The Fleet Admiral of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov...
decided to preserve the Admiral Kuznetsov, used to train deck aircraft pilots.The upcoming large-scale modernization was motivated by the need to eliminate the ship"s inherent drawbacks and to repair some of her units. Plans for docking the ship in 2010-2012 were discussed more frequently and have now been confirmed.
Although it is hard to assess the revamped carrier"s specifications, her future appearance can be predicted on the basis of available reports.
First of all, the defective propulsion unit comprising steam turbines and turbo-pressurized boilers will be replaced either with a gas-turbine or nuclear propulsion unit.
The ship"s 3M45 P-700 Granit (SS-N-19 Shipwreck) anti-ship cruise-missile launchers will be dismantled, and her internal layout changed. Consequently, the hangar area will be expanded to 4,500-5,000 sq. m. for storing additional fixed-wing aircraft.
The Admiral Kuznetsov"s air defenses will be strengthened by replacing
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