Russia will not have an operational aircraft carrier until 2024

TASS on June 8 quoted a source as saying that damage had been detected during the repair of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and the ship would stay in dock longer than originally planned.

Russia’s Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier operating off the coast of Norway in 2016 Reuters

Previously, Russia planned to put this sole aircraft carrier back into service in 2022, but last year, this time was pushed back to 2023.

Admiral Kuznetsov is aircraft carrier Russia’s only remaining active. This ship was commissioned in 1990, is 304.5 m long, has a displacement of 58,000 tons. The deck is 14,700 m wide²with the runway angled up at a 12-degree angle.

This aircraft carrier can carry 24-26 Su-33 fighters and 12 helicopters. In addition, the ship is also equipped with anti-aircraft and anti-ship missile systems.

This only Russian aircraft carrier has had many problems. On October 29, 2018, PD-50 floating dock, one of the largest floating docks world, was sunk while in service to repair this ship. The incident caused two large cranes to collapse and one crane to fall on the deck of the Kuznetsov.

At the end of 2019, one The fire occurred on board the Kuznetsov while the ship was being repaired, killing 2 people and injuring 14 others, damaging some parts of the ship.

In May, TASS cited a source from the factory 35 in the city of Murmansk of the Zvyozdochka Ship Repair Center, belonging to the United Shipbuilding Corporation, saying it was ready to welcome the ship. Kuznetsov ship come for repair. This process is expected to take 6 weeks. Another source predicts that Admiral Kuznetsov will stay at the repair port until September this year.