of one’s position in society and prestige. Therefore, they are rowing all those who did not have enough intelligence or money to evade. You read the addresses of the conscripts and believe: Rus' has not become scarce in land. A village, a town, a collective farm, but among the young sailors there are neither Muscovites nor St. Petersburg residents (Admiral N.O. Essen used to say: “We don’t need tillers in the navy”). Another thing is the North Caucasus. There it is believed that a real man must go through army school, and they consider joining the navy as happiness. Therefore, not the worst representatives of the North Caucasus come on board the ship. Of course, they quickly get used to the situation, organizing small-town groups and seizing power among the sailors. The situation is different with the Tuvans and Bashkirs: apparently, due to the lack of close acquaintance with civilizations, they simply do not know how to evade an honorable state duty. Now it is probably clear why every tenth conscript does not speak Russian.

To be safe, this entire contingent is not even allowed to go on leave (so that they don’t do anything wrong in Murmansk). So they sit on the hardware for 2 years. The main educational measure towards sailors has now become the “lash” (there is no “carrot”), i.e. a punishment cell where even midshipmen sometimes end up. From such a life, sailors like to “get lost”, fortunately the ship is large. This happens 3-4 times a month. Then all the officers and midshipmen are assigned to the gatherings, and we look for the hidden sailor. Searches usually last 1-2 days (if they are not found on the first day, and this is a 50% chance, then the sailor, as a rule, comes out on his own after 2-3 days), but there were also record holders. So, they searched for one sailor in the Mediterranean for a week. And the most famous case was that of an aircraft technician who went missing while heavily intoxicated. He (or rather, his mummy) was found FOUR YEARS later in a place that to this day no one can understand how he got there...

"Prokhindiada"

“If you want to live, know how to spin.” This is a good old truth that well characterizes the lifestyle at Kuznetsov. The commander loves to talk about fools - junior commanders who set impossible tasks to “get” something, pushing the sailors to steal, and immediately threatens that some warhead will cover the landing if it does not illuminate its corridors by morning. Where can I get these same light bulbs if they are not issued on the ship? We know where - with the neighbors, at night...

They steal everything from everyone. Once they stole 200 pairs (we all do it on a large scale) of officer’s boots, and then almost openly sold them on the ship for 50 rubles per pair. And the commander kept shouting that he would put everyone in prison.

The most fruitful field here, of course, is the galleys. Everyone who is not too lazy takes money from them, but everyone here is not too lazy. What is not carried away is eaten, and at night all the galleys smell of fried potatoes. Specially punched canned food is provided to the galleys, but it is still sold at a reduced price to factory workers. And the first violin here is, of course, played by the supply service.

It has already been said that we have a problem with showers. But this is not the case for everyone. Particularly “gifted” people make themselves “homemade” showers with electric heating - fortunately, there are a huge number of abandoned showers and washbasins on the ship. No less interesting is the situation with the cabins. There are many looted and abandoned cabins of landing officers, pilots and aircraft technicians on the ship. If you really want, you can find a suitable one and repair it. Therefore, often even midshipmen or contract sailors live in single cabins. “If you want to live, know how to spin.”

The main thing: "Eaglets learn to fly"

Unclear; What is the main weapon on an aircraft carrier cruiser - aviation or attack missiles. The Kuznetsov is still more aircraft carrier than missile, so aviation is considered the main weapon here. Theoretically, the ship can carry up to 40 Su-33s. In fact, the country forked out only 24, and with great difficulty prepared only seven vehicles for permanent deployment.

Our aircraft, unlike the more “backward” American ones, are capable of solving only air defense tasks (although the Air Force has the Su-35 universal aircraft), so the aircraft carrier solves the strike mission with the help of anti-ship missiles. Due to the springboard (instead of ejection) takeoff, the Su-33 is subject to takeoff weight restrictions. If we take into account that (partly due to the fault of the power plant) flights are carried out at 6-8 knots, it becomes clear why they happen only in windy weather and, as a rule, without outboard weapons and with a reduced fuel supply.

The ship is equipped with an automatic landing system, which theoretically provides for the possibility of flights in any visibility, but it has not been tested in practice. Therefore, flights are carried out only in GOOD windy weather.

In general, the basing of aircraft at Kuznetsov is of some strange nature. Aviation does not even appear in the hangar, but instead of airplanes there peacefully stand there: a 25-ton truck crane, four towing tractors, GAZ-66 and ZIL firefighters, a Gazelle, a UAZ-452, a “goat” and a tractor with a jet engine installed on it (to clear the flight deck of snow and ice).

Our weapons

In the summer of 1998, on Navy Day, we took fuel oil. You ask: “What does this have to do with weapons?” And here’s what: we accepted him not only into the tanks, but also into one of the fire control posts. True, only 60 tons, and without malicious intent. The bilge workers apparently closed the wrong valve and continued to take fuel oil into a full tank, the loosely closed neck of which was located near the mentioned post. Through this neck the post was flooded, in which for some reason there was no BC-2 watch. The sealed racks failed and the post failed.

Two of the four air defense missile systems were also flooded at one time with seawater from the irrigation system. It was at night, there was a fistula in the pipe, and all the rooms of both complexes were flooded “to the roof.” All eight "Dirks" require scheduled adjustments, for which there is no money. To top off all the troubles, the horizon-azimuth system is malfunctioning. Therefore, we can shoot, but hit...

"And instead of a heart there is a fiery engine"

When people talk about the warhead-5, they usually mean the power plant. Let's talk about her.

Firstly, one of the eight boilers and one GTZA are temporarily not working - due to a flue explosion due to an operational error (they forgot to ventilate the gas duct before igniting the boiler). Thus, theoretically, the power of the power plant was reduced to 75%. But this is in theory, and in practice - even less.

All four dywoods leak, so the bearings of the shaft lines are periodically flooded, which imposes a limit on the maximum number of revolutions. The automation of the power plant has long exhausted its service life, which makes the Kuznetsov smoke like a battleship from a photograph from the beginning of the century. In addition, the pipelines are already “barely breathing,” and the sailors servicing the power plant do not shine with professional skills and knowledge. As a result, instead of almost 29 knots that Kuznetsov gave in tests, or at least 24, on three machines it barely holds 16-18, and usually no more than 10-12 knots.

The situation is “good” with the electrical part as well. Either the turbogenerator will run down and the backup diesel generator will not be able to start, or something else will happen. And the whole ship plunges into darkness. It looks especially piquant when on the move: the locators do not emit, there is no communication, the boilers go out - not an aircraft carrier, but a “Flying Dutchman”. It was under such circumstances that in the summer of 1998, the Fearless EM almost died, and even earlier, the Kiev. In both cases, the ships were carried ashore in a storm, and only miraculously they managed to put the power plant into operation. On “Kyiv” this happened 3-4 cables away from the rocks...

