TAKR NEWCON - Program
In the early years of the 21st Century, Russia began to seriously contemplate construction of new aircraft carriers. The Soviet Union had several plans along these lines which had not come to fruition. During the Cold War the West suffered from a deficit of information on Moscow's planning, and now Western analysts are confronted with a surfeit of Russian thinking. At least two different design institutes appear to be presenting competing ideas. The Nevskoye Design Bureau, which designed Soviet-era carriers, appears to be the center of advocacy for nuclear powered designs, and the Krylov Shipbuilding Institute, which designed atomic powered icebreakers, seemed focused on conventional propulsion plants.
During approximately the 2005-2015 period, the relevant actors appear to have explored the same trade space that eventually producted the CVN-78 Gerald Ford in the United States. The conventionally powered 67,500 ton [full load] Project 1143.5 Kuznetsov was the largest Russian carrier to enter service. Russian designers have considered designs much along these lines, as well as larger vessels with a displacement of about 100,000 tons, as well as smaller vessels in the 40,000-60,000 ton class. Both nuclear and conventional propulsion have been studied.
Sergey Vlasov, CEO of Nevskoye Design Bureau, stated in August 2015 that there may be two types of Russian aircraft carriers — a nuclear-powered ship with a displacement of 80,000 to 85,000 tons and nearly 70 aircraft on board, and a non-nuclear aircraft carrier with a displacement of 55,000 to 65,000 tons, with a capacity to carry about 55 aircraft.
Russia wants its future aircraft carrier to be nuclear-powered, according to an 11 August 2015 report by the state-run TASS news agency. A source from United Shipbuilding Corp. stated: “The project of a future Russian aircraft carrier, or as it is sometimes referred to as naval aircraft carrying complex, is in the design phase. Research conducted by the Nevskoye Design Bureau indicates that the sole way of meeting the Navy’s requirements, such as power generation, sea endurance and voyage range is to equip the ship with a nuclear power plant,” the source said.
The bureau — the oldest institution for naval architecture in Russia and the primary designer of large surface vessels such as heavy aircraft carriers and large-landing ships — had worked on the project since 2007. The nuclear-power generation facility for the future aircraft carrier was expected to be tested on the Leader class destroyer, Tass reported, adding that the construction of the warships is not likely to be completed before 2030.
As far as the Shtorm was concerned, independent military observer Vladimir Tuchkov stressed that it was only natural that Russian military enterprises are currently trying to attach themselves to this "financially grandiose project." Nevertheless, even so far as aircraft-carrying surface ships were concerned, there are arguably much more cost-effective solutions available – including the prospective attack helicopter-carrying Priboy-class amphibious assault ship, another Krylov Center design. These vessels, expected to be delivered to the Navy by 2025, will be equipped with Ka-52 Katran attack helicopters, an option that's significantly more cost-effective than the options for US-style carrier aviation, even if their range and operational capabilities are admittedly more limited. Ultimately, Tuchkov wrote that he remains hopeful that talk of the potentially "financially ruinous" Shtorm project would subside under the weight of all of its potential problems – first and foremost its gargantuan expense.
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