The aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" returned to the base from Syria. "Kuzya" is in a hurry to work, or "Kuzkina's mother" in full growth The route of the cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov to Syria

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The Russian Defense Ministry claims that this was done "under pressure from the United States and NATO," since the Admiral Kuznetsov is heading to the coast of Syria to participate in the Russian military operation. The State Duma of the Russian Federation criticized the decision of the Spanish authorities, but the Russian embassy in Madrid urged not to dramatize the situation. The ship that changed the route, according to experts, has the opportunity to refuel in other places.

Yesterday, ships from the aircraft carrier group of the Northern Fleet of the Navy, led by the cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, passed the English Channel and moved towards Gibraltar. Their route and tasks, according to the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, are in "closed envelopes with the inscription "Top Secret"". Nevertheless, as the Spanish Foreign Ministry reported earlier, on October 28, the ships were supposed to arrive at the port of Ceuta (an enclave in North Africa). The corresponding permission, as noted in Madrid, was issued back in September.

However, when the news about the imminent arrival of ships in Ceuta hit the press, Spain was criticized by NATO allies. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted that under other conditions he would have nothing against refueling Russian ships, but now he is extremely concerned that "they can be used to attack Aleppo." Similar statements were made by politicians and the military from the UK and the US.

In Spain itself, the loudest opposition to the entry of Russian ships into Ceuta was made in the Left Republican Party of Catalonia. Their press service confirmed to Kommersant that members of the Spanish Congress of Deputies from this party demanded from and. about. Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo and J. about. Minister of Defense Pedro Morenes to explain why the Russian ships participating in the Syrian operation are serviced on the territory of a NATO country. The interlocutor of Kommersant said that the request was based on information published earlier by a number of foreign media. In particular, the American edition of The Huffington Post reported that on October 16, refueling in Ceuta was carried out by small rocket ships"Green Dol" and "Serpukhov", as well as the tugboat SB-36. The deputies hope that the ministers will soon attend hearings in parliamentary committees.

At first, the Ceuta authorities were discouraged by what was happening. Since 2011, according to the newspaper El Pais, more than 60 Russian courts. "Ceuta Admission Criteria - Security environment, the city and its population," sources in the port administration quote The Spain Report. But under a flurry of criticism, the Spanish Foreign Ministry announced yesterday that it was "reviewing the decision based on the results of consultations." And by the middle of the day, El Pais, citing diplomatic sources, said: "The refueling will be withdrawn if it is confirmed that the ships are heading to Syria. Without waiting for a denouement, the Russian authorities themselves abandoned this idea. "We confirm that the ships will not call at the port of Ceuta because the route has changed," the Russian Embassy in Spain said.

The press secretary of the embassy, Vasily Nioradze, in a conversation with Kommersant, urged not to dramatize the situation. “Coordination of such calls to ports is a routine process,” he noted. “We send a request in advance, and when making a decision, international law and requirements of the host country. Now such a decision has been made, in other cases it will be different."

The official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Igor Konashenkov, put the accents differently: according to him, the Russian department provided for the possibility "in agreement with the Spanish side of a business call (to Ceuta.— "b") individual ships or support vessels from the ship group. "But no official requests from the Ministry of Defense, according to him, were sent to Madrid. At the same time, Mr. Konashenkov said: "Representatives of the Spanish leadership reported that due to pressure on them from the United States and NATO, the entry of Russian ships into the port of Ceuta is inexpedient.” The Spanish authorities have not made such statements publicly.

Yesterday, the Spanish Foreign Ministry did not respond to Kommersant's request about whether Madrid fears worsening relations with the Russian Federation because of the latest decisions. At the same time, the State Duma said yesterday that confidence in Spain had been undermined. “In the middle of the journey, they tell us that we have changed our minds. This is some kind of set-up,” Alexander Sherin (LDPR), deputy chairman of the defense committee, was indignant in a conversation with Interfax.

