Russia Will Deploy Their Only Aircraft Carrier To The Mediterranean To Support Assad

[Purveyor]

Russia's state-run TASS news agency recently announced that Russia's sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, will deploy to the Mediterranean from October 2016 to January 2017 to fly sorties against the enemies of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

"The General Staff has prepared a plan for involvement of the deck aircraft in delivering strikes on terrorist groups in the Syrian Arab Republic, where the crews will practice taking off the carrier to deliver strikes on ground targets," the source told TASS.

This deployment will mark only the fifth deployment of the Kuznetsov since it's launch in 1985. All previous deployments only lasted a few months were also in the Mediterranean.

Additionally, the Kuznetsov only displaces about 55,000 tons and can support about 30 aircraft. It's ski-jump platform and lack of catapults mean that planes launched from the Kuznetsov have a reduced maximum takeoff weight, and can therefore carry less fuel and strike within shorter ranges, meaning the carrier will have to float closer to the shore.

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/russia-deploy-only-aircraft-carrier-150200579.html

[longship]

1. No catapults.

Looks strange:


Conventionally powered (Wiki says gas-powered -- not sure what that means); 8 boilers; 4 turbines.

They made two of them. The Chinese have the other one.

[trof]

4. Yeah, but they got 'swoop'.

If ya got swoop ya don't need catapults.
Who knows.

[backscatter712]

5. Ski-jump, sort of like British carriers.

The downside is that the fighters that the Kuznetsov carries can't be that heavy, so they launch with a small armament and partial fuel load, so they'll make it into the air from the ramp.

[longship]

6. Meanwhile USA is replacing their steam catapults with the equivalent of a rail gun.

[Cali_Democrat]

2. Russia deploys their piece of crap aircraft carrier?

LOL

[Eleanors38]

3. umm... X Games?