Kostin's statement is part of a series of reports about the ship's problems. At the beginning of the month, the daily “Izwestija” reported that Long -term renovation and maintenance works have been suspended, and the aircraft carrier itself has been out of service since 2017undergoing modernization around Murmansk, where the North Fleet is stationed. Efforts to restore him to the line regularly encountered accidents and delays.
“We do not see the point in further repairing it. He is over 40 years old and is extremely expensive,” he was to say Kostin, adding that the matter would probably end with the sale of the unit or its utilization. Although, he noted, the formal decision has not yet been made. However, his tone of statements suggests that further investments in the ship are considered unprofitable.
Admiral Kuznecow was launched in 1985, still during the Soviet Union. The most famous episode of his service was the campaign in Syria, during which Russian on-board aviation ran against the rebel forces supported by opponents of Bashar Al-Assad. Despite the war in Ukraine, the unit did not play any role in it because of many years of indisposition.
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A great ship for scrap
The case of the fate of the ship raises divisions among Russian veterans and experts. Some of them believe that the construction is outdated and does not meet modern requirements, while others claim that Russia needs this ability or its successor.
The Russian Ministry of Defense – as Reuters reminds – usually does not publicly comment on the details of the combat readiness of individual units, which further obscures the picture of the discussion.
The aircraft carrier has also aroused emotions outside Russia for years. In 2017, when he returned from the Mediterranean sea, he gained in the British debate the label of the “shame of shame” because of the clouds of black smoke floating from his chimneys during the passage near the coast of the United Kingdom. This image shadow accompanied him throughout the entire period of problematic modernization.
If Kostin's announcement translates into a decision to sell or scramble, it would be a symbolic end of the Russian on -board aviation program in its current form. In practice, this would mean that The burden of Moscow's marine strength projection will be based on other classes of ship and land aviation, at least until an ambitious and expensive successor construction program was taken.
After years of attempts to modernize the largest ship of the Russian fleet may end the life in the scrap yard or in a less likely scenario – to find sale. For the Kremlin, this would be both a prestigious blow and proof that maintaining a costly and emergency platform has become too much burden on other war and economic priorities.