In the European Union, the news from Madrid was received with enthusiasm. "The EU clearly and unanimously condemns the Russian systematic bombing of civilians in Aleppo - Russia prolongs the suffering of the Syrian people and hinders the solution of the problem," Gi Verhofstadt: So the Spanish government did the right thing when it demanded clarification from Russia about the role "Admiral Kuznetsov" in the Syrian conflict. "According to the interlocutor of Kommersant, in the end a signal was sent to everyone: "Not a single EU country provides support to the military who bomb civilians and destabilize the situation in the whole region."

Director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) Ruslan Pukhov did not see a tragedy in changing the route of the Admiral Kuznetsov. "We may well refuel in Algeria or Malta. I'm betting on Algeria, since Malta is an EU member and will experience the same problems as Spain," he told Kommersant. At the same time, according to the expert, the upcoming arrival of the Admiral Kuznetsov group in Syria is unlikely to radically change the balance of power in the region, but will allow Russia to increase its international prestige. “The French use an aircraft carrier in that region because they don’t have a base, we have one,” the expert noted. “The purpose of the Kuznetsov’s campaign is most likely training. Carrier-based aircraft pilots need to train, and Syria provides an opportunity to do this in combat conditions". CAST expert Andrei Frolov adds that the Kuznetsov campaign also has an "advertising component": "India is considering whether to buy MiG-29K/KUB carrier-based fighters for future aircraft carriers, and demonstrating their capabilities in Syria will help to decide faster."

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Alexander Gelovani

The history of the campaign "Admiral Kuznetsov" to the coast of Syria in the media and in social networks became a thriller.

People who are very far from the navy and the military topic in general, with an enthusiasm worthy of a better application, argued about whether an aircraft carrier should smoke and what kind of smoke, how many planes and helicopters fit on board and in its holds, whether it needs refueling, and so on. Let's leave the social media freaks alone. It is much more interesting to answer the question - what is the Admiral Kuznetsov doing off the coast of Syria? Why is he there? I'm afraid that a simple answer - in order to fight, is not enough.

First, let's figure out what "Admiral of the Fleet" is Soviet Union Kuznetsov", this is the full name of the aircraft-carrying cruiser.

The decision to build their own aircraft carrier was made by the Soviet leadership on March 3, 1981. Over the years of its existence, the first and only Soviet aircraft-carrying cruiser changed its name several times. During the design period, the name of the cruiser sounded like "Soviet Union". The aircraft-carrying cruiser was designed in Leningrad by the Nevsky Design Bureau under the leadership of Yu.D. Sergeyev. When laying it, it was given the name of the capital of the then Soviet Latvia "Riga".

Russian aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov"

The construction of the cruiser was completed at the Chernomorsky shipyard in the City of Nikolaev in December 1987. Then the cruiser was called "Leonid Brezhnev".

Later, during the tests, the cruiser bore the name of the capital of Georgia - "Tbilisi".

And finally, upon commissioning, the cruiser was named after Admiral of the Fleet Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov, who headed the USSR Navy during the Great Patriotic War and in the post-war period. In 1993, the first serial bombers began to arrive for his air group, the same ones that struck targets in Syria yesterday.

Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Of course, the decision to have its own aircraft carrier was made by the Soviet leadership for a reason. In general, the clash between the USSR and the USA was often portrayed as a clash between the Behemoth and Leviathan, the land force with the sea. The USSR was perceived as the main continental power, and the United States as the main maritime one. That was enough deep meaning After all, the United States began its first steps as a world power with "gunboat diplomacy." This is the name given to the actions of the Americans during the suppression of the Boxer uprising in China, as well as the war with Spain over Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. The USSR, as the legal successor of the Russian Empire, on the contrary, was perceived exclusively as a continental, that is, a land force. Thus, the decision of the Kremlin leadership to build the first Soviet aircraft carrier can be regarded as an attempt to play on the enemy's field.

Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" and TFR "Admiral Grigorovich" are involved in the operation in Syria for the first time

To play does not mean to win, because it is clear that one aircraft-carrying cruiser could in no way compete with the aircraft carriers of the United States, of which the United States had fifteen by that time. Yes, and the basis of the navy of the USSR in the period cold war were not surface ships at all, but nuclear submarines, with nuclear weapons on board. However, the political significance this decision clear. In addition, the USSR should have had a tool for its "gunboat diplomacy", if necessary, of course.

"Admiral Kuznetsov" was put into operation a few months before the end of the Soviet Union and the case did not present itself for its intended use. And today, a Russian aircraft-carrying cruiser has appeared in the eastern Mediterranean.

Many military experts were very skeptical about this throw of the Russian aircraft carrier group - after all, what's the point when the Russian Federation has a ground-based air force base on the territory of the same Syria, where you can place as many aircraft as you like. Meanwhile, there is a sense, only it is not military, but military-political.

First, let's return to the nature of the war in Syria. On the one hand, of course, this is the religious war of our time within the framework of Islamic civilization. In addition, this war is the end of the Sykes-Picot colonial system, which divided the Middle East into the mandated territories of Great Britain and France in the distant twenties. However, the war in Syria can rightfully be called a war for the "Soviet legacy". Moreover, this is the first war for this very inheritance, in which she decided to intervene Russian Federation as the successor of the Soviet Union.

Indeed, almost all countries that were in the Soviet zone of influence, and among them were countries of Eastern Europe, and Afghanistan, and Iraq, and Libya, were, to put it mildly, reformatted without the direct participation of Moscow. Syria turned out to be the first country that the Kremlin decided to defend to the end with almost all the means at its disposal, including the military. Given this circumstance, it becomes understandable such a military-political step as the appearance of a Russian aircraft-carrying cruiser in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean. In fact, this is another confirmation of the fact that for the Kremlin, Syria is the very red line beyond which it will not depart.

Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" and TFR "Admiral Grigorovich" are involved in the operation in Syria for the first time

A squadron in the eastern Mediterranean, consisting of two of the strongest surface ships of the Russian fleet - heavy missile cruiser"Peter the Great" and the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov", with escort ships (large anti-submarine ships"Severomorsk" and "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" and three submarines), this is not just a military action, it is an application for the status of a country that can build its own construct in international politics.

So the aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" is off the coast of Syria today, which is not so illogical as it seems to some military experts. On the cannons of Louis XIV was the inscription "The last argument of the kings." In Syria, and hence in today's world politics, these arguments have been spoken for a long time, and they speak quite loudly.

The aircraft carrier strike group of the Northern Fleet, led by the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Peter the Great (the flagship of the ship group), the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, has reached the coast of Norway. Already on February 9, the ships will return to the main base of the fleet - Severomorsk, having completed a many-month-long long-distance voyage to the coast of Syria. At home, on the shore, the crews are already waiting for the "roast pig" - a symbol successful implementation combat mission.
The campaign of the Russian squadron made no less noise than the anti-terrorist operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the region itself. The overall effect of the presence in the region exceeded all expectations. The entire route following the ships was tirelessly monitored by NATO representatives. After all, for the first time since the Soviet era, Moscow has assembled a full-fledged aircraft carrier group capable of delivering massive air and missile strikes against sea and coastal targets. The shipborne aircraft carrier group of the Northern Fleet advanced to the coast of Syria on October 15.

The passage of an aircraft carrier, a heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser, as well as escort ships Severomorsk, Vice-Admiral Kulakov and auxiliary vessels, as well as several submarines from North to South along the coast of Europe and further in the Mediterranean Sea, caused close attention of the Navy of the region. On the return route, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon for some reason called the Russian aircraft carrier returning from Syria a "ship of shame." What exactly the minister wanted to say with this phrase is not entirely clear, because all four months of combat service the Russian aircraft carrier group was not only followed, but also actively interfered with its work by dozens of NATO and US ships and aircraft.

