Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier may set off on long-distance deployment in October - source
MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax-AVN) - The 35th Ship Repair Plant, a subsidiary of the Zvyozdochka Ship Repair Center, will complete maintenance and restoration of the technical readiness of the Russian Northern Fleet's heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov before the beginning of October, a source familiar with the situation told Interfax-AVN on Thursday.
"Consequently, the aircraft carrier's long-distance deployment may start no earlier than October 1," he said.
"The aircraft carrier will be placed in the roadstead approximately before the end of June in order to allow ship-based aircraft pilots to train, and repairs will simultaneously continue on it," the source said.
The cruiser will then return to the 35th Ship Repair Plant (which is part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) in order to finish preparations for its long-distance deployment.
The Admiral Kuznetsov is expected to set off on its deployment carrying an air force wing, which should include the 279th separate naval fighter regiment, equipped with Sukhoi Su-22 and Su-25UTG planes, as well as the recently formed 100th separate naval fighter regiment equipped with MiG-29KR and MiG-29KUBR planes.
At the end of April, a group of aircraft from the 279th regiment flew to the NITKA ground-based aircraft carrier simulator in Crimea.
"Following their required training at the NITKA ground-based center in May and June, the airplanes of the 279th regiment are expected to fly to the Admiral Kuznetsov," the source said.
The source, however, said he doubted that pilots of the 100th regiment, currently in Yeysk, Krasnodar territory, where another NITKA center has been built, would have enough time to prepare for the deployment. Officials said that the regiment could be ready for flights only by the end of the year.
Representatives of the Russian Navy Main Command said earlier that after its deployment in the fall, the aircraft carrier will undergo repairs, which will continue until 2019.
It was reported that in 2014 and 2015 the NITKA center in Crimea was used to train ship-based aircraft pilots. However, the ship-based airplanes simulated simplified landings, in other words landings without catching the cable. Aircraft arresting gear will be allowed to function for a certain number of cycles during flights of Northern Fleet Air Force pilots this year.
The construction of the heavy aircraft carrier began at the Black Sea Shipbuilding Plant in 1982. The ship is capable of carrying more than 50 aircraft. It is equipped with Granit anti-ship cruise missiles, Klinok air defense missile systems, Kashtan air defense missile-gun systems, an automatic ship-based artillery system, as well as an anti-submarine defense system. The Admiral Kuznetsov conducted several deployments to the Mediterranean Sea in previous years.