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ADMIRAL KUZNETSOV AIR CARRIER WILL EMBARK ON LONG-HAUL JOURNEY

RIA Novosti

MURMANSK, February 23 (RIA Novosti's Yekaterina Kozlova) - The heavy air carrier Admiral Kuznetsov of Russia's Northern Fleet will embark on a voyage around the oceans in summer 2005, Rear Admiral Vladimir Dobroskochenko, the Deputy Commander of the Northern Fleet, told RIA Novosti.

"At the moment, the Admiral Kuznetsov is preparing for the command and staff naval exercises that will take place this April under the command of Russian Chief Navy Commander Vladimir Kuroyedov. Then the air carrier will start preparations for the long-haul voyage," said Rear Admiral Vladimir Dobroskochenko.

"Our objective is to prepare the vessel, its crew, and the ship-based air crew for the voyage and demonstrate Russia's naval flag to others," he said.

Vladimir Dobroskochenko did not elaborate on the ship's route.

"It is premature to disclose the air carrier's route. Relevant tasks will be set to the ship later, and we will disclose them to the media," said the rear admiral.

Asked by RIA Novosti about the ship's role in Russia's naval forces, Vladimir Dobroskochenko said the Admiral Kuznetsov was the country's only air carrier at the moment.

"However, this is a special air carrier as the most recent, fifth generation, still unrivaled Su-33 fighters are based on it. Aerial stunts performed by our Su-33 pilots cannot be performed on any other aircraft today," emphasized the deputy commander.

Rear Admiral Dobroskochenko recalled that 10 pilots of the ship-based air crew had been awarded Hero of Russia orders.

He attended the ceremony to mark 14 years since Russia's naval flag was hoisted on the carrier, which took place on board the ship today.

A delegation from the Moscow region whose government has supported the Admiral Kuznetsov for 5 years already arrived to congratulate the crewmen on the date.

The Moscow region government has allocated 10 million rubles to the ship. Of that amount 5 million rubles will go to satisfy the crewmen's social needs, while the other 5 million will be spent on the ship's maintenance, Vladimir Zhidkin, the First Deputy Construction Minister at the Moscow region government who is leading the delegation, told the crewmen.