Nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are the ships of the latest generation, which are accessible only to the leading powers of the world. However, at the same time, they are practically not included in the Russian Navy . What is the problem? Why is the Russian Federation, which in many respects leads in the international arms race, so far behind in this indicator? After all, the United States already has a fairly decent number of such ships. Where are the atomic carriers of Russia? It is to this question that you will find the answer in this article. You will understand why this aspect of the arms race in the Russian Federation turned out to be so weak. You will also learn about ships of this type, which were produced on the territory of Russia, but for one reason or another were not included in the Navy. You will also be able to get information about the only aircraft carrier that is in service in the Navy, as well as about whether Russian nuclear carriers are planned in the near future.
Naturally, it is unrealistic to get specific information about such projects - on television, those responsible can say one thing, another will be indicated on paper, but in reality a third can happen. Therefore, information about the future of nuclear aircraft carriers in Russia is extremely speculative.
Why are there no nuclear carriers in Russia?
Nuclear aircraft carriers of Russia are a very interesting topic, since one of the strongest powers in the world militarily has almost no large and important segment. How did it come about? The whole problem lies in the legacy that the Russian Federation inherited from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The snag can be found when studying the military policy of the USSR - the fact is that the state completely abandoned the production of aircraft carriers, without even considering them as a concept of ships carrying aircraft power.
Already in the days of the Soviet Union, the foundation for the ambiguity of this aspect in future Russia began to be laid in comparison, for example, with the United States. As a result, the Russian Federation at the beginning of its existence had no aircraft carriers and no plans and programs for their manufacture, the country met the new millennium in exactly the same situation, and even today about when the Russian atomic carriers will appear, while there are only rumors and conversations.
Attempt to start production
This is not to say that the Soviet Union did not even try. In the early seventies, the USSR actually planned the construction of the first full-fledged nuclear aircraft carrier, which could initiate the recruitment of a real nuclear fleet. A project has already been created, received the working title "1160". The aim of this project was to create by 1986 as many as three full-fledged nuclear aircraft carriers that could give a catapult take-off by one of the most efficient Soviet Su-27 K. aircraft. However, unfortunately, the plan was not destined to be implemented, since at that time the USSR was concentrated on the creation of heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers that cannot be called full-fledged nuclear aircraft carriers for many reasons. And just then there was a proposal to create the latest heavy aircraft carrier cruiser with vertical take-off. It was then that the project "1160" was curtailed, and the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of domestic origin never came into the world.
By the way, the project of the aircraft-carrying cruiser, which replaced the project "1160", suffered a complete defeat. In 1991, it was completed, trial launches began, which ultimately led to the fact that one of the aircraft fell directly onto the deck of the cruiser and burned there. By 1992, the project was curtailed, and the Soviet Union was left without nuclear carriers, and without cruisers with a vertical launch system, and the Russian Federation, which appeared a year later, was without any baggage in the development of atomic aircraft carriers.
But what happened next? Have Russian nuclear-powered aircraft carriers appeared? History shows that they actually appeared, but were also more likely aircraft-carrying cruisers, and they were mainly created not for the Russian Navy.
What is there now?
When it comes to nuclear power carriers in Russia, classification plays a very large role. The fact is that there are no nuclear aircraft carriers in the country at all. And they never were created either in Russia, or before that, in the Soviet Union. But if meticulousness is discarded, then heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers, which have already been written about, can be attributed to aircraft carriers. And then you can trace the history of how those cruisers that already functioned in Russia appeared.
The first were the cruisers "Kiev", "Minsk" and "Novorossiysk". They were launched in the seventies, and decommissioned together in 1993. The first stood idle for ten years, until it was sent to China, where it became an exhibit of a thematic museum. The second one, just two years after the cancellation, was sold to South Korea, where they wanted to disassemble it to get metal, but then it was resold to China, where, like the previous one, it got to the thematic museum. The third was the least fortunate - he was sold to Korea for disassembly, but no one bought it, so the cruiser was disassembled into parts.
As for more modern models, here it is worth paying attention to the aircraft carrier cruiser Varyag, which was launched in 1988. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it went to Ukraine, which sold it to China, where it was improved, completed and prepared for use. As a result, it functions to this day under the name "Liaoning." Another cruiser that still operates is the Admiral Gorshkov, which operated until 2004, after which it was sold to India, where it was reconstructed, converted into a classic nuclear carrier and is still in service with the Indian Navy. There is another aircraft carrier cruiser called Ulyanovsk that could operate in the Russian Federation - it was laid down relatively recently, in 1998, and it was planned that it would be completed by 1995. At the same time, he could still safely serve in the Russian Navy, however, the project was curtailed before its completion, and what had already been assembled was dismantled back to metal. And so the first atomic aircraft carriers of Russia did not get into service with the Navy.
