Subject:  C.13.  What's happened to the former USSR's aircraft carriers?

Both of the Moskva class helicopter carriers have been retired (_Leningrad_ in
1991, _Moskva_ in 1992).

Of the four 43000 tonne Kiev class carriers, three (_Kiev_, _Minsk_, and
_Novorossiysk_) have been retired, leaving only one (_Admiral Gorshkov_) in
service with the Northern Fleet.  The Yak-38 V/STOL strike aircraft formerly
assigned to the ships have also been retired; the _Gorshkov_ now carries only
helicopters.

_Minsk_ and _Novorossiysk_ have been stricken for scrapping; _Kiev_ is
mothballed, but will be cannibalised for parts to keep _Gorshkov_ in service.
However, _Gorshkov_ itself is currently described as "inactive"; given the
Russian government's chronic shortage of money, and the fact that there are no
shipyards in Russia capable of servicing them (the only suitable one is in the
Ukraine), it's quite possible that the entire class may disappear in the near
future.

The 67500 tonne _Admiral Kuznetsov_, the only conventional aircraft carrier
ever operated by the Soviet Navy, remains in service with the Russian Navy's
Northern Fleet.  Its sister ship, _Varyag_, remains at the Nikolayev shipyard,
not quite complete.  Its fate was decided in June 1994, when the Ukrainian
government ordered it to be scrapped, after Russia's decision not to buy the
vessel, and no success in attempts to sell it to other countries such as China
and India.

The 75000 tonne, nuclear powered _Ulyanovsk_ was never completed; the hull has
been scrapped.

The _Kuznetsov_, although nominally in active service, has so far been used
primarily for testing aircraft and operating procedures, the Russian Navy
having very little experience with fixed-wing carrier operations.  Its primary
aircraft type is the Sukhoi Su-33 single-seat multirole fighter (production
version of the Su-27K prototypes), which is currently in low-rate production.
The Mikoyan MiG-29K was tested aboard _Kuznetsov_ alongside the Su-27K, but
has not been selected for production.  A naval training version of the Sukhoi
Su-25, the Su-25UTG, is also in production (a handful of another version, the
Su-25UBP, were also built).  The _Kuznetsov_ also carries a number of Kamov
Ka-27/28/29/32 helicopters, in various subtypes.

Two AEW aircraft were developed but cancelled.  The first was an AEW version
of the Antonov An-72 twin-turbofan STOL transport, codenamed "Madcap" by NATO;
this interesting design (the radar disc was mounted atop a forward-swept,
V-shaped set of tail fins) was cancelled in favour of Yakovlev's Yak-44, a
twin turboprop apparently very similar to the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye.  The
official reason given was that a turboprop was more efficient for the AEW role
than a jet (although your FAQ compiler suspects that the fact that Yakovlev is
a Russian company while Antonov is Ukrainian probably had something to do with
it too).  The Yak-44 has also in turn been cancelled (although a revival is
being considered), and recent reports suggest that an AEW version of the Kamov
Ka-32 helicopter is under development.

Assuming the _Kuznetsov_ remains in service, a strike aircraft is likely to be
added to its air wing; this will almost certainly be another Su-27 variant,
since the Russian air forces currently have a policy of minimising the number
of different types in service by using Su-27 derivatives wherever possible.
Navalised strike versions of the MiG-27, Su-24, and Su-25 were all tested on
imitation flight decks on land bases, but none were ever developed into
carrier-capable naval aircraft (the naval Su-25s are all trainers).

Both surviving carriers serve with the Northern Fleet, because current Russian
Navy policy is to concentrate all carriers, aircraft, and pilots in one
fleet.

[Much of the above is from recent magazine reports; thanks to Simon
Shpilfoygel for additional information]

[Oh, and thanks to John Iodice for pointing out to me that "Kuznetsov" is
Russian for "Smith" :-) ]

Please E-Mail me at johansson@ctrl-c.liu.se