Russia’s
only aircraft carrier, the Admiral
Kuznetsov, has finished her operations in the Eastern Mediterranean and is
heading back to her homeport of Severomorsk in Northern Russia. The aircraft carrier entered the
Mediterranean in the beginning of January to bolster the Russian Naval forces
operation in front of Syria. In the 4 months that the Admiral Kuznetsov was in the Mediterranean she also executed a
training program for her airwing to keep the pilots experienced enough to
operate from an aircraft carrier. The question that is on everybody’s mind is
how long the Admiral Kuznetsov will
be out of service after her deployment.
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| RFS Admiral Kuzenetsov |
The Admiral Kuznetsov has always been a
troubled ship that spend more time in dry docks then on active combat duty. Her
propulsion system consist of steam-turbines and is known to break down easily.
It is for this reason that she never leaves port without the company of an
ocean going tug to tow her back in case her steam-turbines break down again.
Every
deployment of the Admiral Kuznetsov is followed by a repair and maintenance
period that takes several months, sometimes even over a year, to get the ship
ready for a next deployment.
In 2010 it
was rumored that the ship would be undergoing a long time refit from 2012 to
2017. During this long term refit several key systems would be replaced and
modernized. Her steam-turbines would have been switched for more reliable gas-turbines.
Obviously the maintenance period never started in 2012 but the plans are
still hanging around.
The Admiral Kuznetsov is Russia’s only
carrier and with Russia back on the rise the need for powerful ships capable of
projection power on the world’s oceans and areas of Russian interests is required to enhance Russia’s image as a
powerful nation. This has Russia caught in a dilemma. On the one side it cannot
afford to lose the Admiral Kuznetsov
for a long period as her presence might be required in the nearby future to
intervene once again on behalf of Russian interests. On the other side is the
problem that the Admiral Kuznetsov is
an unreliable ship, prone to breakdowns. A long term modernization is then
required to give Russia a carrier capable of performing longer missions without
the need for large maintenance periods between two missions.
Regardless
of whether the Admiral Kuznetsov will
undergo a large modernization lasting several years after her arrival from the
Mediterranean Sea or not, we can be certain that the ship will not be going
back to sea for the next several months. Leaving the Russian Navy once again in
a period that it cannot rely on an aircraft carrier to support its operations.
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