Recently, there have been media reports that Russia is considering giving up the maintenance of the "Admiral Kuznetsov" aircraft carrier. Regarding the retirement of Russia's only aircraft carrier, "Admiral Kuznetsov," there are two different voices within the Russian Navy. According to the Russian newspaper "Izvestia," some Russian experts have urgently called for Russia to have an aircraft carrier. In addition to developing the Su-75 carrier version, the Russian Navy could also import the J-35 carrier stealth fighter and the AEW-600 carrier early warning aircraft from China. In the eyes of Russian experts, this move is quite feasible, as the J-35 and AEW-600 have great development prospects and can be modified according to the needs of the Russian Navy equipment.

In April 2018, according to "Jane's Defence Weekly," Russia will carry out modernization work on the "Admiral Kuznetsov" aircraft carrier, which will be carried out at the No. 35 Naval Shipyard in Murmansk, with a project cost of about 50 to 60 billion rubles (approximately 887 to 10 million US dollars). At that time, the then Russian defense minister Yuri Borisov gave a clear timeline, stating that the above modernization work would be completed by 2020, and the "Admiral Kuznetsov" aircraft carrier would be put into use again the following year.

However, the ship later had bad luck, with three accidents occurring successively, plus the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, making its future increasingly bleak, finally leading the Russian newspaper "Izvestia" to reveal the conclusion of "considering giving up." The aircraft carrier is so difficult, and the Russian naval aviation forces are no better off. The Russian military currently has two fixed-wing carrier-based fighter jets, the Su-33 "Flanker-D" and the MiG-29KR/KUBR. Among them, the Su-33 and the Su-25UTG carrier trainer are deployed in the 279th Carrier Aviation Regiment, while the MiG-29KR/KUBR belongs to the 100th Carrier Aviation Regiment.

The Su-33 carrier aircraft was once highly expected, and it also had a significant impact on the Chinese J-15. However, times have changed, and in terms of avionics configuration and onboard weapons, the Su-33 not only lags far behind the J-15 but also surpasses the MiG-29, which has long been looked down upon. Of course, saying this does not mean that the MiG-29KR/KUBR can pass. Considering that Russia has stopped developing the "Fencer" series of fighters, the MiG-29KR/KUBR will eventually escape the fate of gradual decline.

Researcher Ilya Kramnik of the Russian Academy of Sciences emphasized that, in the long term, the Russian Navy must have an aircraft carrier, otherwise all combat operations will be unable to get rid of the support of land-based aviation, and the navy will not have the capability for long-range operations. At the same time, he pointed out that the Su-33 carrier aircraft has no value for improvement (not mentioning the MiG-29KR/KUBR at all), so in addition to placing hopes on the carrier version of the Su-75, it is also possible to consider purchasing the J-35 stealth carrier fighter and the AEW-600 early warning aircraft from China.

The J-35 is China's first fifth-generation stealth carrier fighter, capable of performing various combat missions including air defense, interception, attack, support, and in-flight refueling. This aircraft focuses more on air defense and interception capabilities, and in actual combat, it will mainly serve as an air superiority fighter for air-to-air combat. Sun Cong, the chief designer of the J-15, revealed that the J-35, based on high-level stealth, pays more attention to information performance, and always gets ahead of the enemy in networked combat processes.

The AEW-600 plays an important role in China's naval equipment and operational system, not only undertaking early warning tasks, but also serving as an information integration center and operational command center. In the future, the AEW-600 will, like the U.S. Navy's E-2D, be equipped with a fixed refueling device to increase its operational range and mission time, thereby raising its overall combat effectiveness to a higher level.

From the perspective of the Russian Navy's own aviation forces, purchasing and equipping the J-35 stealth carrier fighter and the AEW-600 early warning aircraft is undoubtedly the best choice. The J-35 will enable the Russian Navy's aviation equipment to leap forward in technological generations, directly jumping from the early fourth generation to the fifth generation, and is much more reliable than the current non-existent carrier version of the Su-75. The value of the AEW-600 early warning aircraft is even higher. First, the Russian Navy will have a fixed-wing carrier early warning aircraft similar to the U.S. Navy's E-2D, achieving the Soviet Navy's dream. Second, the Russian defense industry will no longer be poisoned by the legacy of the Soviet Union, as the An-71 and An-88 carrier aircraft were purely products of a bent technology tree.

So, will the Russian Navy get what it wants? It seems very difficult. Not to mention the budget funds of the Russian Navy, the existing combat system of the Russian Navy has many shortcomings, and the numerous military research institutes and production enterprises in Russia will definitely not agree. The reason is very simple: if they introduce the J-35 and AEW-600, it will have different degrees of impact on the development and related benefits of the Russian defense industry interest group. Russian senior decision-makers, who are deeply influenced by the defense industry interest group, have always held this view. Plus, the sensitive self-esteem of Russia, the Russians almost certainly will not buy the J-35 and AEW-600.

The fate of the Admiral Kuznetsov is like a mirror, reflecting the rise and fall of the Russian Navy. It has been only 34 years since the end of the Cold War, and the Russian Navy's aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft have already reached the end of the road. The most ironic thing is that the Russian government still adopts a "ostrich policy" to this day. In contrast, the Chinese Navy has developed rapidly and has reached world-class levels. We have completely freed ourselves from the constraints of the Soviet technical path in the development and application of aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft, and have resolutely taken the path of independent innovation. In the past few decades, the Chinese Navy has made great and sustained progress, and has stepped into the ranks of the world's strongest navies.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7527200265406005823/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking on the [top / bottom] buttons below.