Contract for Overhaul of Russian Navy's Aircraft Carrier Signed.

The contract for the overhaul of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier of project 11435 has been signed and the work has begun, the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) said.

Picture showing aircraft carrier "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" of project 11435 pier side at "35 ship repair yard" JSC "Center of Ship repair" Zvezdochka" prior of its repair work. Picture taken in Murmansk, in March 2018 by NICO khaber / johnkey68 / forums.airbase.ru

"The contract for the modernization of the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Soviet Union Fleet Admiral Kuznetsov has been signed by all the parties and USC subsidiary Zvyozdochka shipyard has begun to implement it. The amount and deadline are not disclosed," the USC said.

"The preparatory work began after the general schedule of the overhaul was agreed. SRZ-35 was equipped with tools, pattern equipment, stands and other devices for the work. Cranes were upgraded and a special unit set up for the project," he said.

The aircraft carrier is berthed at SRZ-35 in Murmansk.

The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier of project 11435 is designated to win supremacy at sea and in the air to promote sustainability of the naval forces, strike at adversary positions, and support landing operations. The warship became operational in 1990. Its full displacement is 58 thousand tons and the length is 304.5 meters. Full speed power is 200000HP and the speed is close to 30 knots. Besides an air wing of 24-26 aircraft and 12 helicopters, the Admiral Kuznetsov is armed with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. It has a skijump and 2 aircraft elevators to facilitate the operations of the aviation. The crew of the carrier comprises 1300 men and the personnel of the air wing is 660 people.

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Navy Recognition comment:
According Russian newspaper Kommersant, the Admiral Kuznetsov refit work will be limited and in an accelerated mode. Murmansk 35th Shipyard, a subsidiary of the Severodvinsk Zvezdochka is contracted to work for two years. According to Kommersant, the cost of the overhaul will be about 55 billion rubles. This amount is not enough to conduct a radical modernization of the ship: due to lack of funds, the defense department will limit itself to repairing the boiler turbine plant and replacing some electronic warfare system.

According to Kommersant sources, the power plant will remain boiler-turbine. "In Russia, no gas turbine power plants are needed for the power required for such a ship. It would be possible to purchase and instal an American product, but the political situation does not allow this. In addition, the funds for the acquisition is clearly not enough, "- says the Kommersant source. Instead of changing the entire power plant, the boilers will be changed.

According to Kommersant, the Granit anti-ship missiles will be left on the vessel. Previously, it was proposed to replace it with the Kalibr cruise missile, but this would require to cut open part of the hull of the aircraft carrier, which would increase the complexity of the work and its duration. Some industry experts believe that "Granit" should be removed from the ship's hull in order to free up space for additional aviation units. "For all of Kuznetsov's service, Granit has never been used. Why is it needed ? "- argues the expert. Andrei Frolov believes that the military will defend the presence of the missile system on the aircraft carrier because of the reduction in the number of carriers of missiles in the fleet.