«Больше никогда не выйдет в море»: российский авианосец «Адмирал Кузнецов» списали со счетов на Западе

The American magazine The National Interest analyzed the history of the only Russian aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov," which has been under repair and modernization in Murmansk for seven years. It was expected that after replacing all the technical equipment, it would serve for twenty years and return to the fleet after repairs in the first quarter of 2024. Later, the tests and commissioning dates of the "Admiral Kuznetsov" were shifted to the end of 2024. But The National Interest believes that the aircraft carrier is "unlikely to go to sea again anytime soon," and, "may never go to sea again."

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the ship itself is outdated: weapons in the modern world are being modernized too quickly. Secondly, "Admiral Kuznetsov" runs on fuel oil — an outdated, non-ecological petrochemical fuel that has not been regularly used in world practice for 50 years. Although due to the high volume-to-energy ratio, fuel oil is second only to nuclear energy, which allows the ship to operate for an unlimited time without refueling, the aircraft carrier will only be able to operate on fuel oil for 45 consecutive days. And this fuel is dangerous.

According to him, "Admiral Kuznetsov" is "hardly capable of doing what aircraft carriers are designed to do: launch fighters," as "when it does, it uses a bow ramp instead of steam catapults, which reduces the takeoff weight of the aircraft and patrol time."

Thirdly, the publication notes that, by modern standards, "Admiral Kuznetsov" is not a particularly complex and formidable ship in terms of size or crew size. For example, about 5,000 people serve on board an American Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, while only 1,690 crew members are expected on the only Russian aircraft carrier. There is nothing remarkable about its armament compared to other aircraft carriers. According to various estimates, it can carry eighteen Su-33s, six MiG-29Ks, four Ka-31s and two Ka-27s, and has anti-aircraft missile and artillery weapons in the form of the Klinok SAM, Kashtan CIWS, 30-mm AK-630 AA gun, Granit anti-ship missile system, and anti-submarine weapons.

Finally, Russia is now focusing more on the development of land-based military resources, which "means that directing resources to the aircraft carrier \"Admiral Kuznetsov\" is unlikely to be a priority for Russia."

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