MOSCOW. Sept 3 (Interfax) - The second stage of the dockside repairs of the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's only aircraft carrier, is planned for next summer, United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) CEO Alexei Rakhmanov said in an interview with Interfax on Friday.
"At the present time, the work is in full swing. The cruiser's systems and mechanisms are being repaired, bulky equipment has been procured and loaded onto the ship, and electric installation operations are being conducted. The ship is being prepared for the second stage of the dockside repairs in the summer of 2022," Rakhmanov said.
"The main reason why Zvyozdochka [ship maintenance center] will be unable to deliver the aircraft carrier in 2022 is that Kirov-Energomash has disrupted the repairs timeline - I am talking about the geared-turbine installations of the ship's power plant," he said.
The Admiral Kuznetsov's repairs is under the Defense Ministry's, the Navy's, and the USC's special control, he said.
"The situation surrounding the Admiral Nakhimov is analogous, and its repairs should be completed next year," he said.
The Admiral Kuznetsov returned to Severomorsk in February 2017, after a mission in the Mediterranean, during which Sukhoi Su-33 and MiG-29KR carrier-based fighter aircraft were used for combat purposes for the first time in the Russian Navy's history. According to official reports, the Admiral Kuznetsov lost two fighters during that mission. The aircraft crashed while approaching to land, and their pilots ejected. Media also reported that the aircraft carrier often emitted heavy black smoke during the mission.
The Admiral Kuznetsov's keel was laid at the Black Sea Shipyard in 1982. It is capable of carrying more than 50 aircraft. The modernized aircraft carrier will be armed with the naval version of the Pantsir air defense system and will have new boilers, pumps, and flight and communications systems. The main turbines of the ship's power plant will also have to be repaired.
The Defense Ministry concluded a state contract with Zvyozdochka for the aircraft carrier's technical recovery and modernization in April 2018.
Fire on board the Admiral Kuznetsov broke out reportedly during welding operations on December 12, 2019, while it was undergoing repairs at the Murmansk plant. It took firefighters about 24 hours to extinguish the fire. Two people were killed and 14 others injured in the process. Speaking earlier to Interfax, Rakhmanov estimated the damage that the fire caused to the only Russian aircraft carrier at some 500 million rubles. He said the ship would rejoin the Navy in 2022, but considering the need to eliminate the consequences of the fire, this would happen five or six months later than previously planned.
Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko said in December 2020 that the Admiral Nakhimov nuclear-powered cruiser was undergoing an overhaul and should rejoin the Navy at the end of 2022.
The Defense Ministry has said that the Admiral Nakhimov should become the most advanced cruiser of the Russian Navy following modernization. It is to be armed with Tsirkon missiles (a new Russian hypersonic missile undergoing trials, developed by the Reutov-based NPO Mashinostroyeniya machine building association affiliated with Tactical Missiles Corporation) and Kalibr cruise missiles (Novator design bureau, Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defense Corporation).
Asked whether Russia would start building new large ships, cruisers, and aircraft carriers, Rakhmanov replied, "As for large-size ships, they're being built right now as well."
"We can recall Project 11711 large landing ships with improved performance (factory No. 303 and 304), Project 23120 Elbrus combat logistics ships, and also the Vsevolod Bobrov, which has just been delivered to the Navy. Finally, we have Project 22350 frigates for a remote maritime zone, which can serve as a good illustration of the fact that new types of weapons allow for building ships armed more heavily with lighter displacement," he said.