Aircraft Carriers II (Closed to posting)

asif iqbal said:

I am just wondering if it would have been possible for Russia to hold onto those 4 Kiev Class ships and later came up with a standard configuration to convert all of them to ski jump carriers like they did with the Vikramaditya

That would give Russia 4 pretty good ski jump carrier along with Mig-29K

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I don't think the Russians were ever fully committed to carriers and felt they could never be the equal of the USN in operating them. To the Russians they are mainly just air-defense ships. They just don't have the will or methodology to properly operate a carrier.

I wish I could find a quote by a Russian admiral that I once read some years ago after observing flight operation on a USN carrier.

He stated that Russia could never achieve the coordination and team work necessary to operate a CV like the USN.

bd popeye said:

I don't think the Russians were ever fully committed to carriers and felt they could never be the equal of the USN in operating them. To the Russians they are mainly just air-defense ships. They just don't have the will or methodology to properly operate a carrier.

I wish I could find a quote by a Russian admiral that I once read some years ago after observing flight operation on a USN carrier.

He stated that Russia could never achieve the coordination and team work necessary to operate a CV like the USN.

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Wasn't it part of the Russian/Soviet naval doctrine that their surface ships are there to protect their large fleets of submarines in case they do battle with the US Navy? They don't have air naval power superiority therefore relied on their subs trying to neutralize the US fleet. The surface ships are basically targets by engaging with other US surface ships and planes.

Varyag should be assigned to the Pacific Fleet.

bd popeye said:

I don't think the Russians were ever fully committed to carriers and felt they could never be the equal of the USN in operating them. To the Russians they are mainly just air-defense ships. They just don't have the will or methodology to properly operate a carrier.

I wish I could find a quote by a Russian admiral that I once read some years ago after observing flight operation on a USN carrier.

He stated that Russia could never achieve the coordination and team work necessary to operate a CV like the USN.

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True and especially defend two SSBN bastions, Barents Sea and Sea of Okhotsk. Ulyanovsk CVN would have had a more offensive role.

Well, it is still a beautiful picture of two aircraft carriers.


But the truth of the matter is that both were originally built a long time ago...30 years and more. No new ones have been built since...though a Russian yard did refit the Gorshkov and convert it to the Vikramaditya.

Still, I am not sure the Russian industry is up to building one from scratch.

If they keep the people who did this refit employed and trained, and follow up with a couple of Mistral builds from scratch, even if they are kitted from the French, then perhaps after that they will be ready to attempt it. If they have the money and the will.

interior of ins viraat

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inside ins vikramaditya

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personally i prefer the interior of viraat ;of all the colours in the world the in had to choose pink covering for the cushions in vikram. were the interior decorators comprised of only women?

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aksha said:

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Hope so chief, and I bet they were cute girls, kinda like when the honey-badger says, I like that one!

FORBIN said:

Varyag should be assigned to the Pacific Fleet.

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Effectively she has been, but with the PLAN!

First photo of aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya on operational deployment. Taken in the Arabian Sea this month
Photo credit: Shiv Aroor