The blaze aboard the Admiral Kuznetsov raises further questions about the state of the armed forces

A fire broke out aboard the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier on Thursday. PHOTO: LEV FEDOSEYEV/ZUMA PRESS

By Thomas Grove

Dec. 12, 2019 11:48 am ET

MOSCOW—A fire broke out aboard Russia’s only aircraft carrier, injuring almost a dozen people and threatening to put the vessel out of commission, the latest in a string of disasters that have raised questions about the state of the Navy and President Vladimir Putin’s plans to modernize the armed forces.

The massive blaze erupted early Thursday aboard the Admiral Kuznetsov as it was undergoing major repairs and quickly spread to much of the 1,001-foot vessel. The fire was the Kuznetsov’s third accident aboard the ship in just over three years.

Around 400 workers, and an unknown number of officers, were on the ship when the fire started, authorities said.

“Efforts to put out the fire are continuing, as is the fight for the future of the ship,” an unnamed official told Russian news agency Interfax.

The Admiral Kuznetsov has been central to Russia’s efforts in recent years to project power beyond its borders. The ship was used in a display of military might off the coast of Syria in late 2016, and more than 100 sorties were flown from the ship, striking targets in Idlib, Homs and other rebel strongholds.

Critics however judged its mission largely a tactical failure after two aircraft were lost during carrier landings. In early 2017, the air group was moved off the ship and onto Russia’s Hmeimim base near Latakia, Syria’s main port city, according to a report from CNA, a nonprofit military research and analysis organization based in Virginia.

Thursday’s fire injured 10 servicemen, Interfax reported a spokesman for Russia’s Northern Fleet as saying. The fire started in the hold and soon spread to the engine room.

“Workers were evacuated as soon as news of the fire broke,” said Yevgeny Gladyshev, a spokesman for the Zvyozdochka shipyard, where the vessel was being repaired. He added that the ship would likely be returned to service, though he declined to comment on how long it might be out of commission. The aircraft carrier was due to be returned to the navy by the end of 2022, he said.

The Admiral Kuznetsov is the Russian Navy’s only aircraft carrier. PHOTO: LEV FEDOSEYEV/ZUMA PRESS

The aircraft carrier was undergoing planned repairs after its mission off Syria, but the repairs were delayed after an accident in the shipyard in 2018 when the dry dock where it was being worked on sank, causing a crane to tumble onto the deck of the aircraft carrier.

“The Admiral Kuznetsov has had a hard time in the last few years,” said Rob Lee, an expert on Russia’s military.

Any meaningful delay in returning the Admiral Kuznetsov to service—or its removal altogether—would complicate Russia’s already faltering plans to modernize its naval forces. In 2010, Mr. Putin announced that Moscow would boost the capabilities of its military with an injection of nearly 20 trillion rubles, at the time $645 billion, over a decade.

The Navy was meant to receive more than 4 trillion rubles, currently the equivalent of around $63 billion, in an attempt to equip it with faster and more powerful vessels, including new submarines and surface vessels, and more accurate weapons. Chronic mismanagement, together with the devaluation of the ruble in 2014, upended plans, and many of the vessels planned for deployment years ago are only now beginning serial production for military procurement.

“The shipyards had optimistic plans that were largely mistaken,” Mr. Lee said. “A lot of the shipbuilding companies are some of the worst-managed enterprises the defense industry has.”

The military has slimmed down plans to build new vessels and instead has focused on missile capabilities with projects such as the new guided Kalibr cruise missile, which has been used against rebels in Syria.

Russian law-enforcement officials said they would launch an investigation into the fire once the blaze was under control.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4399930&forum_id=2#39254863)

just face it, they have one measly aircraft carrier. china is about to overtake russia in military strength.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4399930&forum_id=2#39255032)

"china is about to overtake russia in military strength."

I don't even know what this means in the real world. Both are fundamentally regional powers. Neither could successfully invade the other and both are poorly suited to "project power" in some far away place like Latin America or Africa.

By the way, this is exactly why the US has like 20 carrier fleets. That allows the US to do shit like take the fight to the middle east, africa, asia, etc. and take on entire countries from the sea. Neither Russia or China have that as a real option. This one carrier doesn't change that equation at all.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4399930&forum_id=2#39255046)

20000 Nukes project plenty of power

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4399930&forum_id=2#39257994)

Unimpressive and full of disposable, low quality flesh?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4399930&forum_id=2#39255489)