Reference News Network, July 27 - According to the Russian newspaper "Izvestia" website on July 26, the Russian Navy's "Admiral Kuznetsov" aircraft carrier will be placed in storage, and it may be sold or scrapped in the future. Experts said that during the process of sealing, all important equipment and machinery that can be used on the ship will be removed for use on other ships, while the hull will be prepared for long-term storage.

A source told the newspaper that the Russian Navy's General Staff has decided to place the "Admiral Kuznetsov" aircraft carrier in storage in the near future. Previously, the newspaper had reported that all maintenance and modernization work on the carrier had been suspended.

Andrey Kosygin, Chairman of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, said on the 25th: "We believe that this ship is no longer worth repairing. Its age has exceeded 40 years, and the cost of repairs is extremely high... I think the final decision will be to sell or scrap it."

Admiral Sergey Avakyants, former commander of the Pacific Fleet, told the newspaper that sealing such a large warship means that all usable machinery will be removed and used as spare parts for other ships. He explained: "Firstly, modern electronic equipment, other systems and devices will also be removed. During the sealing process, the hull will be completely sealed, i.e., all water collection devices will be drained and welded shut. After that, it will be decided whether to dismantle it or sell it to another country."

After being sealed, the aircraft carrier will retain a small number of personnel. Avakyants added: "These personnel will be responsible for monitoring the condition of the carrier. The number of crew members at its peak was as many as 2,200. After being sealed, the monitoring personnel are unlikely to exceed 150 to 200 people. Their primary task is to monitor whether there is water ingress and prevent fires from occurring."

Military expert Dmitriy Borzhenkov pointed out that the final fate of the ship will be decided by the Russian Navy, as the Navy is the owner of the aircraft carrier. He said: "Selling the ship will be a rather complicated process. There are not many countries that can afford it. Russia once carried out modernization on the 'Admiral Gorshkov' aircraft carrier and sold it to India."

Borzhenkov said: "It is not wise to directly scrap the 'Admiral Kuznetsov' aircraft carrier. Russia has maintained it for a long time. It was once the pride of the navy, and now it has to be scrapped into scrap? Therefore, sealing may be a better choice. But ultimately, it should be decided by the Russian Navy Command according to the tasks they face."

Igor Korolev, former deputy commander of the Pacific Fleet and Rear Admiral, stated that he fully agrees with the decision to seal the aircraft carrier. He said: "The funds planned to be invested in the 'Admiral Kuznetsov' aircraft carrier can be more effectively utilized in the future." Many factors have determined the fate of the ship. For example, the shipyard responsible for maintenance lacks enough qualified personnel; the repair or manufacturing cycle for the equipment required by the ship is very long—up to 24 months or even longer. Therefore, the maintenance process will also take a long time.

Korolev estimated that, based on current prices, the repair costs would reach 100 to 120 billion rubles (approximately 1.26 to 1.5 billion U.S. dollars). He said: "With this money, we can carry out partial but quite in-depth automation upgrades for naval equipment. We need to equip frigates and destroyers with modern unmanned systems to build a new navy."

Military expert Dmitry Kornev believes that sealing is better than scrapping. He pointed out: "The situation of this aircraft carrier is clear-cut. If it cannot be repaired and delivered to the navy for service, the wise move is to seal it up and wait for better times or find a suitable buyer."

The expert pointed out that after the retirement of the 'Admiral Kuznetsov' aircraft carrier, a new aircraft carrier should not be rushed to be built. He said that the aircraft carrier lacks modern carrier-based aircraft, and building a new aircraft carrier that can only carry a few old fighters obviously makes no sense.

The 'Admiral Kuznetsov' aircraft carrier was delivered to the Soviet Navy on December 25, 1990. The ship has carried out multiple long-range voyages. From November 2016 to January 2017, the ship participated in combat operations in the Mediterranean Sea, and its carrier-based aircraft struck terrorist targets in Syria. In that operation, the carrier-based aircraft took off and landed more than 400 times, destroying over 1,200 targets.

After returning from the Mediterranean, the ship was sent to the shipyard for repairs and modernization. Originally scheduled to complete the repairs and return to service in 2022, but the schedule was repeatedly delayed. In October 2018, a floating dock sank, and the dock crane hit the aircraft carrier, causing damage to the hull. In December 2019, a fire broke out on the ship: sparks from welding work ignited residual fuel in the cabin. The accident resulted in two deaths and more than ten injuries. In 2022, the ship again caught fire, fortunately without casualties. In 2023, the docking work for the underwater part of the ship was completed. (Translated by Zhao Zhipeng)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7531609268454261248/

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