It should also be said about the aircraft carrier’s home base. The official location for it is ship repair plant No. 35 (SRZ-35). I don’t know how things are in other fleets, but in the North not a single ship is permanently based in a plant. For Kuznetsov, this is perhaps the ideal option, because... otherwise, he would have to be based in the village of Vidyaevo (where his regular place was previously located). There is nothing there except hills and a dozen houses. Now the decommissioned Kiev is living out its life in Vidyaevo.

Next to us stands “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov.” Once he came to SRZ-35 for repairs and his feed machine burned out. Now it is officially in conservation, but in reality it is simply dying. After all, conservation also requires money, but here they simply “put a lock on the ship.” The working day there is strictly until 17.00, the crew is only 75 people, and the sailors go on leave every day - not service, but a fairy tale. So they stand half a cable away from each other, two antipodes - “hard labor” and “resort” of the Northern Fleet. Wonderful are your works, Lord!

The SRZ-35 is not so well suited for basing an aircraft carrier. Steam is produced poorly or not at all. It's the same with water, because... the pressure is not enough to supply it to the tiers of the superstructure. Electricity is also scarce - the “shore” is rather weak, and in winter, when the load on the network increases due to heating pads, the shore power supply panel periodically “cuts down”.

But the story about SRZ-35 will not be complete without a story about VOKhR. It is staffed by women of “Balzac age”, which, however, does not in the least affect its combat effectiveness - God forbid it falls into their female hands (it is no coincidence that Zimny ​​was defended by a female shock battalion). At the checkpoint of the plant you will definitely be searched, sniffed (for the slightest smell of alcohol) and, of course, checked for a pass. This is not Kuznetsov. All this has been brought to the point of absurdity. For example, carrying large bags, backpacks and “diplomats” (even empty ones) through a checkpoint without a special pass is prohibited. But if you stuff them in a plastic bag (even a two-meter one), then you can carry them without any gaps.

The reader probably has a bad aftertaste from everything that was said - and that’s understandable. Some will say that this cannot happen, while others will be indignant: what has the fleet come to and how the current military has sunk. We had to hear such offensive speeches quite often - and certainly from civilians. Such judgments always caused a feeling of bewilderment rather than resentment. Our country, even with all its extravagance, is not a “banana republic” where the army is the state. Our Ministry of Defense is only part of the state mechanism. And in general, over the past 100 years, the army in Russia has been far from the leading political force. Unlike the civilian sector, we, the military, depend on the government not indirectly (through laws), but directly (through orders). So we are an exact replica of our state-government. And since every nation deserves its own government, there is no need to dissociate ourselves from our, or rather, common problems.

If we continue to develop this topic, it is worth dispelling another misunderstanding, which is extremely persistent in “civilian circles” - about the supposed natural totalitarianism of the military. We are the flesh of our people, and there are no more supporters of the RNU or LDPR among the military than among the rest of the people. And there are probably even fewer supporters of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

I also heard this from some military personnel: they say, since we don’t know how to operate aircraft carriers, then we don’t need them, just EVs and BODs are enough. But then why are these same EM and BOD needed? After all, far from the coast without the support of aviation they will be destroyed, but near the coast their tasks are calmly carried out by RTOs and MPKs. And the Navy command, thank God, understands this and has recently, to the best of its ability, been trying to save this unique ship, and indeed the “aircraft carrier sector” in general. There are even rumors that “Kuznetsov” will no longer winter in the north. But can all this be done without support at the very top? To operate it and especially to commission at least two dozen Su-33s, a lot of money is needed...

It's a terrible shame for our unique and beloved ship.

16 years ago, the aircraft carrier "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" fled to Russian citizenship. And to this day, the brainchild of Nikolaev shipbuilders remains the flagship of the Northern Fleet. The ship's biography is filled with dramatic events.

“Articles appeared in the press claiming that the aircraft carrier Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov, on the eve of the referendum “On the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine” on December 1, 1991, allegedly secretly “escaped” from Sevastopol to Severomorsk. One of the articles was called: “How the Admiral escaped from Ukraine.” I discussed this issue with the guarantee representatives of the Black Sea plant, who were on this cruiser at that time, and they said that the ship’s departure was planned, they were preparing for it in advance,” writes Valery Babich in his book “The City of St. Nicholas and Its Aircraft Carriers” . Valery Vasilyevich Babich is a recognized historian of the construction of aircraft-carrying cruisers in Nikolaev.

Writing about the recent history of our region is a thankless task. Many participants in the aircraft carrier epic are still alive and witness the agony of the shipbuilding giants in the city. The recent past is an open wound for veterans. They themselves built these ships and do not want to agree with any private assessment of their unique existence. Some time must pass for the cold mind of the historian to restore the objective cause-and-effect relationship of real events.

For a decade and a half, Valery Babich’s books were the only source on the history of the construction of our aircraft carriers. However, recently the author's monopoly has begun to break down. Hundreds of forums have appeared on the Internet, whose visitors share their memories of service on aircraft carriers. These include ordinary sailors, commanders of combat units, and admirals. A kind of “popular cross-section” of emotional perception of the aircraft carrier era has emerged.

The fate of Nikolaev aircraft-carrying cruisers is sad. “Minsk” and “Kyiv” today entertain Chinese tourists, and “Varyag” is in military service in the Middle Kingdom. “Admiral Gorshkov” (formerly “Baku”) was sold to India, renamed “Vikramaditya” and handed over to the receiving party with pomp a month ago. Only one TAKR "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" serves in the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy.

"Admiral" was stolen

The heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov was laid down at the Black Sea Shipyard in 1982, launched in 1985 and has been in service since 1990.

The main characteristics of the ship are as follows: length - 302.3 meters, width - 72.3 meters, draft - 9.1 meters, maximum speed - 29 knots, displacement - 60 thousand tons, crew - about 2 thousand people (of which 600 pilots and aircraft technicians), cruising range - 8400 miles. The aircraft carrier can be based on: 26 Su-33 and MiG-29K fighters, 18 Ka-27 and Ka-29 helicopters, two Ka-27PS helicopters and four Ka-31 helicopters.

The ship's armament consists of two Udav rocket launchers, 12 Granit anti-ship missile launchers, 6 six-barreled 30-mm artillery mounts, 4 six-barreled Kinzhal anti-aircraft missile systems and 8 Kortik anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems.

