The Russian military has no concrete plans to build aircraft carriers in the next 10 years, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said.
"We have no plans to build aircraft carriers," the minister told the Russian media on Friday.
According to Serdyukov, the Defense Ministry has simply ordered a draft design of the future aircraft carrier to have a general understanding of its conceptual and technical solutions.
"Only after that the General Staff together with the Navy will make any decisions about the need for such a vessel," the minister said.
Roman Trotsenko, the head of Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation said on Thursday that Russia may build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier by 2023.
The Russian Navy has only one aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, which was commissioned in 1991.
