Russian Aircraft Carrier Kuznetsov Caught Fire Again

One person was killed and about a dozen injured when Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov caught fire at a Murmansk shipyard renovating the warship, international media outlets have reported.

A source told the Russian government-owned TASS news agency that one body was found at the site of the fire, 12 people were being treated for injuries, and two more people remained unaccounted for. Those that were being treated for injuries were mostly suffering from inhaling toxic fumes from the fire, including burning diesel fuel.

The fire may have started due to violations of safety protocol while workers conducted welding on the ship, TASS reported. Russian government-owned outlet Sputnik cited the head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), Alexei Rakhmanov, as saying the fire broke out during welding work near the first energy compartment, when a spark fell into a hold space where fuel was handled.

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The Russians are Thinking About, Maybe, Someday Real Soon Now Starting to Plan Their First Nuclear Aircraft Carrier

The Russian Defense Ministry has started its work to draft the statement of objectives (SOO) for Russia’s advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, a source in Russia’s defense industry told TASS on Wednesday.

"The SOO on the new aircraft carrier is now being created and has not yet been sent to the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC)," the source said without speculating on when this work may be over. "The Defense Ministry and the Russian Navy Main Staff share the opinion that the new aircraft carrier should be nuclear-powered."

TASS has been unable to officially confirm the information at the time of the publication.

Earlier, a source in Russia’s shipbuilding industry told TASS that scientific and research work to design Russia’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier would begin in 2023.

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Russia to Build at Least two More Borey-A SSBNs by 2027

According to an industry source, quoted in the Russian media, the 2018-2027 State Armament Program includes construction of two additional Project 955A/Borey-A submarines. This will bring the number of submarines of the Project 955 class to ten by 2028. The source said that five submarines will be based in the Northern Fleet and five - in the Pacific. He also suggested that the construction of the Borey submarines will continue after 2027, since it is unlikely that the Project 667BDRM subs will be able to remain in service that long. (Back in May 2018, it was suggested that Russia may build six additional Project 955A submarines, bringing the total to 14.)

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Russia has Started Research on the Nuclear Power Plant for its Nextgen Carrier

The Russian Navy has commenced research on engine designs for Russia’s planned nuclear-powered supercarrier, dubbed Project 23000E Shtorm (Storm), the chief of the Russian Navy’s shipbuilding department, Rear Admiral Vladimir Tryapichnikov, said in a television interview on August 24.

“Today, an engine has been launched [the research work on its creation has been launched] and today we are working precisely on this issue,” Tryapichnikov said on Zvezda TV Channel last Friday. “Some concept will be approved in the near future. Of course, this is expensive but such a ship should be built.”

The principal design work for the new carrier is being undertaken by the St. Petersburg-based Nevskoye Planning and Design bureau, Russia’s primary designer of large surface warships. Tryapichnikov’s comments once more raise the question whether a Russian nuclear-powered aircraft carrier project will ever move beyond the design stage and whether the Russian Navy has a need for a flattop.

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Russia is Expanding its Naval Base in Syria

A plan to expand the Russian naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartus has been formally approved in Moscow.

On 29 December Russian President Vladimir Putin formally signed into law a plan that was agreed by Moscow and Damascus on 18 January 2017. This followed ratification of the agreement by the Duma on 21 December and the Federal Council on 26 December.

The Kremlin released a document saying the agreement covered the expansion of the territory of the Russian Navy’s logistics centre at Tartus, saying Syria is transferring land and water areas, as well as real estate, in the port.

The agreement also covers visits by naval vessels to all Syrian ports and territorial waters and the status of Russian personnel in the country.

It is valid for 49 years, at the end of which it will automatically be renewed for 25-year periods.

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Russian Kuznetsov Aircraft Carrier Loses Su-33 due to Arrestor Hook Failure

The Russian Navy's Admiral Kuznetsov air wing suffered its second loss in less than a month when a Sukhoi Su-33 'Flanker' combat aircraft crashed into the sea following a landing mishap, the Kremlin confirmed on 5 December.