On December 1, 1991, at 9.00, this huge ship quietly weighed anchor in Sevastopol Bay and began moving towards the Bosphorus. The departure was sudden. Cargo, half the crew and planes remained on the shore. Everyone who was on board the Admiral Kuznetsov realized that the ship was being secretly removed from Ukrainian waters. A year and a half later, the newspaper “Severny Rabochiy” published the memoirs of captain 2nd rank Viktor Kanishevsky, who was a participant in the campaign from Sevastopol to Severodvinsk. Here is an excerpt from this article:

“... I remember now the excitement of that autumn day when we received a telegram from the President of Ukraine Kravchuk at Kuznetsov. It announced that the ship was the property of Ukraine, and that until a government decision was made it should remain in the Sevastopol roadstead.

Having broken up in groups in their cabins, the officers, and just sailors, wondered how Russian President Yeltsin, Navy Commander Chernavin and Northern Fleet Commander Gromov would react to this.

“I just can’t figure it out: why does Ukraine, with its closed Black Sea, need a ship intended for ocean service? If she really wants to have an aircraft carrier, then let “Varyag” complete construction or “Ulyanovsk,” the commander of the warhead-5, captain 1st rank Andrei Utushkin, was perplexed. - This is pure politicking...

“Not without that,” 1st Rank Captain Vladimir Ivanov agreed with him. “Only Russia will never give up Kuznetsov.”

However, the declaration of independence of Ukraine, adopted shortly before the ill-fated telegram, had already destroyed the seemingly indestructible maritime brotherhood of the aircraft carrier crew. Some of the officers and midshipmen, whose families were in Sevastopol, did not hide their desire to serve under the Ukrainian “trident”, and therefore openly rejoiced at the telegram. Like, why ruin such a beautiful ship in the North. He needs to be based closer to the repair base. And it is available for an aircraft carrier only in Nikolaev...

Days passed. Kyiv was silent. Meanwhile, a radio dispatch came from the Arctic that the first deputy commander of the Northern Fleet, Vice Admiral Yuri Ustimenko, had flown to Crimea. The long-awaited guest arrived on the aircraft carrier by boat. Despite the late hour, a large gathering was played. Having greeted the crew, the vice admiral with a Ukrainian surname ordered the sailors to be dismissed and ordered the commander to immediately weigh anchor. Yarygin began to explain that two-thirds of the officers and midshipmen, as well as the delivery team, remained on the shore and would arrive by boat only tomorrow morning.

— What about the planes that remained in Saki? — political officer Ivanov became worried.

“They’ll fly to Safonovo themselves,” Ustimenko reassured. Judging by the decisive tone of the guest, one could conclude that he received an order to take “Ukrainian property” to the North not only from the commander of the Northern Fleet Gromov, but also from the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Chernavin. Or maybe even the Minister of Defense himself. This means that Moscow gave the go-ahead. The management officers of the aircraft-carrying cruiser felt like participants in an unannounced disagreement between two capitals that were still friendly yesterday.

At 23.40, without giving any signals, the aircraft carrier left the Sevastopol roadstead in pitch darkness and headed for the Bosporus. When the shore was far astern, the running lights were turned on...”

Captain 2nd rank Viktor Kanishevsky was the assistant commander of the ship and was responsible for the “survivability” of the ship. He belonged to the senior command staff and knew the situation well. Junior officers and sailors looked at this “northern campaign” with different eyes.

Through the eyes of junior officers and sailors

There are three posts on the Balancer forum in which the authors share their impressions of the Admiral Kuznetsov’s voyage from Sevastopol to the village of Vidyaevo, the home base of the aircraft-carrying cruiser in the Northern Fleet.

A visitor under the nickname Oldcondor reports: “...We got into such a mess for three weeks that I don’t even want to remember. Half of the crew was recruited from other ships, the other half - all sorts of engineers, adjusters from the factory, special forces, Black Fleet headquarters officers, etc. There were even border guards and some kind of coast guard from Sevastopol.

And just in case, we have eight tiers of superstructure, seven decks and two platforms. All this is divided into 53 gatherings. Nobody really knows the geography of the ship. The personnel - blind kittens - poke around all the decks. You can't send anyone anywhere. The messenger will definitely get lost, and then you need to declare a “driven hunt” to find the wanderer... However, you don’t have to declare a hunt, the person will get hungry and return to the people himself. True, there is a danger that this sailor will be sheltered by “compatriots”, then he will sleep for two days, take time off from his watch, and this, given the lack of people, is not welcomed by the authorities...”

— “Countrymen” is a unique invention. — A forum member under the nickname Capitan Sidor continues his memories. — On the Kuznetsov, fraternities appeared already on the second day of the move, immediately after the Bosporus. The entire crew was divided into “Russians”, “Khokhlovs”, “Moldavians”, “Georgians” and “Balts”. There were also, it seems, some Asians: either Tajiks or Uzbeks, I don’t remember exactly. The crests always wanted to flee to their homeland. When leaving the Bosphorus, they threw three rafts overboard and tried to get to the Turkish coast en masse. Everyone, of course, was caught and hidden in a punishment cell all the way to Vidyaevo...

The Georgians stole everything from the galley. Once, while loading food, a whole beef carcass was taken away under the nose of the watch officer... They had their own kebab shop on the fourth tier, where there were empty cabins for pilots and landing troops. The guys traded briskly...

Moldovans are a peaceful, uncomplaining people. Everyone concentrated in the boatswain's team and did not cause us much trouble. But the Estonians and Latvians immediately went into the “catacombs” - to the lowest tiers - it was impossible to drive them up..."

The security company - the ship's riot police - was fully involved in the campaign. The guys guarded the white bone on the “island” (command superstructure - author) and guarded it well. No one moved anywhere without riot police. Only Sreznevsky, the commander of the warhead-6, was not afraid to go below the 4th tier... All other officers faced inevitable reprisals. They, as a rule, were undressed and robbed in the dark...”

You cannot treat messages on forums as reliable facts and, especially, as a historical source. Anonymous correspondents have impunity for their writings. They say what they want. There is no responsibility. However, the statistics of negative reviews about the latest aircraft-carrying cruiser built in Nikolaev makes us think.

Russian biography of “Admiral Kuznetsov”

The Russian biography of the ship is filled with dramatic events. The “stolen item” did not bring happiness to the new owner. Here is a partial track record of his “misfortunes”:

1. In April 1995, “Kuznetsov” was caught in a strong storm. At the same time, several steam boilers failed, the ship lost speed and was almost thrown ashore on Novaya Zemlya.

2. In December 1995, the aircraft-carrying cruiser set sail for the Mediterranean Sea. At the very beginning of the campaign, he discovered serious problems in the operation of the main power plant. It turned out that two of the eight steam boilers had salted pipes - the sailors filled with sea water instead of distilled water. During the entire campaign, the pipes of other boilers regularly burst and leaked. Evaporators, turbogenerators, and diesel generators constantly failed. As a result, Kuznetsov moved at an average speed of 2-4 knots.

