Russia's Admiral Kuznetsov Aircraft Carrier Repairs to Finish in Three Years

KUBINKA (Sputnik) — The work to repair and upgrade the Russian Navy's Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier set for 2018 is expected to wrap up in 3 years, the Navy's deputy commander in charge of procurement told Sputnik.

"The Admiral Kuznetsov will be in repairs in 2018. The repairs are planned to last 2.5-3 years. No voyages to Syria are planned before then," Vice-Adm. Viktor Bursuk said at the Army-2017 forum Wednesday.

The news about the upcoming overhaul of the vessel came in March. Navy Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Vice Adm. Viktor Bursuk, said that repair work on the Admiral Kuznetsov would start this year. He added that there would be no serious changes made to the ship, and that fault detection would be carried out to determine the repair dateline.

Prior to that the aircraft carrier took part in Russia's military campaign in Syria. In October 2016, a Russian naval group, headed by the Admiral Kuznetsov which also included the Pyotr Veliky battle cruiser and, the Severomorsk and Vice-Admiral Kulakov anti-submarine destroyers, the Admiral Grigorovich frigate, and support vessels, deployed for three months to the Mediterranean Sea to support Russian combat operations in Syria.

During the three-month deployment, Russian carrier-based aircraft conducted 420 sorties, destroying 1,252 terrorist targets in Syria.

The Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s sole aircraft carrier, was commissioned in 1990 and has not undergone any major overhauls following a two-year refit between 1996 and 1998.