Posted on 07/26/2012 9:17:19 PM PDT by moonshot925
Russia will begin building new aircraft carriers after 2020, Russian navy chief Viktor Chirkov said on Thursday, in a major boost to Moscow's ability to deploy air power abroad.
“At the moment, the construction bureau has received its assignment, the documents are being processed, and the money for the construction program has been allocated,” Chirkov said.
If the plans reach fruition, it would be a major boon to the Russian navy, which currently fields only one aging aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov.
The Kuznetsov, part of the navy’s Northern Fleet, was built in 1985 and has been scheduled to undergo a major overhaul.
(Excerpt) Read more at en.rian.ru ...
The Soviets were building an 85,000 ton nuclear powered aircraft carrier called Ulyanovsk but it was canceled in 1991 and scrapped.
The last one they tried building was sold to china, who is finally testing it now, after over a decade. Former Varyag.
I guess the Russian Navy has gotten tired of living underwater and asked if they could have a change in scenery.
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