3. In February 1996, while visiting Malta, all of the Kuznetsov’s boilers (!) failed and the ship was left without power. Due to strong winds, there was a danger of the aircraft carrier being washed ashore. Admiral Valentin Selivanov, who led the campaign at the last stage, recalled: “...I remember it like now. We are sitting at a reception with the Minister of Defense of Malta in the palace. The communications officer reports to me: “The wind is increasing to thirty meters per second. “Not a single boiler is working at Kuznetsov.” I immediately estimate: our anchor-chain is 100 meters long, the hull length is 304 meters, and the distance to the rocks is 250 meters. The ship's windage is enormous; it is being dragged onto the rocks.

I abandon the minister and rush to the helipad. According to all flight rules, landing on the deck in such a wind is prohibited, but the helicopter pilots landed me. I already had a presentiment of the greatest shame in history. Russia's largest ship lies broken on the rocks of Malta in the anniversary year. The whole world would see this on TV...

The stern was carried onto the rocks, and we worked on the boiler with swearing and prayers. As a result, one boiler was started. It provides power for one and a half knots of travel. This is not enough, but our approach to the rocks has slowed down. Finally, another boiler was put into operation. Thank God and the sailors from BC-5 - the disaster did not happen. I don’t know how I would have lived later if I had ruined Kuznetsov. In general, I brought the ship to Severodvinsk, returned to Moscow and wrote a letter of resignation.”

4. In August 1998, when receiving fuel, the wrong valve was mistakenly closed, and 60 tons of fuel oil spilled onto the fire control station. The post is out of order. A little earlier, two of the four Kortik anti-aircraft systems were flooded due to a pipe break at Kuznetsov.

5. In October 2003, “Admiral Kuznetsov” left for sea trials after docking in the Barents Sea, during which a fire occurred in the main gas duct.

6. In 2000, a BC-5 sailor died on the ship from electric shock.

7. On January 17, 2002, a fire occurred on the Kuznetsov during repairs at the Severomorsk roadstead. Petty Officer 1st Class V. Bobylev died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

9. On January 6, 2009, another fire broke out on board the Admiral Kuznetsov while docking in the Turkish port of Akzas-Karagach. According to preliminary data, one of the causes of the fire could have been a malfunction in the fuel system of the engine room. The fire lasted about two hours. Conscript sailor D. Sychev died because he suffocated from smoke.

The sad biography of the aircraft-carrying cruiser attracted wide attention to it from the Russian public and the media. Moscow engineer Krotov wrote an open letter to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, concluding with the demand: “Stop wasting people's money! The Kuznetsov TAKR is ineffective, dangerous to operate and very expensive to maintain. I urge the Secretary of Defense to mothball this ship."

In 2008, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, said at an extended government meeting that the fleet needed six aircraft carriers at a cost of $5 billion each to maintain combat capability.

In Nikolaev, everyone held their breath, and... in vain. Two years later, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told a Rossiyskaya Gazeta correspondent: “... Russia does not plan to build new aircraft carriers in the coming years. True, we ordered the corresponding preliminary design to understand what a modern aircraft carrier should look like. Then the General Staff and the Navy command will evaluate these proposals. In the meantime, the bet is on floating airfields. More precisely, for the purchase in France and construction of four Mistral-class helicopter carriers. Of course, they will not replace ships like the Admiral Kuznetsov. But they will make their contribution to the demonstration of St. Andrew’s flag in the World Ocean.”

For 20 years, the Russian Navy has been operating its only aircraft-carrying cruiser. For all this time, this ship was only a full-fledged unit of the Russian fleet for six years. The rest of the time was spent on major repairs and scheduled docking of the vessel.

The costs of maintaining an aircraft carrier in operational condition are high, and Russia is struggling to bear the burden. The military began to have serious doubts about the advisability of maintaining the ship. However, Russia endures, turning “Kuznetsov” into a symbol of a powerful state. And while the construction of a new aircraft carrier is at the design stage, we have to tighten our belts to maintain the old ship. The Russian Ministry of Defense is inclined to sell the aircraft-carrying cruiser to China.

From a military point of view, the aircraft carrier cannot compete with more modern models. On the other hand, judging by the experience of the Varyag, it can seriously reduce the development time of Chinese aircraft carriers. Independent experts believe that the Kuznetsov is not hopeless, although there are some problems with the takeoff and landing of aircraft, but in terms of combat characteristics it is better than light aircraft carriers and landing ships.

In Nikolaev, this situation is observed through the eyes of an outsider. Our aircraft carrier shipbuilding is dead. Will it be revived? - Unknown.

The director of ChSZ, Yuri Makarov, under whom the assembly line for the production of aircraft-carrying cruisers was created, was skeptical about the prospect of reviving the construction of “masters of the oceans.” Shortly before his death, in an interview with a local TV channel, he stated: “In order to restart the construction of aircraft-carrying cruisers, we need to bring back the planned economy, the CPSU, the Komsomol, the pioneers and the October star... otherwise nothing will happen...”

The heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov", assembled in Nikolaev, continues to carry out combat missions today. And the “Admiral” spent the New Year holidays in the Atlantic Ocean, performing the tasks of long-distance voyages...

(Ed. 2016) The heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov of the Russian Northern Fleet set off for the shores of Syria. The aircraft carrier will be part of the Russian naval group in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.

This information was confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense. Earlier on Saturday, correspondents from several Russian agencies, including directly from the Northern Fleet base in Severomorsk, reported about the dispatch of the Admiral Kuznetsov to the Mediterranean Sea.

The Admiral Kuznetsov air wing includes the MiG-29KR and MiG-29KUBR ship-based fighters, as well as the fourth-generation Su-33 carrier-based fighters.

Sergey Gavrilov, journalist, via

Armament

Same type ships

general information

The first Soviet aircraft carrier designed for conventional take-off and landing aircraft (previous types of TAKR were intended for vertical take-off aircraft). Named after Admiral of the Soviet Union Fleet Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov. Built in the city of Nikolaev, at the Black Sea Shipyard.

Currently, the ship hosts Su-25UTG and Su-33 aircraft of the 279th separate naval fighter aviation regiment (OKIAP), as well as MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB of the 100th OKIAP (airfield based 279 and 100 OKIAP - Severomorsk-3 ), Ka-27 and Ka-29 helicopters of the 830th separate naval anti-submarine helicopter regiment (based airfield - Severomorsk-1).

