During the flight, one intermediate landing was made
MOSCOW, August 6. /TASS/. The aircraft of the 279th separate ship-based fighter aviation Regiment (OKIAP) of the Northern Fleet Naval Aviation (SF) of the Russian Navy performed the flight started on the eve of the "ground aircraft carrier" in the Crimea - the ground test training complex (aviation) (NITKA). This was reported to TASS by a source in the military-industrial complex.
"Today, three Su-33 and one Su-25UTG fighters from the 279th OKIAP landed at the NITKA complex located in the Crimean Saks. During the flight, they made one intermediate landing, " he said.
TASS does not have an official confirmation of this information.
Earlier, a TASS source reported that the THREAD in Saki this year will be used for the first time to train deck pilots of two Naval aviation regiments of the Northern Fleet at once. As part of the Naval Aviation of the SF, there are two OKIAPS-the 279th on Su-33 and Su-25UTG fighters and the 100th on the MiG-29K/ KUB.
In May 2021, it was reported that a contract was signed for the repair and modernization of the NITKA complex in Saki - a complete ground-based analogue of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. It was expected that at the end of the summer the complex will receive deck workers.
According to another TASS source, the issue of repairing the THREAD in Saki moved from the "dead point" after in December 2020, the commander-in-chief of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, held a meeting at which issues of training deck aviation pilots were discussed. In particular, proposals were considered to speed up the exit from the repair of the Admiral Kuznetsov and to ensure the use of the NITKA complex for the training of flight personnel.
About the NITKA and aircraft carrier complexes
Before flying from an aircraft carrier, deck aviation pilots must obtain access to them according to existing regulations. For their preparation, two NITKA complexes can be used in Saki and in Yeysk. It is known about the first one that it needs modernization, about the second one-that its commissioning has been repeatedly postponed and is now scheduled for 2023.
NITKA complexes are designed for testing the take-off and landing of naval aviation aircraft. The complex in Saki is an airfield with a steel airfield in the form of a ship's deck, equipped with a springboard and aerial finishers. The dimensions of the airfield are equivalent to the flight deck of the Admiral Kuznetsov.
In February 2017, the naval aircraft carrier strike group of the SF returned to Severomorsk from the Mediterranean Sea. The group included, in particular, the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Peter the Great. For the first time in the recent history of the Russian Navy, the Kuznetsov carrier-based aircraft was involved in a military operation in Syria. The pilots of the 279th OKIAP mainly participated in the combat work.
According to the statements of officials, the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is to be tested in 2022 after repairs performed by the Zvezdochka Ship Repair Center (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation).
