The aircraft carrier; long a symbol of seaborne power, was a floating fortress able to project military muscle over a distance that reaches beyond any national home borders. The United States Navy has taken this concept, perfected it, and developed a centerpiece for force projection: the revealed and unrevealed capabilities of their carriers. Contrast that to Russia with their only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, and it tells a story of another legacy entirely, a vehicle not of intention but of ambition, yet marred by misfortune.
A Legacy of Ambition
The Soviet Navy during the Cold War years was one that entirely depended on heavy cruisers. These heavy cruisers were regarded as being deadly with surface-to-surface missile armaments. As part of the Soviet naval vision during the Cold War, the Soviets did not look at their aircraft carriers in the same way the U.S. Navy did, through their offensive punch. In that case, they termed their heavy “aircraft cruisers” as a means of defending the fleet, in essence. These ships were put up to defend submarines and cruisers versus being called upon to project power worldwide. Originally the Riga, the Admiral Kuznetsov was constructed in Ukraine, at the Nicolayev Shipyard, a quantum leap forward in Soviet naval capability.
Named after Nikolai Kuznetsov, a Soviet hero of World War II, this was one of the most advanced, if versatile, at the time it joined the fleet. Whereas American flat-tops boast the catapult system, the Kuznetsov launches her fixed-wing jets off a ski-jump ramp. This highly effective system, however, made the ship inferior in sortie generation to its American counterparts. The ship carried an air wing with Su-33 fighters and Kamov Ka-27 helicopters, ranging from air combat patrol to combat search and rescue to anti-submarine warfare.
Operational Challenges
However, despite this on-board sophistication, the Admiral Kuznetsov suffers from many operational problems. It is run on mazut, a low-grade heavy fuel oil that has caused many problems. One of the more noticeable side effects of mazut use is the black smoke trail, which is a visible tactical disadvantage for the ship and a health hazard for her crew. The low quality of the fuel and poor preheating lead to high maintenance and poor operational performance.
The first deployment of the ship was in the year 1995; however it was cut short by a failure in the water evaporators, thus it had to anchor off Tartus, Syria. Subsequent deployments were similarly marred by mechanical failures and accidents. In one instance, a Su-33 fighter accidentally taxied off the flight deck, while the ship suffered a major fire, which caused massive destruction in another instance.
This state of affairs has only worsened in recent years. A dry-dock sinking and a pair of fires, among other mishaps, threw back efforts to overhaul and modernize the ship. That has left some clouds hanging over Kuznetsov’s future, with the dates for its service return repeatedly having been pushed back.
This fact further compounds a bigger and more complex context for Russia’s naval ambitions and challenges. The collapse of the Soviet Union, followed by years of economic hardship, was bound to leave an abiding legacy in the form of an inability to properly replace and upgrade military equipment and assets. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine further strains Russia’s resources and is already exposing the limitations of its military infrastructure.
The Future of Admiral Kuznetsov
At present, it last sailed in 2017, off the coast of Syria. Since that time, the ship has not gone to sea, instead running through a parade of repairs and retrofits, targeting an addition of a quarter-century more of working life. However, these have not gone to plan, with works well behind schedule and some questioning whether Kuznetsov will be at sea again.
The tale of Admiral Kuznetsov turns into a story of ambition mixed with adversity, signifying both the very best and the failures of the Russian Navy. From then on, maintenance of the ship was never up to the mark, and every stage of misfortune along with this compounded this disaster. The prospects for the future of Admiral Kuznetsov are therefore very dubious—an outcome in a country that is facing, till today, nothing but economic and geopolitical challenges. Whether it will ever return to sea as a fully operational carrier is a question that underscores the broader uncertainties facing the Russian military today.