Key Points and Summary – After years of embarrassing failures, including fires and a sinking dry-dock, Russia is reportedly close to scrapping its only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov.
-According to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, the decision to end the carrier’s long-stalled overhaul is effectively made.
-A retired Russian admiral even stated that classic aircraft carriers are “a thing of the past,” vulnerable to modern missiles.
-The demise of the beleaguered warship, once a symbol of naval might, underscores the decline of Russia’s blue-water ambitions as it shifts focus to building smaller amphibious assault ships.
Russia’s Last Aircraft Carrier Looks All Done
Amid intense competition for limited budgetary resources, Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, may be destined for the scrapyard.
Izvestia, a Russian newspaper, reports that the Russian Ministry of Defense has halted the Soviet-era carrier’s modernization and repair, which have been underway in various forms since 2017.
It has been a torturous process.
During the Admiral Kuznetsov’s time at port, several fires broke out on board the ship, damaging parts of the ship.
Additionally, a dry dock used to repair the ship sank, which set back the repair process. Early in 2023, the Admiral Kuznetsov left port, though a short time later, the Ministry of Defense reportedly disbanded the ship’s crew.
However, the Admiral Kuznetsov’s troubles predate the accidents that occurred while the ship was in port.
A fire broke out on the ship in 2009 while off the Turkish coast, killing several of the Admiral Kuznetsov’s sailors.
Much later, in 2016, a pair of the carrier’s fighters crashed during operations in support of the Assad regime in Syria.
Within the Soviet, and not Russian, navies, the Admiral Kuznetsov holds a different designation than its counterparts in the American Navy as well as other navies around the world. In Russia, the Admiral Kuznetsov is known as a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, a designation that allows the ship to transit the Turkish Straits.
No Longer Useful?
Given the proliferation of long-range anti-ship missiles by countries like China and Ukraine, the future utility of the aircraft carrier is a topic of intense discussion and debate.
Is naval aviation as we know it today still the war-winning platform it was in the past?
It is an essential question with significant arguments on both sides.
“In the future, the Russian navy does not need aircraft carriers in a classic form. The aircraft carrier is already a passing era. A huge, expensive structure that can be destroyed in a few minutes with modern weapons,” Admiral Sergei Avakyants, a former commander of the Pacific Fleet, told Izvestia.
“This is a very expensive and inefficient naval weapon. The future belongs to the carriers of robotic systems and unmanned aircraft. And if the Admiral Kuznetsov is decided not to continue repairs, it remains only to take it, cut it into scrap metal and dispose of it.”
Money Problems and the Ukraine War
The crux of the issue is budgetary considerations, and in particular, the amount of money and resources the war in Ukraine is consuming.
That is primarily a land war, and continuing that push, especially now as Russian forces are in the throes of one of their biggest drives of the war, sucks up resources that could potentially be allocated to the refurbishment of the Admiral Kuznetsov.
“The question is about financing, given that a special military operation is currently underway. The main thing now is to win in the SVR [Special Military Operation], and then it will be clear what needs to be built further,” Rear Admiral of the reserve Mikhail Chekmasov told Izvestia. “I think the issue of creating aircraft carriers is somehow present in the ship construction program for the period up to 2050, which was recently reviewed by the Presidential Maritime Board.”
Aircraft Carriers Obsolete?
Opinion on the role aircraft carriers could or should play today is divided. While acknowledging the increasingly significant role placed on unmanned aviation systems, not everyone is convinced that the aircraft carrier no longer has a significant role to play in navies around the world.
“Of course, the case of the Admiral Kuznetsov is difficult: it takes a long time to repair, there were problems, there was a fire,” a military expert told Izvestia. “But the fact that now many countries, including India and China, are developing an aircraft carrier fleet, suggests that such ships are needed. How our decision will be made is at the discretion of the top management and the commander—in-chief of the fleet. We have manned naval aviation. This is the elite of aviation.”
The current round of repairs and modernization sought to upgrade the Admiral Kuznetsov’s electronics and power plant. However, the carrier is far from young, and these measures would not turn the clock back on a Soviet-era hull, Ilya Kramnik, with IMEMO RAS Center for Strategic Planning Studies, a think tank, told Izvestia.
“The ship has been on the water since 1985, in 10 years it will be 50. Even if it lasts until 2040, it won’t last long,” Kramnik said. “Therefore, taking into account the experience gained during the operation of the Admiral Kuznetsov, it is necessary to build another ship. We can do this, we have shipyards that allow us to build ships of this size.”
What Happens Next?
Irrespective of what role the aircraft carrier should, or could, play in the future, it seems unlikely that the Admiral Kuznetsov will enjoy much longer a service life in the future, even if the funds for modernization can be found.
Given Russia’s laser focus on prosecuting the war in Ukraine and sustaining that land effort, the so-called Special Military Operation may ultimately sink the capital ship.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
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