Russia spares no expense in upgrading Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier

Russia has begun a major upgrade of its Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. The total cost of the project could reach $1.1 billion.

Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense

The upgrade was carried out in late March 2017 at the Zverdochka Shipyard in Severodvinsk, northern Russia.

Upgrades include armor, aircraft support systems and anti-aircraft missile systems.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of defense Dmitry Rogozin said the overhaul project could restore the P-700 Granit supersonic cruise missile complex, the main offensive weapon of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier.

Besides, he left open the possibility of replacing this complex with more modern and compact weapons such as Kalibr missiles.

According to Russian defense officials, after being upgraded, the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier could extend its service life by another 20 years.

Admiral Kuznetsov is Russia's only aircraft carrier, put into service in January 1991, and can operate continuously at sea for 45 days.

Due to insufficient funding, the upgrade and repair of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, scheduled for 2016, had to be moved to 2017.

Last year, before being deployed to Syria, the ship was inspected by a special commission.

In addition to the aircraft service crew, this aircraft carrier can also carry 1,960 people and more than 50 aircraft of various types, including: 20 Su-33 fighter jets, 15 Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopters, 4 Su-25UGT training aircraft and 2 Ka-31 early warning helicopters.

According to TPO