Summary and Key Points: Russia’s aircraft carrier program has been plagued with failures, with its sole carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, stuck in an endless refit since 2017. The carrier's history is marred by fires, design flaws, and operational failures.

-Amidst ongoing struggles in Ukraine, Russian experts have a new idea of developing a new "super carrier" to house the Su-57 fighter.

-However, given the country's economic and manufacturing challenges, the realization of this ambitious project appears unlikely.

Russia Planning to Field a “supercarrier”

Russia’s history with aircraft carriers is synonymous with failure.

The country’s sole floating airbase has been essentially non-operational for nearly a decade. Since 2017, Admiral Kuznetsov has been stuck in a neverending refit designed to extend its service life. 

The carrier’s history is riddled with fires, falling cranes, shoddy arresting wires, and design flaws, and Kuznetsov is unlikely to set sail anytime soon – if ever. 

The rest of Moscow’s fleet is the object of ridicule for its struggles in Ukraine. Roughly one-third of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been taken out of operation since the war began in February 2022, according to Kyiv.

In an effort to minimize this failure, at least one expert recently pushed the idea that Moscow develops a new “super carrier” that will be designed to house the country’s latest fighter platform, the Su-57. 

It most likely will never happen, but such ideas have been floated before. 

Russian State Media Loves the Idea of a New Aircraft Carrier 

According to Russian state-run news outlet TASS years back, again, repeating the same idea as above, the new carrier is intended to lead the country’s naval expansion efforts.

Specifically, the ship is “designated to provide for the deployment and the combat use of an air task force that comprises various types of shipborne aircraft capable of employing weapons and armament against air, sea (submarine and surface) forces, and also land troops and ground installations of an enemy in the oceanic, maritime and coastal waters, and also to ensure naval groups’ combat sustainability and provide cover for amphibious assault troops and their landing force against strikes and attacks by enemy air-launched weapons.”

That idea never materialized into any sort of new aircraft carrier for Russia. 

What We Know About the “Super Carrier” Dream from Russia

Earlier this year, the Russian Navy’s former deputy chief of general staff revealed that he would like to see Russia indeed develop some sort of supercarrier that would be 90,000 tons. 

Vice Adm. Vladimir Pepelyaev said the aging Kuznetsov would not be capable of deploying Su-57s despite extensive modernization efforts. In order to accommodate the country’s leading fighter, a new, larger successor aircraft carrier would need to be built. 

Nonetheless, we can go back a few years to see such ideas being floated, even before Russian state media pitched the plan back in 2019. 

This fantasy actually dates back to 2017, when Kuznetsov was dry-docked after botching its first deployment in Syria.

Around this time, Moscow unveiled its intention to develop the “biggest aircraft carrier in the world,” designed to displace 100,000 tons. 

In 2018, the Russian Navy began exploring the option of building a conventionally powered ship with a displacement of roughly 70,000 tons.

According to Global Security, other proposals were also on the table, including a new nuclear-powered ship with an ever greater displacement. Project 23000E was born out of this project, also referred to as project Shtorm by Russian officials. Other Russian state-run outlets have claimed that the new super carrier is expected to be fitted with the S-500 Prometheus anti-aircraft missile system. The “Prometheus” is Moscow’s most sophisticated surface-to-air missile to date, which the Kremlin touts as a true “fifth-generation killer.”

Considering the economic and manufacturing woes Russia is suffering amid its Ukraine invasion, it is fair to assume that the “super carrier” notion will not come to fruition anytime soon. No matter 

About the Author: Maya Carlin, Defense Expert 

Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. 

All images are Creative Commons or Shutterstock. 

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