History of creation

Prerequisites for creation

According to the Navy development plan approved by the USSR government in 1945, the construction of aircraft carriers in the USSR was not planned. N. G. Kuznetsov, who at that time held the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, managed to achieve the inclusion of ships of this class only in the design plan. In 1953, Kuznetsov approved a project to create a light aircraft carrier (Project 85) for air defense of the fleet on the high seas. It was planned to build at least eight such ships, with the first of them supposed to enter service in 1960. But in 1955, N. G. Kuznetsov fell into disgrace and was removed from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. Instead, the chair of commander-in-chief was taken by S.G. Gorshkov, who in many ways did not share the ideas of his predecessor regarding the development of the Navy.

Although aircraft carriers performed admirably in the naval battles of World War II, much progress has been made in both anti-ship and ship-based anti-aircraft weapons since then. The relatively successful operations of American aircraft carrier formations in Korea and Vietnam took place in testing conditions, without enemy opposition from the sea. In fact, aircraft carriers in these conflicts served as mobile air bases for attacking ground targets, which did not prove their possible usefulness in a naval battle. This gave the Soviet leadership grounds to rely on cruisers and submarines armed with missiles in the development of the fleet, declaring aircraft carriers “weapons of Western imperialism.”

The “first swallows” of the Soviet aircraft carrier fleet were the anti-submarine cruisers of Project 1123, which had on board an air group of fourteen Ka-25 helicopters. However, the capabilities of helicopters did not allow them to organize full support for naval operations from the air, so it was decided to develop new ships designed for the use of vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers of Project 1143 (Kyiv type) became such ships. Having received powerful missile weapons, these cruisers carried a small air group, whose tasks remained rather auxiliary. In addition, the Yak-38 carrier-based aircraft, being the first production VTOL aircraft of the Soviet Union, was distinguished by low flight performance, and due to its small size and weight it was severely limited in combat load and range. In addition, being an attack aircraft by design, the Yak-38 was poorly suited for air defense missions. Thus, the three ships of the Kyiv class, together with the Baku aircraft carrier, which was their development, continued to remain more cruisers than aircraft carriers. The shortcomings of the Yak-38 were supposed to be eliminated on a carrier-based VTOL aircraft of a new generation - the multi-role fighter Yak-41 - but this aircraft was created long and hard, so the deadline for its adoption was constantly pushed back.

Design

Realizing the limited aircraft carrier capabilities of Project 1143 ships, the Navy leadership decided to build a full-fledged aircraft carrier capable of using aircraft with traditional takeoff and landing in addition to VTOL aircraft. The development of the project was entrusted to the Nevsky Design Bureau in 1977. Design work took almost three years and was completed only in 1980. A total of ten options were prepared, including ships with a nuclear power plant. As a result, after several years of approvals, project 11435 was approved. In addition to the significantly larger size, the main difference between the new project and the previous ones (1143 and 11434) was the different placement of the main missile system, which was now supposed to be located inside the hull. In addition, the ship's superstructure was shifted to the right, onto the sponson (protruding beyond the contours of the starboard side). Both of these factors made it possible to increase the area of ​​the flight deck to a size suitable for carrier-based aircraft with horizontal take-off. Initially, the ship was planned to be equipped with two steam catapults, but their placement led to a noticeable increase in the displacement and cost of the cruiser; attempts to keep within the given dimensions while maintaining the catapults would lead to a deterioration in the combat capabilities of the future ship. The high characteristics of the 4th generation Soviet fighters, which were supposed to be based on the new ship, made it possible to take off from a springboard without the help of catapults, so it was decided to abandon the latter.

The final project was approved in May 1982, and in September of the same year, the lead ship of the new project was laid down at the Black Sea Shipyard No. 444 in the city of Nikolaev (Ukrainian SSR).

Construction and testing

TAKR "Leonid Brezhnev" at the outfitting wall, illustration from the 1987 Soviet Military Power magazine

Su-33 fighter on the deck of an aircraft carrier, 1996

Continuing the campaign, on October 18, 2004, an accident occurred with a training Su-25UTG. The plane touched down too hard, as a result of which its right landing gear broke. Destruction on the ship was avoided, since the emergency Su-25UTG caught the landing hook on the arrester cable and stopped the run.

On September 5, 2005, two emergency landings of Su-33 fighters occurred on a TAKR aircraft in the North Atlantic due to a broken arrestor cable. The first fighter fell into the ocean and sank at a depth of 1100 meters (the pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Korneev, managed to eject), the second plane stayed on the deck. It was planned to destroy the sunken plane with depth charges due to the presence of secret equipment (for example, a “friend or foe” identification system), but it turned out that due to the great depth this was impossible to do. The Navy command expects that the sunken Su-33 will collapse on its own.

December 5, 2007“Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov”, as part of a naval strike group that includes the BOD “Admiral Chabanenko” and “Admiral Levchenko”, went on its second trip to combat service in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. During his military service, visits were made to the ports of Italy, France and Algeria, as well as to the island of Malta. Upon returning across the North Atlantic, the carrier force took part in exercises together with shore-based naval aviation, as well as Russian Air Force aircraft. Combat service continued until February 3, 2008.

From May 2008 to December 8, 2008, the cruiser underwent a seven-month scheduled repair at the facilities of the Zvezdochka Ship Repair Center. During the repairs, the main power plant was updated, work was carried out to repair the air conditioning system, boiler equipment, and mechanisms for lifting aircraft onto the flight deck.

TAKR "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" passes the Strait of Gibraltar in December 2007

Winter 2008/2009 - starting from December 2008- the aircraft carrier cruiser again underwent combat service in the Mediterranean Sea. During this voyage, on January 6, 2009, an accident occurred: while stationed at a roadstead as part of military exercises in the Turkish port of Akzas-Karagach, a fire started in one of the bow rooms on board an aircraft carrier cruiser. The fire was extinguished by the ship's crew, but while fighting the fire, conscript Dmitry Sychev died from carbon monoxide poisoning. According to expert statements, the aircraft carrier did not receive serious damage and on January 11, 2009, took part in joint exercises with Greece. The campaign was completed February 27, 2009.

December 6, 2011 a heavy aircraft carrier cruiser at the head of a detachment of ships of the Northern Fleet again entered the Mediterranean Sea, to the shores of Syria. In connection with the unrest and coup attempts in this country friendly to Russia, a show of force was needed near its shores, at least partially counterbalancing the constant presence of warships of the US 6th Fleet in the area.

On December 12, 2011, the formation dropped anchor in the Moray Firth (UK) to replenish water and food supplies. On December 15, due to deteriorating weather in the parking area, the detachment of warships weighed anchor and continued the voyage.

On December 23, 2011, a detachment of warships led by the aircraft carrier “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov” passed through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea.

From January 8 to January 10, 2012, the Russian unit paid a business visit to the port of Tartus (Syria), where it replenished supplies at the material and technical base of the Russian Navy. During the visit, the delegation of Russian sailors met with the Governor of Tartus Province, Atef Naddaf.

