Polish media about the Russian fleet: there is carrier-based aircraft, no aircraft carrier
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the pilots of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy undergo a full cycle of training for takeoff and landing on an aircraft carrier. Russia does have deck aviation, but the only Russian heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, Admiral Kuznetsov, is out of order, so the pilots have been training only at the NITKA ground training complex in Crimea for four years, writes the Polish edition of Defense24.
The military department clarified that the pilots of the MiG-29K / KUB of the 100th separate shipborne fighter aviation regiment of the Northern Fleet began training at the indicated aviation complex in Saki.
"THREAD" is the place where the deck of an aircraft carrier with jump, ejection and braking systems was recreated on the ground (while maintaining the dimensions of the deck of the TARK "Admiral Kuznetsov"). Thus, Russian pilots have the opportunity to practice takeoff and landing, despite the fact that the ship itself, from which they have to work, is still inoperative.
- notes the publication.
At the same time, the information and optimism of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation may indicate that leaks from the Russian military-industrial complex about problems with the repair of the TARK "Admiral Kuznetsov" may not correspond to reality. Continuous training of carrier-based aviation pilots confirms that work on the repair and modernization of the ship continues and soon its sea trials, including the use of aircraft, are likely to begin.
Pilot training is of a systemic nature, since before that, seven pilots on the Su-33 from the 279th separate shipborne fighter aviation regiment of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy were trained at the training complex. Moreover, 5 of them had no experience of taking off and landing on aircraft carriers. The entire training cycle is conducted by one of the best Russian instructors - Colonel Pavel Pogruzov, a student of the famous test pilot Timur Apakidze, awarded the Hero of Russia star.
It turns out that Russian pilots will be ready to safely begin training aboard the ship. The training of Su-33 pilots, which began in September and lasted for several weeks, was completed in early October. Now they have returned to their base on the Kola Peninsula, while their MiG-29K / KUB counterparts continue training at the NITKA aviation complex.
The Russian military say that the sea trials of the Admiral Kuznetsov TARK should begin in 2022, after which the ship will return to service. However, many in Russia still doubt the ship's maintainability after incidents in October 2018 (flooding of the PD-50 dock) and December 2019 (fire), which resulted in human casualties.
In addition, repairs need to be carried out at the NITKA complex, as it has not been invested in it for a long time, but it should correspond as much as possible to the modernized ship. Until 2014, the Russians believed that the complex would have to be abandoned, and decided to build another similar facility in Yeisk in the Kuban. It was supposed to be commissioned in 2013, but it is still not operational. Its commissioning will take place no earlier than 2023. Moreover, pilots prefer to train in Saki, since the runway there is made of steel, which is more consistent with the conditions of takeoff and landing on an aircraft carrier than the concrete used during the construction of the facility in Yeisk.
Information