Russia may abandon refit of Admiral Kuznetsov

The Russian aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, is seen in a photograph released by the Russian Ministry of Defence on 25 February 2016. (Russian Ministry of Defence)

According to a report by Russian newspaper Izvestia , ongoing work on the refurbishment and modernisation of the Russian Federation Navy (RFN) aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov has been suspended for some time. Representatives from the RFN and United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) will soon decide on whether continuing with the work is worthwhile.

Since its return from its last operational deployment in February 2017, Admiral Kuznetsov has been laid up on the Kola Peninsula, first at the USC's No 82 Ship Repair Yard near Roslyakovo, and then the 35th Ship Repair Plant at Rosta. Initially a budget of approximately USD800 million was allocated to overhaul the ship's sensors, defensive weaponry, and mission systems. However, by October 2017 reports indicated that this budget had been halved and that the refit would instead concentrate on renovating the ship's critical infrastructure and powerplant.

Completion of this refit was scheduled for 2021, but almost immediately the work was beset with problems. Lacking a graving dock of sufficient size, USC was forced to use PD-50, the sole floating dry dock capable of accommodating Admiral Kuznetsov . In October 2018 PD-50 sank while Admiral Kuznetsov was still docked, and while the ship was saved it suffered some damage from a falling crane. Further disaster befell the ship in December 2019 when a fire broke out, leading to the death of at least two crew members.