February 16, 2012 The aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" completed its combat service, returning to Severomorsk.

After completion of combat service, restoration repairs of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier were carried out at the Murmansk branch of the Zvezdochka Ship Repair Center OJSC. By August 23, 2012, the renovation was completed.

In September 2013, the cruiser took part in Northern Fleet exercises in the Barents Sea area.

Ka-29 helicopter over the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier during combat service, Mediterranean Sea, November 24, 2016

WITH December 17, 2013 to May 17, 2014 The aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" made a new trip to military service in the Mediterranean Sea with a call at the material and technical base of the Russian Navy in the port of Tartus (Syria). Deputy Commander of the Northern Fleet, Rear Admiral Viktor Sokolov, raised his flag on the cruiser. While in the Mediterranean Sea, the aircraft carrier cruiser operated together with the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Peter the Great. During this campaign, the pilots of the 279th Naval Aviation Regiment acquired significant practical experience in conducting flights from the deck of an aircraft-carrying cruiser on the high seas, completing more than 350 sorties with a total stay in the air of about 300 hours.

On August 19, 2015, the cruiser completed three months of repairs at the dock of the 82nd ship repair plant (Roslyakovo village, Murmansk region). During the work, the electromechanical part of the ship was put in order, and the underwater part of the hull was also cleaned and painted.

October 15, 2016 The cruiser left Severomorsk for combat service in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to the Admiral Kuznetsov, the detachment of warships also included the nuclear-powered heavy missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, the BOD Vice Admiral Kulakov and Severomorsk, as well as a number of auxiliary ships and vessels. On board the carrier cruiser there was an air group consisting of 10 Su-33 fighters, 4 MiG-29K/KUB fighters, 5 Ka-27 helicopters (including anti-submarine Ka-27PL and rescue Ka-27PS), 2 transport-combat Ka-29 and one Ka-52K combat helicopter, as well as one Ka-31 AWACS helicopter.

From October 19 to 21, training flights of carrier-based aircraft were carried out in the Norwegian Sea from the deck of a aircraft carrier. On October 21, the connection passed through the English Channel.

On October 26, 2016, a detachment of warships led by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier passed through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea; off the coast of Morocco, refueling at sea with fuel and drinking water was carried out.

Replenishment of aviation ammunition of the Admiral Kuznetsov from a floating crane in the Tartus roadstead, December 2016

On November 1, the Russian aircraft carrier force passed Sicily on its way to the eastern Mediterranean and began flight operations. On November 5, the frigate Admiral Grigorovich from the Russian Black Sea Fleet joined the detachment.

On November 13, 2016, due to an accident with aero arresters, one of the MiG-29K fighters of the cruiser’s air group could not be taken on deck in time and was lost due to fuel exhaustion; the pilot successfully ejected and was rescued.

November 15, 2016 carrier-based aircraft TAKR "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" began combat work against Islamist militants in Syria (in agreement with the government of the Syrian Arab Republic).

On December 3, 2016, while landing on the deck of a ship, one of the Su-33 fighters of the air group was lost due to a broken arresting arrester cable; the pilot managed to eject and was not injured.

A MiG-29KUB fighter takes off from the Admiral Kuznetsov ski-jump during combat service, January 10, 2017

On January 6, 2017, it was announced that the Russian Armed Forces in Syria would be reduced, including the withdrawal of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier from the conflict zone.

On January 8, 2017, a detachment of warships led by an aircraft carrier cruiser moved to the central Mediterranean off the Libyan coast (Benghazi-Tobruk area); In agreement with the Libyan National Army group that controls this area, a series of daily exercises were conducted at sea. On January 11, the head of the Libyan National Army, General Khalifa Haftar, visited the Admiral Kuznetsov.

On January 20, the carrier group passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, leaving the Mediterranean Sea.

On January 24-25, 2017, a detachment of warships consisting of the Admiral Kuznetsov TAKR, the Pyotr Velikiy TARKR, the Alexander Shabalin BDK and support vessels passed through the English Channel on the way to Severomorsk.

On February 3, an air group from an aircraft carrier cruiser located in the Barents Sea flew to the Severomorsk-3 airfield.

Vice Admiral Sokolov, cruiser commander Captain 1st Rank Artamonov and Libyan General Haftar with his entourage on the deck of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, January 11, 2017

February 8, 2017 The aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" arrived at the roadstead of Severomorsk, completing its combat service. During it, over the course of almost four months, the ship covered about 18,000 miles. Upon their return, the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy and the heavy aircraft carrier cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov fired a festive salute of 15 artillery shots. The return salute was performed by the Northern Fleet destroyer Admiral Ushakov, moored at the pier of the main naval base of the Northern Fleet.

According to information published by the Russian Ministry of Defense, during its combat service, aircraft and helicopters of the Admiral Kuznetsov air group carried out 1,170 flights, including 420 combat flights, of which 117 were at night; the remaining 750 sorties were carried out in the course of solving search and rescue and transport support tasks. It is known that during combat service, some of the carrier-based aircraft were temporarily relocated from the TAKR to the Khmeimim airbase, so a number of the mentioned combat sorties could have been carried out from there. During the bombing, over 1,000 militant targets in Syria were destroyed, including headquarters and control points, firing positions, as well as concentrations of manpower and equipment. Despite the difficulties with supplying the ship with aviation ammunition at sea - due to the fact that after the decommissioning of the integrated supply ship "Berezina" there are no more similar ships in the Russian Navy, this operation had to be carried out in the Tartus roadstead using the SPK-46150 floating crane - supplied to the aircraft carrier the cruiser's missions were successfully completed.

According to representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the cruiser currently requires major repairs and modernization, which were planned to be carried out at the Sevmash shipbuilding enterprise in the period from 2012 to 2017. However, due to lack of funding, the ship's overhaul was delayed; in 2016 it was reported that the start of the cruiser's overhaul is scheduled for the first quarter of 2017 - immediately after the ship returns from combat service in the Mediterranean. The work is expected to last 2-3 years and will have to include the replacement of the deck flooring and aerofinisher braking machines.

Commanders

During his service, he commanded the heavy aircraft carrier cruiser Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov.

Start of design work on the creation of the Project 1143.5 cruiser - 1978. The work was carried out by the Leningrad Design Bureau. The first option is an improved preliminary design of the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser 1143. The design is being carried out in accordance with the research work called “Order”, which is a military-economic justification for the nuclear-powered aircraft-carrying cruiser of Project 1160.

