{"id":678089,"date":"2026-01-06T16:58:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T16:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/678089\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T16:58:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T16:58:12","slug":"sinking-hopes-for-russias-last-aircraft-carrier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/678089\/","title":{"rendered":"Sinking Hopes for Russia’s Last Aircraft Carrier"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russia\u2019s only aircraft carrier and the\u00a0current Navy flagship<\/a>, the Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union\u00a0Kuznetsov,<\/a> has been out of service since 2017. Plans to refurbish the aging ship and get it in fighting order have stalled, leading to discussions on what could come next.<\/p>\n

In an interview<\/a>, retired Russian naval officer Konstantin Sivkov<\/a> dismissed claims that the costs for maintaining the carrier account for 80 percent\u00a0of the Russian Navy\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n

Despite being launched 40 years ago, Sivkov maintains that keeping the Admiral Kuznetsov afloat is only following the United States\u2019 example: the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz<\/a> was launched 50 years ago and remains in service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Admiral Kuznetsov was launched in 1985. The ship’s overall length is 1,000 feet, and it has a maximum speed of about 33 miles per hour. Onboard, the Admiral Kuznetsov carries aircraft, helicopters, and anti-ship cruise missiles. It also leaves behind a thick smoke trail visible from afar, due to its burning low-cost fuel.<\/p>\n

The vital role of the Admiral Kuznetsov is summarized by Sivkov: \u201cIf it is destroyed, it will reduce our Navy\u2019s potential by a third.\u201d Having an aircraft carrier is key to controlling both the seas and the skies. Aircraft from the carrier can escort and defend Russian naval units and other aviation operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Opponents<\/a> of keeping the ship afloat note that its large, outdated systems are susceptible to modern weapons. Unmanned aircraft could easily target the carrier and destroy it and its aerial supports.<\/p>\n

Retrofitting the Admiral Kuznetsov is likely to be more difficult with Russia\u2019s War on Ukraine<\/a> diverting funds. It is far from a priority, as its repairs have delayed its expected return to service in 2022. Mishaps have plagued repair efforts: the floating dock where it was being renovated sank in 2018, it was damaged by a falling crane, and two fires broke out onboard, causing two fatalities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the Admiral Kuznetsov slips beneath the waves, it may take with it a large portion of Russia\u2019s naval potential, redefining how Russia projects its military power in the sea and sky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Russia\u2019s only aircraft carrier and the\u00a0current Navy flagship, the Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union\u00a0Kuznetsov, has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":678090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7655],"tags":[332],"class_list":{"0":"post-678089","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-russia","8":"tag-russia"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115849219576772931","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/678090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}