What Oddities Can You Spot In This Tour Of Russia’s Aging Aircraft Carrier?

Updated Jul 3, 2020 3:37 AM EDT

Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the aging and quirky Admiral Kuznetsov , means many different things to many different people. To some it is a symbol of Russian might, to others it is a dangerous relic of the Cold War, one that holds little real strategic value. Some have even used it as a metaphor for Russia’s military and extra-territorial aspirations. No matter how you see it, one thing is for certain, the ship and its mission are downright interesting. That’s why this tour of the vessel is so worth watching.

The amateur video, which was posted in our comments section by Mister Bond, depicts a group of civilians being guided through the bowels of the ship. Exactly when it was shot is not clear, although it looks fairly recent, say within the last five years. It appears to have been taken while the carrier was docked in its home port of Severomorsk , which is also the headquarters for Russia’s Northern Fleet.

As you can see, the ship appears to be very dated inside, with a sprinkling of computer technology, and even that is far from cutting edge. Much has been made of the carrier’s poor and even deadly reliability and nasty living conditions . Yet maybe the most publicized disparagements against the vessel have to do with the signature black smoke that it trails around while underway.

Russia’s carrier spitting black smoke as it sails through the English Channel., AP

Russia admits that the ship’s propulsion system is based on old technology, but exactly how bad a condition its boilers are in remains unclear. The carrier is followed around by ocean-going tugs as breakdowns are seen as almost a certainty, something that also affects the ship’s ability to operate aircraft in “blue water” conditions far out to sea.

Here is another video showing the inner workings of the ship:

The tweet below has been circulating supposedly comparing the Kuznetsov’s dilapidated boilers to the Indian carrier INS Vikramaditya , which was built-out to a similar configuration as the Admiral Kuznetsov from an existing Kiev class aircraft carrying missile cruiser , the same type that the Kuznetsov class’s design originally evolved from. India’s acquisition of the ship from Russia took far more money and time to complete than originally planned, but Russia eventually delivered the ship in late 2013.

The third picture in the tweet is of the same sort boiler setup, as seen on China’s only carrier the Liaoning . The vessel, which is Admiral Kuznetsov sister ship, was bought from Ukraine as a rusted hulk to be used as a hotel and casino, but that was just a cover story and China totally refurbished the ship and reverse engineered much of its design in the process. As you can see, the difference in quality of each engine room is stark.

The rusted hulk that was once the Kuznetsov’s sister ship, the Varyag , seen dockside in China before its transformation into the Liaoning . , Globalsecurity.org

Admiral Kuznetsov was supposed to undergo a deep overhaul and refit after its last deployment but that was delayed till 2018, instead the ship got a light refresh before being sent out to sea. This delay was enacted largely so that the ship could participate in the Syrian air campaign and show off its new air wing capabilities in the form of MiG-29KRs and KA-52Ks. One MiG has since crashed and it seems the bulk of the operations, including bombing sorties , are being executed by the slightly upgraded Su-33s at this time.

Now the ship’s overhaul in imminent, and there has been some information on what it could entail, although nothing can be certain at this point. From my previous feature detailing the carrier’s history and design:

“Whether the P-700 missile tubes are still active and filled with live rounds is unknown. It’s possible, as the ship is slated to go through a much deeper refit when it returns from its Syrian deployment. On its return home this capability will most likely be removed, once and for all, with new hangar space making room for the Kuznetsov’s modernized air wing that will increasingly be made up of MiG-29KR strike fighters and KA-52K attack helicopters.

Other improvements slated for the ship during its deep refit are rumored to include new gas turbines, replacing the dated boiler system that has plagued the ship’s reliability for years. New missile defense systems, including medium-range surface-to-air missiles and a navalized version of the Pantsir point defense system would be added. New communications systems and sensors would also replace long-obsolete ones.”

In the meantime, the ship will continue operations off Syria’s coast, as this pretty sweet 360 degree video released by Russian media highlights:

What interesting features can you spot in the Kuznetsov tour video, let us know in the comments section below. Screencap away!

