This Russian Aircraft Carrier’s Flight Deck Looks Like Something From the Future

24/7 Wall St. Insights

• 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a catalog of aircraft carriers from Haze Gray to identify the Russian and Soviet Union aircraft carriers used throughout history.
• Russia currently has one aircraft carrier and it’s out of service for repairs.
• Also: Discover “The Next NVIDIA”

Russia currently has one aircraft carrier and it’s out of service for repairs. The Admiral Kuznetsov was launched in 1985 and may reenter service at the end of 2024 or into 2025. Despite Russia’s lack of current aircraft carriers, the country boasts the third most powerful navy in the world. However, during the Cold War, the Soviet Union had several aircraft carriers, some of which were intended for anti-submarine warfare.

Here, 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at the Russian and Soviet Navy over the years with an emphasis on aircraft carriers. To identify the Russian and Soviet Union aircraft carriers used throughout history, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a catalog of aircraft carriers from Haze Gray, an online database of aircraft carriers. We ordered these aircraft carriers according to when they were commissioned. We included supplemental information regarding the class of carrier, aircraft housed, crew size, and propulsion.

The Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s only operational aircraft carrier, has faced constant maintenance issues and economic constraints. In December 2019, a fire on the ship led to the deaths of a military serviceman, and 12 others were injured. When operable, the ship can hold a series of Sukhoi and MiG fighter jets and a host of helicopters. (These are all the warship and submarine classes in the Russian Navy.)

Here is a look at all of Russia’s aircraft carriers throughout history:

Why Are We Covering This?

While Russia has a history of building and operating aircraft carriers, its current capabilities have been overshadowed by major naval powers like the United States. With current geopolitical tensions on the rise and an ongoing conflict in Ukraine, it’s important to have a grasp of military capabilities of other adversarial nations.

Moskva

• Class: Moskva-class
• Type: Helicopter carrier
• Commissioned: 1967
• Aircraft: 14 helicopters
• Crew: 850
• Propulsion: Steam turbines, 4 boilers, 2 shafts, 100,000 hp, 30 knots

Leningrad

• Class: Moskva-class
• Type: Helicopter carrier
• Commissioned: 1969
• Aircraft: 14 helicopters
• Crew: 850
• Propulsion: Steam turbines, 4 boilers, 2 shafts, 100,000 hp, 30 knots

Kiev

Kiev (PDM 1.0) by jaa1996

• Class: Kiev-class
• Type: Aircraft cruiser
• Commissioned: 1975
• Aircraft: 31 VTOL
• Crew: 1,600
• Propulsion: Steam turbines, 8 boilers, 4 shafts, 200,000 hp, 32 knots

Minsk

File:Panorama of the Soviet Aircraft Carrier Minsk at Minsk World, Shenzhen, China.jpg (BY-SA 3.0) by Sudip2118

• Class: Kiev-class
• Type: Aircraft cruiser
• Commissioned: 1978
• Aircraft: 31 VTOL
• Crew: 1,600
• Propulsion: Steam turbines, 8 boilers, 4 shafts, 200,000 hp, 32 knots

Novorossiysk

• Class: Kiev-class
• Type: Aircraft cruiser
• Commissioned: 1982
• Aircraft: 31 VTOL
• Crew: 1,600
• Propulsion: Steam turbines, 8 boilers, 4 shafts, 200,000 hp, 32 knots

Baku

• Class: Kiev-class
• Type: Aircraft cruiser
• Commissioned: 1987
• Aircraft: 30+ VTOL
• Crew: 1,600
• Propulsion: Steam turbines, 8 boilers, 4 shafts, 200,000 hp, 31.5 knots

Kuznetsov

• Class: Kuznetsov-class
• Type: Aircraft cruiser
• Commissioned: 1990
• Aircraft: 30
• Crew: 1,500
• Propulsion: Steam turbines, 8 boilers, 4 shafts, 200,000 hp, 30 knots

Varyag

Varyag, Russian Missile Cruise... (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Franco Folini

• Class: Kuznetsov-class
• Type: Aircraft cruiser
• Commissioned: 2012
• Aircraft: 30
• Crew: 1,500
• Propulsion: Steam turbines, 8 boilers, 4 shafts, 200,000 hp, 30 knots

Ulyanovsk

• Class: Ulyanovsk-class
• Type: Supercarrier
• Commissioned: Scrapped
• Aircraft: 80
• Crew: N/A
• Propulsion: Steam turbines, 4 reactors, 4 shafts, 200,000 shp, 30 knots