The design was carried out based on the following projects:
- preliminary project 1160 - an aircraft carrier with a displacement of 80,000 tons;
- Project 1153 - a large cruiser with aircraft weapons (50 aircraft), with a displacement of 7000 tons. There are no ships laid down or built;
— design aircraft carrier recommended by the Ministry of Shipbuilding Industry, displacement 80,000 tons, aircraft and helicopters up to 70 units;
- Project 1143M - an aircraft carrier armed with supersonic aircraft of the Yak-41 type. This is the third aircraft carrier ship of Project 1143 - 1143.3. It was laid down in 1975, accepted in 1982, withdrawn from service in 1993;
- Project 1143A - Project 1143M aircraft carrier with increased displacement. The fourth aircraft-carrying cruiser built. Laid down in 1978, accepted in 1982. Since 2004, the ship has been modernized for the Indian Navy. Accepted into the Indian Navy in 2012;
- Project 1143.5 heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser is the next fifth modification of Project 1143 and the fifth aircraft-carrying cruiser built.

In October 1978, by decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Ministry of Defense was instructed to develop tactical and technical specifications for the ship project 1143.5, and the Ministry of Shipbuilding Industry to issue a preliminary design and technical design by 1980. The estimated start of serial construction of Project 1143.5 ships is 1981, completion is 1990. Laying and construction of ships - slipway "O" of the Nikolaev shipyard.

The preliminary design was prepared by 1979, in the same year it was approved by the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy S. Gorshkov. A few months later, in 1980, the head of the military department D. Ustinov signed a directive from the General Staff, which stated the need to change project 1143.5. Now the completion date of the technical project was pushed back to 1982, construction to 1986-91. In April 1980, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy S. Gorshkov approved the tactical and technical specifications with the amendments made to the project.

In the summer of 1980, all parties involved - the Ministry of Shipbuilding Industry, the Ministry of Aviation Industry, the Air Force and the Navy - recognized the development of the 1143.5 ship project as fully completed.
However, changes to the project continue. The use of aircraft weapons on the Project 1143.5 ship was studied in accordance with the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. At the end of 1980, the Central Research Institute of Military Shipbuilding adjusted the tactical and technical specifications for the ship project 1143.5. At the same time, a decision was made to build a second ship of Project 1143.4 (1143A) instead of the ship of Project 1143.5. However, in the future the project is being finalized again - technical project 1143.42.

In the early spring of 1981, the Nikolaev Shipyard received a contract from the Main Directorate of the Navy for the production of order 105. In the fall of 1981, changes were made to the ship's design - the displacement was increased by 10 thousand tons. Next, the following changes are made to the project:
— installation of anti-ship missiles “Granit” on board the ship;
— increase in aviation weapons to 50 units;
— springboard takeoff of aircraft without the use of a catapult.

The final technical design of 1143.5 was ready by March 1982. Adopted by Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 392-10 of May 7, 1982.

On September 1, 1982, the Project 1143.5 ship was laid down on the modernized slipway “O” of the Nikolaev shipyard and given the name “Riga” with serial number 105. Two months later, the ship was renamed “Leonid Brezhnev”. In December 1982, installation of the 1st block of the hull structure began. By the way, this was the first ship consisting of 24 hull blocks. The blocks are hull wide, 32 meters long, 13 meters high, weighing up to 1.7 thousand tons. The ship's superstructures were also installed as a block.

All propulsion and power systems were ordered for 1983-84. Their assembly and installation was carried out on an already partially assembled hull, which led to the opening of decks and some bulkheads and greatly slowed down the entire construction process. The first photographs of the new ship, taken from a satellite, appeared in the French press in 1984; the TAKR readiness for that year was 20%.

The ship was launched from the slipway at the end of 1985, the weight of the ship did not exceed 32 thousand tons, the readiness of the ship was estimated at 35.8%. In 1986, P. Sokolov was appointed chief designer of project 1143.5. In mid-1987, the ship was renamed again - now it became known as the TAKR "Tbilisi", the ship's readiness is estimated at 57%. There is a delay in the construction of the ship (by approximately 15 percent) due to a disruption in the supply of various equipment. At the end of 1988, the readiness of the TAKR is estimated at 70%.

The estimated cost of the ship in 1989 was about 720 million rubles, of which almost 200 million rubles are delayed in the supply of equipment and systems. In the same year, a new chief designer L. Belov was appointed, the ship's readiness was estimated at 80%. About 50 percent of the radio-electronic equipment and systems are installed on the ship, most of the equipment arrived on the ship in 1989.

The ship's first departure to sea took place on October 20, 1989.. It was officially approved by all project participants. Of the ready-made solutions on the ship, the air group was ready for use. The ship's exit was completed on November 25, 1989. Tests of the air group begin on November 1, 1989 - the Su-27K was the first to land on the deck. Immediately after landing, he took off from the deck of the TAKR MiG-29K.

The ship's equipping with weapons and electronic equipment was completed by 1990; the ship's complete readiness is estimated at 87%. Running factory tests were carried out in the spring and summer of 1990. In October 1990, the ship changed its name for the last time, which it still bears today - TAKR "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov". During the 1st stage of the tests, the ship successfully covered more than 16 thousand miles, and aircraft took off from the deck of the ship more than 450 times.

State tests of the first TAKR project 1143.5 were completed on December 25, 1990, after which it was accepted into the Navy. Further tests of the ship took place until 1992 on the Black Sea, after which it went into service with the Northern Fleet.

Design development of the ship:

- improvement of project 1143 - five options were proposed, the main components being studied: catapult, emergency barrier, arresting devices, control unit. Displacement up to 65,000 tons. Main armament: 12 Granit anti-ship missile launchers;

- Project 1143.2 - the next option for improving the ship. The main components being worked on are: two catapults, an enlarged hangar, and a flight deck. Displacement up to 60,000 tons. Main armament: air group consisting of 42 aircraft (some of which may be helicopters);

- a draft version of project 1143.5 - the proposed version was studied to the extent possible for docking. Displacement up to 65,000 tons. Armament - an air group of 52 vehicles (30 aircraft and 22 helicopters) and 12 Granit missile launchers;

- project 1143.5 (Ustinova-Amelko) - changes to the ship's design to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Defense. The components being worked on are: springboard, KTU or nuclear power plant of projects 1143.4/1144. Displacement up to 55,000 tons. Main armament: 12 Granit anti-ship missile launchers and an air group of 46 Yak-41 type aircraft;

- project 1143.5 (TsNIIVK) - an adjusted project of the Central Research Institute of Military Shipbuilding. Displacement up to 55,000 tons. Components under development: a reserve catapult has been added, the hull structure has been reduced, and the amount of aviation fuel has been reduced. Main armament: air group consisting of 46 aircraft (short and vertical take-off aircraft of the Yak-41 type).

