The Admiral Kuznetsov’s return reveals problems in Russian naval aviation readiness.

Admiral Kuznetsov in Severomorsk home base. pic.twitter.com/fKmjXZ0Lz6

— Military Advisor (@miladvisor) February 8, 2017

The Admiral Kuznetsov’s return reveals problems in Russian naval aviation readiness. (RBTH).

On Feb. 3 pilots of the Northern Fleet’s aviation group flew from the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier to their home base in Severomorsk-3. Only some of the aircraft, which include the Su-33, MiG-29K, Ka-52, Ka-29 and Ka-27, were transferred home. Technical breakdowns and a lack of trained aircraft carrier pilots are believed to be the main culprit behind the missing planes.


"All aircraft and pilots should be relocated to their home base from the aircraft carrier at the same time; no commander willingly relocates his regiment in stages," said a former high-ranking naval aviation officer, reported Vzglyad. "The entire engineering and technical staff should follow the aircraft as soon as possible, so that full maintenance can be done on the aircraft at the new airfield."

According to Vzglyad, it’s possible to make disappointing conclusions about the state of Russia's naval aviation: "Four fighter pilots and three helicopter pilots and the corresponding number of aircraft are all the forces that can take off from the deck of the Kuznetsov in a short space of time today.

Either they don't have more trained pilots, or the aircraft are out of order. Naval officers are well aware that during previous combat voyages the Kuznetsov regularly carried aircraft on its deck that in reality couldn’t get in the air – it was all for the purpose of public display."

Another problem may be a shortage of trained personnel. The number of pilots able to take off from the Kuznetsov may be very limited, the newspaper wrote.

"As of today Russian carrier aviation is not well developed, to put it mildly, which is something that the Admiral Kuznetsov's voyage to Syria demonstrated," said Alexander Khramchikhin, head of the analytical department at the Institute for Political and Military Analysis, reported Vzglyad.


According to other experts, the Kuznetsov's voyage was overall successful, bearing in mind that the goal was to project the Russian Navy’s power.

"The loss of these aircraft is the loss of billions of rubles of people's money," said Nenashev. "The ship repair and defense industries should make sure this doesn't happen again. The problems with cables may have happened because the Defense Ministry's ordering departments may not have allocated funds for modernization. Ship repair facilities are now ready to carry out comprehensive modernization."

Russia's aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and missile carrying nuclear cruiser Pyotr Veliky enter English Channel.

Pyotr Veliky

Russia's aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and missile carrying nuclear cruiser Pyotr Veliky enter English Channel.(RBTH).

A unit of the Russian Northern Fleet's ships, including the heavy aircraft carrying cruiser Soviet Union Navy Admiral Kuznetsov, has entered the English Channel, Northern Fleet spokesman Captain 1st Rank Vadim Serga told Interfax-AVN.

"In the near future, the combat ships and the support vessels of this unit will pass through the channel and enter the North Sea, proceeding farther toward the Northeast Atlantic," Serga said.

Upon reaching the North Atlantic, the crews of the Admiral Kuznetsov and the heavy missile carrying nuclear cruiser Pyotr Veliky will conduct a series of air defense and anti-submarine defense exercises.

Units operating the air defense missile systems onboard the ships will hold drills, including a simulated operation to rebuff an air strike launched by an imaginary adversary, convoy maneuvers, as well as a simulated attack against high-speed targets, Serga said.

During the deployment, ceremonies marking the 69th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II will be held onboard the Russian ships.

The nuclear cruiser Pyotr Veliky had spent more than six months within the Russian Navy's group of ships in the Mediterranean Sea. The cruiser hosted the naval group's operations headquarters. Its crew also took part in 13 operations to ensure security during the transportation of Syria's chemical weapons.

The Admiral Kuznetsov had spent more than three months in the Mediterranean Sea. Its presence there allowed pilots of Russia's Northern Fleet to extensively practice flight operations aboard the aircraft carrier at sea.The Northern Fleet ships are expected to return to their base at the end of May.