Why? The answer is prosaic - they are afraid. That is why we were denied the opportunity to restock in Spain and Malta. Although this was agreed, probably, a few months before the group went on a hike. Again, why? Professor of the Academy of Military Sciences Vadim Kozyulin believes that the main reason is that the Russian Navy during the operation in Syria showed what was previously considered inaccessible to it. For example, a massive blow cruise missiles"Caliber" from the Caspian Sea on the targets of ISIS terrorists located 2.5 thousand kilometers from the missile launch site. And just before the exit of Russian ships to the coast of Syria Northern Fleet indicatively conducted exercises, during which the nuclear submarine of project 949 "Antey" armed with supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles "Granites" or, as they are called in the West, Shipwreck ("Shipwreck"), just as indicatively destroyed several ground targets on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.

We call these missiles "aircraft carrier killers", since a hit by "Granite" is guaranteed to sink any enemy aircraft carrier. The range of the missile is over 700 km. It carries a half-ton warhead, which can be either conventional, high-explosive, or nuclear. By the way, on the cruisers "Peter the Great" and "Admiral Kuznetsov" there are 24 "Granites", and on the "Kuznetsov" - 12. Another 48 were on two submarines that accompanied the squadron of the "Antey" type, unsuccessful searches, which were actively engaged in by NATO in the Mediterranean, but could not be traced.
The fact that there are boats there was literally “trumpeted” in foreign specialized blogs, reporting a sharply increased activity of P-8-A Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft flying from the Sigonella base in Sicily. In the military sense, “not tracked”, “not taken for escort” means one thing - for at least three months, not only ships, but also numerous military bases of the alliance located in Italy, Turkey, Malta and Cyprus were in the sight of Russian ships. By the way, they store almost the entire nuclear potential of the United States in Europe.
And all this without taking into account the capabilities of the updated air wing of the Russian aircraft carrier, which now includes not only heavy Su-33 fighters, but also the latest Russian MiG-29K/KUBR. One of the features carrier-based fighters in that before the release of the ship, all of them were retrofitted with a specialized computing subsystem SVP-24, which allows the use of conventional unguided high-explosive blanks with the accuracy of guided weapons. The device developed by Gefest and T is just a few blocks installed directly in the on-board equipment of a combat aircraft. Based on the position of the aircraft in space, its coordinates and flight parameters, as well as data on the target, the SVP calculates the optimal trajectory for dropping the bomb. In this case, the maximum deviation from the target does not exceed several meters.
The Su-24M front-line bombers, which have become the main workhorses of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria, perfectly demonstrated to the NATO how the SVP works. The accuracy with which our vehicles hit targets was repeatedly demonstrated by the Ministry of Defense during briefings dedicated to the operation. But the Su-33 and MiG-29KR/KUB are not only capable of "throwing" unguided blanks. Depending on the combat mission, the aircraft can carry from one to two Kh-35 anti-ship missiles and from two to four bombs of the KAB-500 and KAB-1500 families with laser-television or GPS / GLONASS-corrected homing heads, which guarantees it a jewelry defeat of any maritime or coastal target.
Combat use carrier-based aviation did not take place. The approach of our ships to the coast of Syria coincided with the peacekeeping initiative of the United States and Brussels on the introduction of a truce for the withdrawal of refugees from the war zones. Is it by chance? There is no answer to this question. But we can say that with the arrival of the Russian aircraft carrier, the grouping of our forces in the region acquired a second Khmeinim airbase. That is, we could redouble our efforts to destroy terrorist groups of anti-government forces, which categorically did not suit the administration of the resigned American President Barack Obama and European leaders. Be that as it may, the Admiral Kuznetsov completes military service with dignity. According to the commander of the Russian grouping of troops in Syria, Colonel-General Andrei Kartapolov, the pilots of the Russian naval aviation during the operation carried out 420 sorties, 117 were made at night. “Practically all flights took place in difficult hydrometeorological conditions,” he said. For our deckers, this is a very large indicator of flying time. So, we did the main thing - we taught the pilots how to use the equipment, which means we can be sure that they will be able to use it in a combat situation.

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