The multirole fleet defence fighter crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Syria after one of the ship's arrestor cables snapped, state media quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying. The accident happened just days after a MiG-29KR 'Fulcrum' was forced to ditch into the sea on 14 November after a problem with Admiral Kuznetsov's arrestor cable had prevented it from landing before the pilot ran out of fuel. On both occasions, the pilots were rescued.

With these losses the carrier's fixed-wing combat force of at least five Su-33s and four MiG-29Ks has been depleted by about 20%, just weeks into its much vaunted debut operational deployment.

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Russian Naval Aircraft now Operating From Airbase, not Kuznetsov Aircraft Carrier

Many of the fast jets that were embarked on the Russia aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov have been flown to the main Russian air base in Syria, Airbus Defence and Space satellite imagery obtained by IHS Jane's shows.

The imagery shows eight Russian Federation Navy Su-33 and one MiG-29KR jets alongside various Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) aircraft at Humaymim Air Base in Latakia province on 20 November.

Kuznetsov can carry around 20 fast jets and is known to have embarked at least eight Su-33s for its current deployment in the Eastern Mediterranean, and at least four of the new MiG-29KR multirole fighters for the first time. One of the new jets crashed on 14 November, an incident that a Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) statement attributed to an unspecified "equipment fault during an approach for deck landing".

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A MiG-29K From Russian Aircraft Carrier Crashed in the Mediterranean Sea

As reported by Combat Aircraft a Russian Navy Mig-29KUBR embarked aboard Adm. Kuznetsov aircraft carrier has crashed on Nov. 13.

The aircraft is one of the four naval Fulcrums operated by the 100th Independent Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment.

According to our sources, the incident occurred around 14.30Z and involved a two-seater Fulcrum in a formation of three Mig-29s operating from the carrier in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Syria: whilst one of the remaining aircraft recovered aboard the Kuznetsov the third one diverted for unknown reasons to Syria.

Footage allegedly showing Mig-29s in the skies over Aleppo had happered earlier on the same day.

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Russian Naval Air Defense Systems in Trouble

There have long been reports that the ongoing delays with the commissioning of the Admiral Gorshkov frigate have to do with defects in its air defense systems. These were thought to be primarily related to problems with integration of the Poliment Redut air defense missile system. The Poliment system was designed to be Russia’s answer to AEGIS, with four phased array antennas that are able to track 16 targets at the same time. The Redut system consists of four or eight vertical launch systems that launch three types of missiles. The 9M100 is the short-range missile, with a range of up to 15km. The 9M96M is the medium-range missile, with a range of 40-50km. Finally, the 9M96 long-range missile is supposed to have a range of up to 150km.

It now appears that the Redut’s problems are much more serious than just integration. A recent report notes that the Ministry of Defense has stopped trials of the system because of continuing problems with the 9M96 long-range missile. Specifically, the missiles appear to fail after three seconds of flight. Some reports indicate that the Redut system works well hitting targets up to 40km away, but fails in the long range. The implication is that the short and medium range missiles work well, but the long range missile does not. Nevertheless, this may be an improvement over previous results, as trials of the Redut system on the Steregushchiy class corvettes in 2014 showed that they were only able to hit targets at distances of up to 15km because the medium-range Furke-2 radar system was not functioning properly.

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Russia's Navy Claims to be Working on a Nuclear Powered "Destroyer"

The Project 23560 Leader-class destroyer will replace several warship types at once in the Russian Navy’s inventory, including guided missile cruisers and large antisubmarine warfare (ASW) ships. The Severnoye Design Bureau has started working on her engineering design, according to the Izvestia daily.

The ship will displace about 17,500 tons, which will make her close enough to Project 1144 Orlan-class (NATO reporting name: Kirov-class) heavy missile cruisers in terms of dimensions. According to former Russian Navy Deputy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Igor Kasatonov, the development of a ship like that implies certain geopolitical interests of Russia’s leadership. Metal will be cut for the new warship after 2018, according to the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC). In all, a series of eight destroyers is planned.