Admiral Kuznetsov
But are these all nuclear-powered aircraft carriers of Russia? The review does not end there, because you still need to look at one instance, which is now the only one afloat and in the Navy. What kind of ship is this? This is the Russian nuclear carrier āAdmiral Kuznetsovā - the only ship in the Russian Navy that can be classified as an aircraft carrier. However, at the same time, it can only be called a nuclear aircraft carrier conditionally, since it, like previous models, is a TAVKR, that is, a heavy aircraft carrier cruiser. Like all other aircraft-carrying ships, it was built at the Soviet Chernihiv shipyard. This ship was laid down in 1985, and in 1988 it was already launched - since then it has been operating and has managed to serve both the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. It got its name only after the collapse of the USSR, before that it had several different names. Initially, it was given the name āRigaā, then it was renamed āLeonid Brezhnevā, after that it became āTbilisiā, and only then the Russian nuclear carrier āAdmiral Kuznetsovā was born. What kind of ship is this, which today is the only one in the entire Russian Navy ?
Ship specifications
As you can see, the Russian Navy does not have a large quantity of nuclear carriers on board. The technical characteristics of the only heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, however, may be of interest. So, this is a ship with a rather impressive displacement - more than sixty thousand tons. Its length is 306 meters, its width is seventy meters, and its height at the largest point is 65 meters. The draft of the ship can be from eight to ten meters, with a maximum displacement it reaches 10.4 meters. The reservation of this ship is made of rolled steel, the duplication of the hull with additional compartments is organized. The ship is protected from enemy torpedoes by a 4.5-meter three-layer defense - the armor layer is able to withstand a hit with a charge of 400 kilograms of TNT. As for the engines, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the four-shaft boiler turbine technology was used, which is not used on full-fledged nuclear aircraft carriers. However, if we talk about dry technical characteristics, then four steam turbines give a total of 200 thousand horsepower, turbine generators produce 13 and a half thousand kilowatts, and diesel generators - another nine thousand kilowatts. Also worth noting is the mover, which consists of four five-blade propellers. What does all this add up to? In total, the maximum speed is 29 knots, i.e. 54 kilometers per hour. It is also worth noting the combat economic and economic speed - the first is 18 knots, and the second is 14.
How long can this ship sail without refueling? The range, of course, depends on speed: at maximum speed, the range is 3850 nautical miles, at a combat economic speed - a little more than seven and a half thousand nautical miles, and at an economic speed - almost eight and a half thousand nautical miles. Regardless of the distance traveled, the autonomy of navigation is also considered, which in the case of this ship is forty-five days. The crew of this ship has a little less than two thousand people. This is a result that modern nuclear carriers of Russia could easily surpass. After all, the characteristics were laid about thirty years ago, so there is nothing to be surprised at. However, this is not all that you can learn about the only nuclear carrier that is currently part of the Russian Navy.
Armament
Considering the fact that this ship is a combat ship, it has a large set of various weapons on board, and it will be discussed now. "Admiral Kuznetsov" boasts a navigation system "Beisur", which allows you to conduct the most aimed fire. Before looking directly at the guns, it is worth taking a look at radar devices as well - there are enough of them on the ship. On board there are seven different general detection radars, as well as two aviation control stations. It is also worth paying attention to radio electronics - on board there is a combat information and control system "Lumberjack", a communications complex "Buran-2" and much more.
Well, now it is already possible to pay attention to armaments - in the first place, it is worth noting six anti-aircraft artillery mounts designed for 48 thousand shells. Of the missile weapons on board the ship, there are 12 Granit launchers, 4 Dagger anti-aircraft missile systems and four Dagger launchers. The ship also has a method of attack or defense against submarines - these are two missile systems designed for sixty bombs.
Aviation group
We should also take a look at the aircraft component of technical specifications. "Admiral Kuznetsov" is designed for fifty aircraft that could be transported on board. Moreover, it was assumed that helicopters would also be present there. However, in reality, everything turned out to be a little different, and today this ship serves as the base for only thirty aircraft, most of which are Su-33 and Mig-29K.
Future plans
But what next? Will there be a new nuclear aircraft carrier in Russia? Or will Admiral Kuznetsov remain the sole representative for a long time to come? Ten years ago, Russians had hopes for an upcoming revision of the decree, which took place in 2009. As with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Russian Federation, ten years ago the government had no plans at all for this segment of the military market. At the same time, the main competitor, the United States of America, launched the tenth full-fledged nuclear carrier. But what happened in 2009? A plan was already planned before 2020, and there were still no nuclear carriers there. So the new nuclear aircraft carrier of Russia has not yet appeared even on paper - it exists only in words, and even then in the press, and not in the statements of official authorized persons.
Prototypes
In fact, work on the design of aircraft carriers is already underway, but the Russian Navy will receive a new generation nuclear aircraft carrier very soon. Certainly not in 2020. In some cases, sources report that other countries are working on aircraft carriers for Russia, but most often a message flashes through with a picture of the project of what Russian nuclear carriers will look like. The photo shows a model of a ship that could carry a huge number of aircraft by abandoning the bulky main structure and replacing it with small control towers.
Medvedev's commission
However, people's hopes were revived in 2015, when Dmitry Medvedev instructed the Ministry of Defense to start developing a plan for introducing nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. This will not be the easiest task for the reason that you already know - full-fledged ships of this type on the territory of the Russian Federation and even the former Soviet Union have never been built. A nuclear aircraft carrier is not the same thing as a heavy aircraft carrier, so technologies will have to be used completely different. However, one way or another, the most optimistic forecasts report that by 2020 a plan may be proposed for the creation of the first nuclear aircraft carriers intended for the Russian Navy.