The development motivation and development process of the new aircraft carrierAs a large surface ship with strong ocean-going combat capability, the aircraft carrier represents a country's comprehensive strength. Russia is the world's largest maritime power and the largest power in the world, but its construction has always been stagnant because of history and reality. Against the backdrop of the gradual recovery of Russian power and the strategic reorientation at sea, Russia is paying more attention to the development of next-generation aircraft carriers.
The first is to show Russia's strength as a world power. Russia now has only one old Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier, which has been refitted for more than 30 years, but still cannot adapt to the needs of modern warfare. In order to enhance Russia's voice in the oceans, protect its own rights and interests, and establish the status of a great power, Russia urgently needs a new aircraft carrier as its replacement.
The second is to allow Russia to regain the strength to fight at sea. As soon as he took office in 1999, Putin put Russia's goal of becoming a maritime power on the table and accelerated the development of its maritime power. In 2017, Russia published the "Basic Principles of the Russian Federation's Policy on Military Activities at Sea until 2030", which emphasized that Russia will continue to maintain its military presence in the most critical strategic regions of the world and maintain its position as the world's second largest country. As a carrier of multi-purpose operations at sea, Russia must strengthen its position and influence in the world and strengthen its military power in the oceans. To this end, Russia began the design of a new generation of aircraft carriers, which were included in the National ** Equipment Program for 2018-2027 to promote the return of the Russian Navy to maritime combat capabilities.
Third, we are faced with external threats and challenges. At present, Russia regards the United States and its allies as the greatest danger to its maritime security, and this is due to the fact that the United States and its allies are trying to dominate the Arctic and other global waters, and are attempting to dominate the global waters, thus forming a powerful maritime power with absolute dominance relative to Russia. The United States and its allies have sought to control Russia's exploitation and use of the world's waters, as well as control major shipping routes; The United States and its allies seek to weaken Russia's influence in the global maritime world through political, economic, international, military, etc., so that Russia loses control of the region; The United States and its allies are trying to threaten Russia by managing instability in the Middle East, such as Syria and Africa. To this end, the Russian Navy needs to maintain its large military presence in important waters and regions to effectively respond to external threats and challenges. As a kind of maritime offensive and defensive aircraft, aircraft carriers play a very key role in Russia's protection of its maritime rights and interests, whether on sea or land. Russia uses aircraft carriers to counter external threats, as evidenced by Russia's dispatch of its first aircraft carrier to Syria in 2016.
The development process and main planning of the new generation of aircraft carriersThe development of a new generation of Russian aircraft carriers has gone through several years of ups and downs and changes, and has gradually entered a formal design, including the following steps and plans.
The first phase, 2005-2012, was devoted to the exploration and testing of the next generation of Russian aircraft carriers, the design of which was dominated by Neva. As the only aircraft carrier in the Soviet era, Neva Design has designed the Moskva class, the Kiev class, the Kuznetsov class, the Ulyanovsk class, and the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya for India. Neva's idea is to use the Kuznetsov aircraft carrier as a prototype, and through its own protection, the number and weight of the aircraft carriers, it will adopt a nuclear-driven and skid take-off and landing mode, with a total displacement of about 65,000 tons. The Neva Design Bureau introduced the concept in 2007, but it was opposed by the Russian military and officials on the grounds that it was overly reliant on aircraft carriers, as well as its over-reliance on aircraft carriers, could not adapt to the needs of the next generation of aircraft carriers. In addition, this program also faces technical difficulties in the development of nuclear power systems and carrier-based aircraft. So, the construction of this project has not yet begun.
The second phase is 2012-2017, a period of transformation and breakthrough development of Russia's next-generation aircraft carriers, the design of which is dominated by the Krylov Research Center. The Krylov Research Center is a leader in the field of the Russian shipbuilding industry, focusing on the study of the structure and fluid mechanics of ships, while also participating in the construction of several aircraft carriers. The "Krylov" aircraft carrier is a new aircraft carrier concept based on the American "Ford" as the prototype and "launch + sliding" as the core, and its core idea is to take the American "Ford" as the prototype and the "launch + sliding" composite take-off mode as the core, innovatively proposing the "nuclear drive + sliding" composite take-off mode, with a total displacement of about 100,000 tons and can carry more than 90 carrier-based aircraft. The "Storm" class (23000 e) has been demonstrated at two World Military Equipment Exhibitions, attracting widespread interest around the world. This plan breaks with Russia's traditional concept of aircraft carriers and highlights its role as a "sea airfield", showing an important shift in Russia's concept of aircraft carrier development and design. In addition, this plan also pays due attention to India, especially to India's requirements, and Russia has submitted the plan for the project 23000 E aircraft carrier to India for the second aircraft carrier it has ordered.
The third period, from 2017 to the present, is an important and comprehensive period of development for Russia, the research and development of which will be undertaken jointly with the Niva Design Bureau at the Krylov Research Center. According to the deputy commander of the Russian Navy, Viktor Boursuk, the development of a new generation of aircraft carriers has been included in the latest version of the National ** Equipment Program for 2018-2025, which means that the development of a new generation of aircraft carriers is on track. At present, a number of Russian projects are being compared and studied, focusing on issues such as nuclear power equipment and electromagnetic catapults. In view of the cost of the aircraft carrier "Storm", the Krylov Research Center presented a new lightweight aircraft carrier with a displacement of 44,000 tons and 46 aircraft carriers at the military-scientific and technical seminar "Army-2018", held on August 21, 2018. The focus of this plan is to carry out air defense and anti-missile defense tasks, and at the same time, it also undertakes a variety of strike operations against the sea and air, sea and air, sea and air, and land and shore, so as to provide a guarantee for the sustained combat effectiveness of China's naval equipment system in the open and distant oceans.
Although the exact type of Russian aircraft carriers and when construction will begin have not been announced, it can be expected that Russia's next-generation aircraft carriers will have strong ocean-going combat capabilities, which will greatly increase Russia's military strength and cause a major impact on the situation in global waters.