Nuclear-powered cruisers have the self-sustained operating capability and formidable weaponry and can operate anywhere in the world. The Russian Navy has not ordered ships like that since 1989. Hence, the development means that the country has regained geopolitical interests in remote corners of the world now, Kasatonov noted.

Valery Polovinkin, advisor to the director general of the Krylov State Research Center that worked out the destroyer’s preliminary design, says the sophisticated ship will combine the best of several types of surface combatants at once. She will have antimissile and space defense capabilities and serve as a kind of strong point in the ocean.

The Leader will be a versatile ship triple-hatted as destroyer, large ASW ship and guided missile cruiser while being smaller than Project 1144 ships and carrying far more weaponry. The self-contained operation capability of similar ships is usually based on their stock of provisions, and their nuclear propulsion plants can do without refueling for years.

The advanced destroyer will be equipped with the RITM-200 nuclear power plant fitting the future Project 22220 icebreaker, which lead ship, the Arktika, was launched in June. The Leader’s power plant will propel her to 30 knots.

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A Russian Destroyer Shadowed an Amphibious Assault Ship USS America

A Russian destroyer shadowed the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) on July 16 and 17 during the Rim of the Pacific 2016 exercise, generally staying about one or two nautical miles away but at times coming as close as about 1,000 yards, USNI News observed.

The Udaloy-class destroyer Admiral Vinogradov (DD-572) approached America around 5 p.m. local time on July 16 and shadowed the warship all night and well into the next day.

The destroyer appeared at one point to peel away and sail toward USS San Diego (LPD-22) an amphibious transport dock sailing in the same amphibious readiness group (ARG) but then turned back to America.

At the time, America was sailing in international waters, San Diego was closer to U.S. territorial waters.

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Developing a new Schtorm Aircraft Carrier Might Cost Russia $15 Billion, but is being Offering to India

The cost of developing an aircraft carrier for the Russian Navy may have a price tag of 1 trillion rubles ($15 billion). The construction of such a ship may cause financial problems for both the Russian Defense Ministry and the whole of the country, expert Sergei Ischenko writes in an article on the Svobodnaya Pressa news website.

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Russian shipbuilding officials have offered New Delhi their nuclear-powered design for an Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier, according reports.

The Krylovsky State Research Center (KRSC) has offered the nuclear-powered Project 23000E Shtorm carrier to India via a delegation that visited the country last week, according to the report in Defense News.

The offer from the St. Petersburg design agency comes as the U.S. and the Indian Navy are cooperating on aircraft carrier technology. The Indians are interested in what tech the U.S. can share – particularly the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), the next generation carrier catapult technology that will be used on the Gerald R. Ford-class carriers (CVN-78).

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Is Russia's Aircraft Carrier About to go to War in Syria?

The aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is the biggest ship in the Russian navy and the most visible symbol of the Kremlin’s military power. This October, she will travel to the Mediterranean and carry out air strikes in Syria, according to a report from the Moscow-based Tass news agency.

There is a general rule for news about Russian warships. Like most things in life — don’t believe it until you see it. The first problem is that the Tass report, which reverberated throughout the Russian and Western press, relied on a single anonymous “military-diplomatic source.”

Nor is this the first time rumors have spread about the Admiral Kuznetsov going to war in Syria. The Russian navy denied a 2015 report which claimed as much.

But this is not to say you should totally disbelieve it, either. Recent activity surrounding the Admiral Kuznetsov may indicate an upcoming combat deployment.

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A Russian Frigate Continued to Harass an American Carrier Battle Group

A Russian frigate again came dangerously close to U.S. ships tasked with striking ISIS targets in Syria from the Eastern Mediterranean – coming within 150 yards of the Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group while the carrier was conducting flight operations on Thursday, USNI News has learned.

According to an early incident report obtained by USNI News, the Russian Navy frigate Yaroslav Mudry (FF-777) made several erratic movements and inconsistent radio transmissions to the guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG-56) about 6:00 A.M. EST on Thursday.

“The actions of FF-777 were abnormal as they displayed maneuvers rarely seen by professional mariners at sea combined with an aggressive approach toward [San Jacinto],” read the assessment.

