In the future, the ship will either be sold or disposed of.
The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov will be mothballed, Izvestia has learned. In the future, the ship will either be sold or scrapped. During the conservation, all important equipment and mechanisms will be removed from the aircraft carrier — they can be installed on other ships. Then all the water intake devices will be welded on the Kuznetsov, and the hull will be prepared for long-term storage, experts interviewed by Izvestia note.
A fateful decision
In the near future, the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov will be mothballed — this decision was made in the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, informed sources told Izvestia. According to them, in the future the ship will either be sold or scrapped.
Izvestia wrote that all work on the repair and modernization of the aircraft carrier was suspended some time ago.
The raising of the naval flag of the USSR on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. 1991
Image source: Photo: TASS/A. Kremco
And the day before, the approximate prospect of the flagship of the Russian fleet was announced.
"We believe that there is no point in repairing it anymore. He's already over 40 years old, and this thing is extremely expensive.… I think the issue will be resolved in the sense that it will either be sold or disposed of," Andrei Kostin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of United Shipbuilding Corporation, told Kommersant before the launching ceremony of the Knyaz Pozharsky nuclear submarine.
Conservation features
The conservation of such a huge ship implies that all the mechanisms that can be used in the future are removed and transferred as spare parts for installation on other ships, Admiral Sergey Avakyants, ex-commander of the Pacific Fleet, told Izvestia.
"This applies primarily to modern radio electronics, as well as other systems and devices," the admiral explained. — During the conservation, the ship is completely sealed, that is, all water intake devices are sealed and welded. Then a decision should be made to transfer it for recycling or to sell it to other countries.
A Su-27K carrier-based interceptor fighter during takeoff from the Admiral Kuznetsov heavy aircraft carrier. The year 1996
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Oleg Lastochkin
A minimum number of sailors will remain on the mothballed ship, Sergey Avakyants continued.
— They will have to monitor the condition of the aircraft carrier. If the full crew at one time was 2,200 people, then in order to monitor such an object in a mothballed form, it is unlikely that more than 150-200 people will be needed. First of all, they must control the flow of water, make sure that no fire occurs," the admiral specified.
In case of disposal, the ship will most likely be dismantled, and this will be done in Russia, suggested Sergey Avakyants.
"The metal market is saturated now, so it's unlikely that anyone from other countries will take the aircraft carrier for recycling," he said. — Previously, India was very actively involved in this, China and South Korea took on such work. But now disassembling such an object will be irrelevant for them.
It's up to the fleet to decide
The final decision on what to do with the flagship of the Russian Navy will be made by the navy — it is he who owns the ship, explained military expert Dmitry Boltenkov.
— The sale of the ship will be quite a complicated process. Not many countries can buy it," he explained to Izvestia. — At one time, Russia was able to modernize the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier and sell it to India. Before that, Ukraine sold the unique but unfinished Soviet-built heavy aircraft carrier Varyag to China, which was able to finish it.
The aircraft carrier market is extremely narrow, the expert noted.
"The sale of the ship to Algeria or Egypt is highly questionable," he said. — What the Navy of the first country will do with it is completely unclear. And Egypt already has two former Russian universal amphibious assault ships, Vladivostok and Sevastopol, which were built in France.
Heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov in the harbor of Severomorsk. The year 2007
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Sergey Yeshchenko
In addition, you still need to invest in Kuznetsov to sell.
— The abrupt disposal of the Admiral Kuznetsov would not be a very understandable gesture. Russia repaired it for a long time, it was the pride of the fleet, and then it was scrapped. Therefore, conservation may be a better option. But everything should be decided by the command of the Russian Navy, based on the tasks that are set before it," Dmitry Boltenkov is convinced.
Enough to modernize the Navy
I have a very positive attitude towards the decision to mothball the Admiral Kuznetsov cruiser, Rear Admiral Igor Korolev, ex-Deputy Commander of the Pacific Fleet for Armament, told Izvestia.
"I believe that the financial resources that have already been spent, as well as those that would have to be invested in Kuznetsov, can be used more effectively in the future," the rear admiral explained. — There are a number of factors that decide the fate of the ship. For example, such as the lack of an adequate number of qualified personnel at the ship repair plants that currently serve Kuznetsov at its location. The equipment that an aircraft carrier needs has a long repair or manufacturing time — from 24 months or more. Accordingly, it will be a long repair again.
According to the admiral's estimates, the repair will cost 100-120 billion rubles at current prices.
Photo: TASS/Vladimir Smirnov
Image Source: iz.ru
"For this money, it is possible to carry out partial, but rather deep, robotization of the Navy and achieve the parameters that the Minister of Defense and the Supreme Commander—in-Chief are talking about," he said. — Corvettes and frigates need to be robotized by adding modern robotic systems to their equipment. As a result of such events, we will receive a completely different fleet.
Conservation looks much better than decommissioning and cutting up a ship for scrap, according to military expert Dmitry Kornev.
"The situation with the aircraft carrier is simple," he said. — If it is not possible to complete repairs and transfer to the fleet as a ready—to-serve unit, it is absolutely reasonable to mothball the cruiser and wait for either better times or a successful option for sale.
Experts note that it is not worth speeding up the construction of aircraft carriers after the decommissioning of the Kuznetsov, and there are objective reasons for this.
Heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov during the naval parade on the Day of the Russian Navy. Murmansk region, 2014
Image source: Photo: TASS/Lev Fedoseev
"Apart from the Far Eastern Dalzavod, hardly anyone is able to make large ships of the first rank now," Igor Korolev said. — And he is unlikely to cope alone.
The rear admiral recalled that there is also no modern wing for the Kuznetsov, and there is probably no point in making a new ship that "will carry a small number of old aircraft."
The fate of the ship
The heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov was handed over by the shipbuilders of the USSR Navy on December 25, 1990. He made several long-distance trips.
In November 2016 – January 2017, the cruiser took part in combat operations. His carrier-based fighters attacked terrorist positions in Syria. During this operation, the pilots carried out more than 400 sorties, hitting over 1.2 thousand targets.
The Admiral Kuznetsov heavy aircraft carrier and the Ka-29 helicopter of the Russian Armed Forces off the coast of Syria. The year 2017
Image source: Photo: TASS/Northern Fleet Press Service/Andrey Luzik
After returning from a trip to the shores of Syria, the aircraft carrier was sent for repairs and modernization.
It was planned to return the ship to service in 2022, but the deadlines have changed several times. In October 2018, the PD-50 floating dock sank, and the aircraft carrier was damaged by a falling dock crane, but remained afloat.
In December 2019, a fire started on board the ship: during welding work, a spark got into the hold, where there were remnants of fuel. As a result, two people were killed and 14 injured. In August 2020, USC CEO Alexey Rakhmanov reported that it would take up to 350 million rubles to restore the ship after the fire.
The Admiral Kuznetsov heavy aircraft carrier on the territory of the Zvezdochka shipyard in Murmansk. 2022
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Pavel Lvov
A fire was also reported in 2022. Then there were no casualties. In 2023, the dock repair of the underwater part of the ship was completed.
In July 2024, the FSB reported on the prevention of a terrorist attack on the cruiser. Employees of the Ukrainian special services tried to persuade the Russian serviceman to commit a terrorist act, but it was prevented.
Vladimir Matveev
Bogdan Stepovoy
Julia Leonova
