Russia’s sole aircraft carrier—the Soviet-origin Admiral Kuznetsov—missed another deadline for induction into the Russian Navy, virtually making it a no-carrier Navy.
The Russian Navy’s Admiral Kuznetsov has been undergoing overhauls since 2018. Previous reports indicated that it is being equipped with a host of air defense systems, getting a new power plant, having its catapult repaired, and receiving advanced weaponry to make it combat-ready. Notably, the carrier was expected to be inducted back into service by the end of 2024—a deadline it missed.
The Russian military has not revealed a new schedule for the induction of the carrier into service. Earlier, Admiral Kuznetsov was supposed to re-enter service by 2022, but various technical problems, multiple fire incidents, and organizational troubles led to repeated postponement of deadlines.
Several publications, including The Sun, have painted a grim picture, predicting that the carrier might never sail again. A popular British publication, The Telegraph, published a report last year with the headline: “Russia is no longer an aircraft carrier nation.”
Admiral Kuznetsov was built at the Black Sea Shipyard, which was the only manufacturer of Soviet aircraft carriers, in Mykolaiv within the erstwhile Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and launched in 1985. It was originally commissioned into service with the Soviet Navy but was later transferred to the Russian Navy after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
Interestingly, while the Russian Navy’s Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier has not sailed in years, two Russian allies—India and China—are operating and upgrading their respective Soviet aircraft carriers.
China’s Liaoning carrier is of the same class as the Russian Admiral Kuznetsov. Since the ship’s construction (called Varyag at the time) could not be completed when the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine sold its hull to China. It arrived in the Dalian shipyard in 2002, underwent extensive refurbishment, and was finally launched in 2011 as Liaoning.
Since then, the Liaoning aircraft carrier has become the mainstay of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). It has been deployed on multiple occasions to conduct military drills in far seas, including the strategic Western Pacific region.
Between February 2023 and February 2024, the carrier underwent a major refurbishment and was upgraded with cutting-edge features, expanding its operational capacity and efficiency.
During the post-refurbishment testing in March 2024, full-scale mock-ups of the J-15 and J-35 fighter aircraft were spotted on the Liaoning’s flight deck. Later, in September 2024, China announced that it had tested its next-generation J-35 fighter jet aboard the CNS Liaoning aircraft carrier.
In addition to Liaoning, China has constructed two more aircraft carriers domestically—Shandong and Fujian. In a major milestone in October 2024, China conducted its first-ever dual-carrier operation with the Liaoning and Shandong operating together in the South China Sea.
India is another country that has been operating a Soviet aircraft carrier for more than a decade now. India purchased a Soviet Navy carrier, Admiral Gorshkov, in 2004. It was refurbished and commissioned into the Indian Navy as INS Vikramaditya in 2013. The carrier hosts the MiG-29K, which was also bought from Russia.
Since then, INS Vikramaditya has been the flagship of the Indian Navy. It has participated in several missions and military drills to boost interoperability with friendly countries and build capability against adversaries like China and Pakistan.
In a recent development, INS Vikramaditya led the sea phase of the historic Carrier Strike Group (CSG) drills with the Italian Navy carrier Cavour in October 2024.
The carrier is now set to undergo upgrades to enhance its combat readiness. The Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) signed a contract with state-run Cochin Shipyard Limited in November 2024 for the carrier’s short refit and dry docking.
The MoD said the INS Vikramaditya will join the active fleet of the Indian Navy with upgraded combat capability. Like China, India has also constructed and commissioned an indigenously developed carrier called INS Vikrant. In June 2023, the Indian Navy conducted dual carrier operations involving INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant.
In contrast, Admiral Kuznetsov remains plagued with an array of issues that have obstructed its induction and operation at a time when the Russian Navy needs more capability and combat strength amid receding global influence and a protracted war with Ukraine.
Admiral Kuznetsov: A Sad Russian Story
The Admiral Kuznetsov carrier is an old ship constructed in the Soviet Union 39 years ago. In 2016, it was deployed for operations off the coast of Syria. During the deployment, the pilots of the air group carried out more than 400 sorties, hitting over 1,200 terrorist targets.
Later, however, it was widely ridiculed for spewing a black smoke cloud that stretched for kilometers across the English Channel. At one point in 2017, it was called “the ship of shame” by the UK as it passed through waters near the English Coast. Following this, the ship was sent for repairs and modernization.
The aircraft carrier earned the moniker of a “cursed carrier” due to the many accidents it had suffered since 2018 when it entered the dry docks for refurbishment.
In October 2018, the carrier was severely damaged when the floating dock PD-50 sank underneath the ship, causing a 200-square-foot hole in the carrier’s deck. It was then towed to the berth of the 35th shipyard in Severomorsk, where repairs started.
Another tragedy struck Admiral Kuznetsov when a fire broke out aboard the carrier in December 2019 during the welding process, causing two fatalities and 14 injuries. Another fire broke out onboard in late 2022. However, it was doused, and no casualties were reported.
If reports in the Western media are to be believed, the carrier is still in dire straits and far from being fully repaired. “The carrier is in such poor condition that it tows an outsized tugboat behind it when at sea as a safeguard in the event the ship’s engines break down,” according to a report by 19fortyfive.
In February 2023, the head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), Alexei Rakhmanov, said that the ship had been taken out of the dock and put into a place of permanent repair and noted that the aircraft carrier should return to the combat fleet the following year.
Most of the ship’s electronics need to be replaced, which has also delayed the completion of its refurbishment. Moreover, several other components, including the flight deck’s resurfacing and the ski take-off ramp’s restoration, also need extensive repairs.
The ship’s engines also require replacing, but Ukraine’s Zorya-Mashproyekt company is the only facility that produces them. The Russians have not been able to set up similar production lines for manufacturing engines that can power these Soviet-era ships.
American shipyards typically take three years to overhaul the US Navy’s nuclear-powered flattops. In contrast, the sole Russian carrier has been under repairs and refurbishment for seven years. The process has also been marred by international sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of its Ukraine invasion.
In July 2024, the Russian intelligence agency, FSB, reportedly foiled an attempt by Ukrainian military intelligence to attack Admiral Kuznetsov.
Citing unidentified sources in the shipbuilding industry, the Russian-language publication ‘avia.pro’ said work on “Admiral Kuznetsov” continues, but a significant part of the repairs have not been completed. This casts doubt on the potential launch of the carrier in 2025.