A Navy official contacted by USNI News confirmed a Russian frigate the interaction was, “unsafe and unprofessional.”

The report accused 4,400-ton Mudry of coming within 150 yards of the cruiser and quickly turning away in a manner described as “highly unprofessional” and as a “high-risk maneuver,” according to the report.

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Russia to Modernize Kuznetsov Aircraft Carrier

Starting next year, Russia’s only aircraft carrier will start a modernization maintenance period to upgrade its arresting gear and launching systems, according to a report this week from the Russian TASS news wire.

The 55,000-ton Admiral Kuznetsov will enter the two to three-year upgrade availability at an unknown Russian yard sometime next year to undergo upgrades to allow the carrier to improve launching and recovering aircraft, the source told TASS.

“The works on the vessel will begin after she returns from a long-distance voyage in the Mediterranean in the first quarter of 2017 and will last for two-three years,” the source said.

“The modernization will focus on the aircraft carrier’s flight deck, including replacement of the deck covering, tailhooks, aircraft arresting gear and other elements of the take-off system.”

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Russian Navy Upgrading Akula Class Attack Subs to use Kalibr (Sizzler) Antiship missiles

The upgrade of Russia's Project 971 Bars ('Akula')-class nuclear-powered attack submarines will arm them with Kalibr 3M-54 (SS-N-27A 'Sizzler') anti-ship missiles, Viktor Kochemazov, chief of the Russian Navy Training Department, told the RSN radio channel on 21 March. "Now, the upgrade of the Project 971 submarines provides for equipping them with the Kalibr system," he said.

The weapon "proved itself" during trials, according to Kochemazov. "Its use by the Rostov-on-Don diesel-electric submarine showed that the system is facing bright vistas in terms of further development," he said.

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A Mig-29K Practices Carrier Takeoffs on a Ski Jump

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Russia Claims Will Have the Ability to Build Aircraft Carriers by 2019

Russia’s government-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) will have the full technological capability by the beginning of 2019 to start building helicopter carriers and aircraft carriers, the president of the corporation, Alexey Rakhmanov told Rossiya’24 news channel on Sunday.

"We’ll be ready to begin construction of helicopter carriers as well as aircraft carriers," he said. "If you take up the technological capability for building aircraft carriers, we hope to acquire it by the beginning of 2019 as long as modernization works are completed," Rakhmanov said. "That’s the level of readiness that will enable us to say whether or not we’re prepared to build a large-tonnage ship, be it a commercial vessel or a naval ship."

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British Desparately Want P-8 Poseidons to Hunt Russian Subs

With Russian subs and bombers nosing around the British Isles while the Islamic State massacres Parisians just two hours by train from London, the British Defense Ministry is besieged from both sides. The new Strategic Defense Review aims not only to rebuild the UK military after 2010’s cuts but to make it capable of confronting both nation-state and terrorist threats, said UK Secretary of State for Defense Michael Fallon.

“Clearly, it had a galvanizing effect,” Fallon said of the Paris attacks, inspiring Parliament to reverse a 2013 decision and authorize British airstrikes inside Syria.

But the Russians are pretty galvanizing too, Fallon made clear in his remarks this morning to the Atlantic Council. In particular, ever since the UK retired its Nimrod reconnaissance planes, it can’t properly track Russian submarines, whose activity in the Atlantic has only increased. That leaves the Royal Navy nervous about the safety of its sea-based deterrent, a small fleet of Vanguard nuclear-missile submarines (SSBNs).

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Russian Project 09851 Nuclear Submarine Khabarovsk Potentially Indentified to Carry Doomsday Nuclear Torpedo/UUV Status-6/Kanyon

The pictures need permission of the original author to publish, so I did a teaser screenshot so you can be tempted to go look. 

Russia’s plan to create a giant nuclear torpedo capable of wiping out a costal city could be farther along than just graphics on a briefing slide and gives purpose to a mysterious nuclear submarine, currently under construction.

Last month Kremlin leaked its plan to develop a new the Status-6 (or Kanyon) strategic weapon under the guise of a state controlled television feed accidentally catching a glimpse of the program overview.

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