Russia has suspended repairs to the aircraft carrier the Admiral Kuznetsov and is likely to scrap the ship in a major blow for Vladimir Putin’s navy. The Kremlin has sunk billions of roubles into trying to resuscitate the fortunes of the 40 year-old battleship.
The vessel is the flagship of Russia’s Northern Fleet, but it is also the only aircraft carrier Putin’s navy has. It has been under constant repairs since 2018 and was supposed to be refitted with a host of air defence systems and a new power plant, as well as advanced weaponry.
Despite an estimated 60 billion roubles (£570 million) being allocated for its overhaul, the ship has been left firmly tethered to its moorings in Murmansk. Now Kremlin sources have told the Russian state media outlet Izvestia that the Admiral Kuznetsov may never sail again.
“This is a very expensive and ineffective naval weapon. The future belongs to carriers of robotic systems and unmanned aircraft,” former Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Sergei Avakyants told the publication.
Admiral Kuznetsov has been plagued by misfortunes and accidents ever since it was launched on the high seas. It has completed just seven patrols since launching in 1985 and commissioning into the Soviet Navy six years later.
During its most recent deployment off the coast of Syria in 2016, two of its fighter jets crashed in quick succession.
Two years later in October 2018, Kuznetsov suffered serious damage when the dry-dock PD-50 sank while the carrier was aboard for repairs. Then, in December 2019, a fire broke out on the ship itself.
State Duma Defence Committee member Viktor Sobolev said he was unaware of any plans to scrap the aircraft carrier. He told the “Podyom” podcast that Russia was a naval country that needed ships for defence purposes.
“We need both aircraft-carrying cruisers and nuclear cruisers, of which there were four in Soviet times, but now there is practically only one left,” he said.
“From a military point of view, I think such ships are appropriate. Russia is a maritime power and should have its own aircraft-carrying cruisers, among other things.”