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Posted on 07/14/2025 9:32:40 AM PDT by whyilovetexas111
After years of embarrassing failures, including fires and a sinking dry-dock, Russia might scrap its only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov. According to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, the decision to end the carrier’s long-stalled overhaul seems certain. A retired Russian admiral even stated that classic aircraft carriers are “a thing of the past,” vulnerable to modern missiles.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalsecurityjournal.org ...
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Ping
Russia is broke. No money for a world class navy.
No no. They should shove some more rubles into it. A real prestige item. It would be a least as effective as China’s barges... Er I mean flattops.
Submersible carriers are the next big thing in naval technology.
The Russians are just waaay ahead of the game!.................
Much like the Kaiser’s and Hitter’s Germany. Not much reason for a surface fleet; but they still fund submarines. Russia has never had a warm water port.
The Russian people seemed genetically predisposed to authoritarian leaders.
The Japanese built a submersible carrier in WW2. It was a submarine with a large canister on its deck holding one or two seaplanes.
Much is often made of Russia having no force projection navy.
But it is generally not understood that the US has a vast network of bases around the world that require supply and suppor.
Russia does not have this. And thus they have only need for submarine nuclear missiles. No need for carriers or a large surface navy beyond that needed to protect the enormous oil and gas deposits in the Kara Sea — and that mostly needs ice breakers, not carriers.
China is building a huge navy but they have the same situation. They need only what they need to blockade oil from Taiwan. They will do show the flag missions around the world, but they have no bases to defend all over the world.
Probably beyond those realities is history pre 2010. The US Navy out of DESPERATION had to be vast, because US oil production was down to about 5 million bpd. It relentlessly fell to that level over decades. The Navy and carriers were needed to be sure tankers got from the Middle East to Houston’s refineries. Really, mostly that. The Navy grew and became a force projector primarily to secure oil supply.
Then interest rates went to zero and the oil known to exist in shale was suddenly affordable and has generated lots of oil output. But . . . the Permian guys now have said that party is about over. The Navy will again have to escort tankers.
But one thing is different now. China’s oil consumption has exploded to 16 million bpd, and KSA and OPEC (not +, just OPEC) won’t last forever and what it has will go to that voracious appetite in China, and India, to fill in whatever Russia isn’t sending.
This will mean a returning question . . . where will the US get its 19 million bpd of oil? These questions were prominent in the 2006 timeframe. The answer was not . . . from inside the US then because we were maxed out. And will be again.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was operated out of Crimea for hundreds of years. I think that’s considered a warm water port.
But they have nuclear tipped missiles that sometimes work.
Carriers are vulnerable to missiles, especially when they are pulled by a tug.
With today’s technology we could build a whole carrier for under water transport......................
1950’s they considered it:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a25241538/submarine-aircraft-carrier-us-navy/
I suppose those exist to defend the Kara Sea and Sakhalin’s vast oil and gas.
Make no mistake here. Oil is everything, and theirs will run out last.
Here is a pic of the mighty dragon of the seas:
You note the handsome, ah, plume. The reason for it is that the ship runs (ran) on Mazut, a distillate so heavy that no other ship in the fleet used it. When she was at sea the Kuznetsov was accompanied by (1) a fleet tug, (2) an oiler, and (3) a destroyer, for towing as a result of frequent casualties, fuel that shipyards don't even sell, and, I suspect, a torpedo to put her out of her misery, respectively.
“A retired Russian admiral even stated that classic aircraft carriers are “a thing of the past,” vulnerable to modern missiles.”
wow! ... can anyone say: “Sour Grapes”?
I am guessing laser defenses could change that.
“A retired Russian admiral even stated that classic aircraft carriers are “a thing of the past,” vulnerable to modern missiles.”
the admiral went on to say: “We doan need no stinkin’ aircraft carriers.”
One aircraft carrier... And people are still oddly perplexed as to why the Commies lost the cold war??? Doh!
They likely did and still do under dictator Putin spend most of the military budget on Vodka for the cannon fodder... It’s so much easer to send people into certain death when they’re drunk on Vodka.
Western Canada has more oil than anything else. It’s also renewable. We’re not going to run out. The big navies aren’t necessary unless it’s force projection into some country.
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