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Russia To Send Aircraft Carrier To Syria

 

Above: Russian aircraft carrier: "Admiral Kuznetsov" 

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 Intelligence sources report that Russia is ready to send its single, decrepit aircraft carrier to Syia, as Syrian President Assad coyly announced in Moscow that he is open to the establishment of a Russian naval base in the Mediterranean. Assad's statement came as he arrived in Moscow for a summit meeting to consider new Defense arrangements with Russia.

 The Russian aircraft carrier, The Admiral Kuznetsov" is part of Russia's "Northern Fleet" and is Russia's sole aircraft carrier. The carrier is a midget compared to American aircraft carriers and is only capable of carrying 18 fixed-wing aircraft compared to as many as 90 aircraft each on more than a dozen US carriers  Like the US, the Russian carrier travels with a compliment of a cruiser and several submarines.

 While the deployment of the Russian carrier might seem to pose a serious, strategic threat to some ill-informed pundits on the internet, the Russian carrier has been beset by problems since it was first conceived. The carrier's design was extremely flawed, prompting construction changes in mid-stream. The ship suffered serious problems in its shakedown cruises and was slated for mothballing and sat rusting away at its home port until recently when the ship was re-activated for duty and undertook a new shakedown cruise last year to the Mediterranean then moved to the North Sea for a shaky training exercise off the Norwegian coast.

Still, the presence of a major Russian surface combatant warship sends a signal from Moscow that Russian leaders are determined to present a blustery front to the West. It also adds fuel to the debate that a new Cold War is developing between Russia and the West. For more on the possible Russian carrier's deployment to Syria, LINK HERE.

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On Background: Russian Navy Build-Up Plans

Russia recently announced its intentions to build five and perhaps even a sixth aircraft carrier battle group as part of a new long-range ship-building program over the next 20 years with construction to begin in the year 2012. Such a fleet would not be online until 2028.  Each group would consist of an aircraft carrier and support ships. These ships would be divided up and stationed in both the North and the Pacific fleets. More details from the Russian Novosti News Agency, LINK HERE.

A short analysis on Russia's Naval Resurrection - LINK HERE.

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