The only aircraft carrier of the Russian fleet is to be written off for scrap after seven years of repair
Photo: EPA

The Russian Defense Ministry is considering refusing to restore the country's only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov cruiser, which has been undergoing repairs since 2018. This was reported by the Russian media outlet Izvestia, citing informed sources.

According to the source, the ship's repairs and modernization are currently on hold. The future of the cruiser is to be determined in the near future.

Representatives of the Russian Navy Command and the United Shipbuilding Corporation, which is engaged in the repair, are discussing whether it is advisable to return the ship to the fleet at all.

Former Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Sergei Avakyants called the decision to stop repairs "absolutely correct".

According to him, aircraft carriers are "expensive and ineffective naval weapons," and the future belongs to unmanned systems.

However, Russia's strategic documents, in particular, the Navy Development Concept until 2030, envisage the presence of aircraft carrier formations in both the Northern and Pacific Fleets.

Some experts believe that the fleet still needs air cover at sea. In particular, Russian military expert Vasily Dandykin reminded that China and India are actively developing their aircraft carrier fleets.

  • "The Admiral Kuznetsov was undergoing repairs after a cruise to the Mediterranean in 2017. On that voyage, it lost two deck fighters and was especially famous for smoking heavily, .
  • smoking heavily.
  • In October 2018, a floating crane fell on the docked aircraft carrier and made a five-meter hole in it.