Contact the author Tyler@thedrive.com

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更新于美国东部时间2020年7月3日凌晨3:37

俄罗斯唯一的航空母舰“库兹涅佐夫海军上将”号，这艘老旧而又略显古怪的舰艇，对不同的人来说意义各不相同。对一些人来说，它是俄罗斯实力的象征；对另一些人来说，它是冷战时期危险的遗物，几乎没有任何真正的战略价值。甚至有人将其比作俄罗斯军事野心和境外扩张野心的象征。无论你怎么看待它，有一点是肯定的：这艘军舰及其使命都引人入胜。正因如此，这次参观之旅才如此值得一看。

这段由邦德先生发布在我们评论区的业余视频显示，一群平民正在被引导参观这艘航母的内部。视频的确切拍摄时间尚不清楚，但看起来比较新近，大概是过去五年内拍摄的。视频似乎是在航母停靠在其母港北莫尔斯克港期间拍摄的，北莫尔斯克港同时也是俄罗斯北方舰队的总部所在地。

正如你所见，这艘航母内部看起来非常陈旧，虽然配备了一些计算机技术，但这些技术也远称不上尖端。该航母的可靠性差，甚至存在致命隐患，生活条件恶劣，这些都已广为人知。然而，或许对这艘航母最广为人知的批评，还是它在航行时拖曳出的标志性黑烟。

俄罗斯航母驶过英吉利海峡时喷出黑烟。（美联社）

俄罗斯承认该舰的推进系统采用老旧技术，但其锅炉的状况究竟有多糟糕仍不清楚。由于故障几乎不可避免，这艘航母在远海作业时始终有远洋拖船跟随，这也影响了该舰在远海“蓝水”条件下操作舰载机的能力。

这里还有一段视频，展示了这艘船的内部运作：

下面这条推文一直在流传，据称是将“库兹涅佐夫”号破旧的锅炉与印度航母“维克拉玛蒂亚”号进行了比较。“维克拉玛蒂亚”号的配置与“库兹涅佐夫”号类似，都是由一艘现有的基辅级导弹巡洋舰改装而来，而“库兹涅佐夫”级的设计最初也是基于同一型号的舰艇。印度从俄罗斯购买这艘舰艇耗费了比原计划多得多的资金和时间，但俄罗斯最终在2013年底交付了这艘舰艇。

推文中的第三张图片展示的是与中国唯一一艘航母辽宁号上相同的锅炉装置。辽宁号是“库兹涅佐夫海军上将”号的姊妹舰，最初是从乌克兰购得的一艘锈迹斑斑的废弃船只，计划将其改造成酒店和赌场，但这只是个幌子。中国对这艘船进行了彻底翻新，并在翻新过程中对其大部分设计进行了逆向工程。正如你所看到的，两个机舱的质量差异非常显著。

曾经是库兹涅佐夫号姊妹舰瓦良格号的锈迹斑斑的残骸，在被改造成辽宁舰之前，曾在中国码头被拍到。（Globalsecurity.org）

“库兹涅佐夫海军上将”号原计划在上次部署结束后进行深度检修和改装，但该计划被推迟到2018年，取而代之的是该舰在出海前进行了一次小规模的翻新。此次推迟主要是为了让该舰能够参与叙利亚空袭行动，并展示其新搭载的米格-29KR和卡-52K战斗机。此后一架米格-29KR坠毁，目前看来，包括轰炸任务在内的大部分作战行动都由略微升级的苏-33战斗机执行。

现在这艘航母的大修迫在眉睫，虽然目前还无法确定具体细节，但已经有一些关于大修内容的信息流出。以下摘自我之前详细介绍这艘航母的历史和设计：

“P-700导弹发射管是否仍然处于启用状态并装有实弹尚不得而知。这并非不可能，因为该舰计划在结束叙利亚部署返回后进行更彻底的改装。回国后，这项能力很可能会被彻底移除，新的机库空间将用于容纳库兹涅佐夫号现代化舰载机联队，该联队将越来越多地由米格-29KR攻击战斗机和卡-52K攻击直升机组成。”

据传，该舰深度改装期间的其他改进措施还包括安装新型燃气轮机，以取代多年来一直影响其可靠性的老旧锅炉系统。此外，还将加装新型导弹防御系统，包括中程舰空导弹和舰载版“铠甲”近程防御系统。新的通信系统和传感器也将取代早已过时的设备。

与此同时，这艘军舰将继续在叙利亚沿海执行任务，俄罗斯媒体发布的这段精彩的360度全景视频就充分展现了这一点：

在库兹涅佐夫参观视频中，你发现了哪些有趣的地方？请在下方评论区留言告诉我们。欢迎截图！

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com

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