- project 1143.42 - an adjusted project in favor of the second ship of project 1143.4. Displacement up to 55,000 tons. Components being worked on: deck enlargement, catapult. Main armament: air group consisting of 40 aircraft (including AWACS aircraft), Basalt anti-ship missiles;

- project 1143.42 (adjustment of the Ministry of Defense) - an adjusted project by decision of the military department. Displacement - up to 65,000 tons. Knots being worked on: springboard. Main armament: 12 Granit anti-ship missile launchers, an air group of 50 aircraft.

Design and design of TAKR project 1143.5

Structurally, the ship consists of 24 blocks, each weighing about 1.7 thousand tons. Welded hull with 7 decks and 2 platforms. During the construction of the ship, two Finnish-made Cane cranes were used, each with a lifting capacity of 900 tons. The ship's hull is covered with a special radio-absorbing coating. If we conditionally divide the ship into floors, then their number will be 27 floors.

In total, there were 3,857 rooms for various purposes inside the ship., of which we note: 4-class cabins - 387 rooms, cockpits - 134 rooms, dining rooms - 6 rooms, showers - 50 rooms. During the construction of the ship, more than 4 thousand kilometers of cable routes and 12 thousand kilometers of pipes for various purposes were used.

The ship received a through deck with an area of ​​more than 14,000 m 2 with a diving board at an angle of 14.3 degrees at the bow of the ship. Profiled fairings are installed on the springboard and the edges of the deck corners. Aircraft are transported to the take-off deck by 40-ton lifts (starboard) at the bow and stern of the ship. The deck width is 67 meters. A section of the landing strip 205 meters long and 26 meters wide is located at an angle of 7 degrees. The deck surface is covered with a special anti-slip and heat-resistant "Omega" coating, and the vertical take-off/landing areas are covered with heat-resistant "AK-9FM" plates.

On the left and right sides of the launch pads there are two runways (runway length 90 meters), which converge at the upper end of the ski jump. The third runway is 180 meters long (the left side is closer to the stern). To ensure protection of support personnel and aircraft from taking off aircraft, cooled deflectors are used on the deck. To land the aircraft on the deck, Svetlana-2 arresting devices and the Nadezhda emergency barrier are used.

The aircraft is landed using a short-range navigation radio system and the Luna-3 optical landing system. A closed hangar with a length of 153 meters, a width of 26 meters and a height of 7.2 meters accommodates 70% of the full-time air group. It also stores tractors, fire engines and a special set of equipment for servicing LAC. The hangar has a chain semi-automatic system for transporting standard aircraft; aircraft are transported on deck using tractors. The hangar is divided into 4 compartments by folding fireproof curtains with electromechanical control to ensure fire safety.

Structural protection of the surface part of the ship is shielded type, internal protective barriers are composite structures of the steel/fiberglass/steel type. High-strength steel (yield strength 60 kgf/mm 2) was chosen as the main material. Aviation fuel, propellant and ammunition tanks are protected using local box armor. For the first time, underwater structural protection is used in the construction of domestic ships. The depth of the PKZ is about 5 meters. Of the 3 longitudinal partitions, the second was armored multi-layer type. Unsinkability was ensured by flooding 5 adjacent compartments, no more than 60 meters long.

The power plant is a boiler-turbine type, consisting of 8 new steam boilers, 4 main turbo-gear units TV-12-4, providing a total power of 200,000 hp. Propulsors – 4 screws with a fixed pitch. Energy – 9 turbogenerators with a total capacity of 13,500 kW, 6 diesel generators with a total capacity of 9,000 kW.

Armament and equipment of TAKR project 1143.5

12 below-deck launchers of the Granit attack anti-ship missile system are located at the very base of the springboard. The launchers are covered with armored covers flush with the deck. Jamming systems: 4 PK-10 launchers and 8 PK-2M launchers with 400 rounds of ammunition (Tertsia control system).

The ship's anti-aircraft armament is 4 modules of the Kinzhal anti-aircraft missile system with ammunition of 192 missiles, 8 modules of the Kortik air defense system with ammunition of 256 missiles, 48,000 shells. The modules are installed on the side, providing all-round fire at air targets.

The ship's artillery armament is three AK-630M batteries with 48,000 rounds of ammunition.
The ship's anti-torpedo armament is two 10-barrel RBU-12000 mounts, installed on the stern side. Ammunition 60 RGB.
Air group - according to project 50 aircraft. As of 2010, it consisted of 18 Su-33, 4 Su-25T, 15 Ka-27 and 2 Ka-31.

Radio-technical weapons and equipment of the ship - 58 systems and complexes, the main ones:
— BIUS “Lumberjack”;
— SOI “Tee”;
— long-range target designation complex “Coral-BN”;
— multifunctional radar "Mars-Passat" with a phased antenna array;
- three-dimensional radar "Fregat-MA";
— two-dimensional radar “Podkat” for detecting low-flying air targets;
— navigation complex “Beysur”;
— communication equipment “Buran-2”;
— active jamming stations MP-207, MP-407, TK-D46RP;
— flight control radar “Resistor”;
— electronic warfare complex “Kantata-1143.5”;
— hydroacoustics complex “Polynom-T”;
— hydroacoustics stations “Zvezda-M1”, “Amulet”, “Altyn”;
— navigation radar stations “Nayada-M”, “Vaigach-U”;
— sound-underwater communication station “Shtil”;
— space communication system “Crystal-BK”;
— aircraft combat control system “Tur-434”;
— television landing system “Otvedok-Raskresposhechenie”;
— guidance station “Lawn”;
— automatic control system “Control”.

The antenna devices of most systems and complexes are located on the ship's superstructure. Radio transmission and reception equipment - more than 50 units. These are 80 paths for receiving and transmitting information and data, most of which can operate simultaneously.

Auxiliary equipment includes more than 170 items and consists of 450 individual units.

The ship's rescue equipment is a command boat of Project 1404, two boats of Project 1402-B, two 6-oar yawls (Project YAL-P6), 240 PSN-10M (life rafts in containers).

Main characteristics of the aircraft carrier "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov":
- length - 304.5 meters;
— width of the roof line/deck – 38/72 meters;
— draft – 10.5 meters;
— the height of the springboard above the water is 28 meters;
— displacement standard/full/max. – up to 46,000/59,000/67,000 tons;
— economy/max speed – 18/32 knots;
— economy/maximum range – 8000/3800 miles;
— navigation autonomy – 1.5 months;
- ship personnel crew/flight crew - 1533/626 people.

This year the aircraft carrier "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov":

- January 8 - as part of a ship aircraft carrier group of the Russian Navy, entered the Syrian port of Tartus on an official friendly visit;

- February 16 - as part of a shipborne aircraft carrier group of the Russian Navy, completed a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea and returned to the home base of Severomorsk;

— 2012-17 – modernization of the ship should begin, the work will be carried out by the Sevmash production association.