Russia is planning to build its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

[Swordsmyth]

Russia wants to build its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Russian state media reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources in the shipbuilding industry.

The carrier, a source told TASS, "will have a nuclear energy unit and displacement of about 70,000 [metric tons]," which would make it smaller than US carriers but still larger than Russia's sole aircraft carrier, the steam-powered Admiral Kuznetsov, which suffered a devastating accident last fall.
Last summer, Russian media reported that the Russian navy had begun developing a nuclear propulsion system for a next-generation aircraft carrier. Development on the new carrier is expected to begin in 2023, and the ship could be delivered to the fleet by the late 2030s.

More at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...-after-breaking-its-only-flattop/ar-AAB5L1v?l

 

[Zippyjuan]

Can't be worse then the one they have. https://www.businessinsider.com/rus...ng-kuznetsov-its-only-aircraft-carrier-2019-4

Russia is talking about scrapping its only aircraft carrier, putting the troubled ship out of its misery

Russia is acknowledging that it may be forced to scrap its only aircraft carrier as the troubled flagship suffered a catastrophic shipyard accident last fall.

The Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's sole aircraft carrier, which was built during the Soviet era, was severely damaged in October when the massive Swedish-built PD-50 dry dock at the 82nd Repair Shipyard in Roslyakovo sank with the carrier on board.

The carrier was undergoing an extensive overhaul at the time of the incident.

While the ship was able to pull away from the sinking dry dock, it did not escape unscathed. A heavy crane fell on the vessel, punching a large gash in the hull and deck.

By Russia's own admission, the dry dock was the only one suitable for maintenance on the Kuznetsov, with one executive saying the sudden loss of this facility "creates certain inconveniences."

"We have alternatives actually for all the ships except for [the aircraft carrier] Admiral Kuznetsov," Alexei Rakhmanov, the head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, told the state-run TASS news agency in November.

At that time, observers began to seriously question whether it was worth attempting to salvage the carrier given its history of breakdowns and poor performance. As is, the Kuznetsov is almost always accompanied by tugboats, preparation for practically inevitable problems.

The ship is rarely seen at sea. From 1991 to 2015, the Kuznetsov, sometimes described as one of the worst carriers in the world, set sail on patrol only six times, and on a 2016 mission in Syria, the carrier saw the loss of two onboard fighter jets in just three weeks.

With this one finally broken, I guess they needed a new one. But can they afford it?

A new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier would certainly provide a capabilities boost, but it's a tall order, especially as the Russian military has struggled to find funding for other big defense projects.

Short on funds, Russia had to cut production for the T-14 Armata main battle tanks and fifth-generation Su-47 stealth fighters. Russia reportedly also can't afford its devastating new nuclear-powered cruise missiles that still don't work right.

https://taskandpurpose.com/russia-t...raft-carrier-after-breaking-admiral-kuznetsov