Kiev class aircraft carrier

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<tr valign=top><td>Builders:</td><td>Chernomorsky Shipyard 444</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Operators:</td><td>Image:Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Navy
Image:Naval Ensign of Russia.svg Russian Navy
Image:Naval Ensign of India.svg Indian Navy</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>In service:</td><td>28 December 1975</td></tr>

Soviet Union	Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg
Image:Novorossijsk Kiev-class 1986.jpg Novorossiysk in 1986
Ships in Class <tr valign=top><td>Ships in class:</td><td>4</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Ships in active service:</td><td>INS Vikramaditya</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Scrapped ships:</td><td>Novorossiysk</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Preserved ships:</td><td>Kiev Minsk</td></tr>
General Characteristics
Displacement:
Length:	273 m
Beam:	32.6 m <tr valign=top><td>Draught:</td><td>10 m</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Propulsion and power:</td><td>8 turbopressurized boilers, 4 steam turbines (200,000 shp), four shafts</td></tr>
Speed:	32 knots
Complement:	1,200 to 1,600 <tr valign=top><td>Armament:</td><td>See article for variations 80 to 200 surface-to-air missiles 2 dual-purpose guns 8 close-in weapons systems 10 torpedo tubes</td></tr> <tr valign=top><td>Aircraft complement:</td><td>Up to 30, including: 12 x Yak-38 aircraft 16 x helicopters</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Aircraft facilities:</td><td>Abbreviated angled aft flight deck</td></tr>

The Kiev class carriers (also know as Project 1143 or as the Krechyet (Gyrfalcon) class) were the first class of fixed-wing aircraft carriers built in Russia.

First laid down in 1970 the Kiev class was partially based on a design for a full-deck carrier proposed in Project Orel. Originally the Soviet Navy wanted a supercarrier similar to the American Kitty Hawk class, however the smaller Kiev class design was chosen because it was considered to be more cost effective.

Unlike American or British carriers the Kiev class is a combination of a cruiser and a carrier. In the Russian navy this class of ships is specifically designated as a heavy aviation cruiser rather than just an aircraft carrier. The intended mission of the Kiev class was support for strategic missile submarines, other surface ships and naval aviation, it was capable of engaging in anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and surface warfare.

A total of four Kiev class carriers were built and commissioned, serving in the Soviet and then Russian Navy. The first three having served out their lifetimes were decommissioned and have been either scrapped or sold as recreational pieces to China. The fourth ship, Admiral Gorshkov, was modernized and sold to the Indian Navy in 2004.

1 General characteristics
2 Ships
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] General characteristics

Designer: Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau
Builder: Nikolayev South (formerly Chernomorsky Shipyard 444)
Power Plant: 8 turbopressurized boilers, 4 steam turbines (200,000 shp), four shafts
Length: 273 meters overall (283 m for Vikramaditya)
Flight Deck Width: 53 meters
Beam: 32.6 meters
Displacement: 43,000-45,500 metric tons full load
Speed: 32 knots (59 km/h)
Aircraft: 26-30
- 12-13 Yak-38 VSTOL
- 14-17 Ka-25 or Ka-27/29 helicopters
Crew: 1,200-1,600 (including air wing)
Armament:
- Kiev and Minsk:
  - 4 × twin SS-N-12 Sandbox SSM launchers (8 missiles)
  - 2 × twin SA-N-3 Goblet SAM launchers (72 missiles)
  - 2 × twin SA-N-4 Gecko launchers (40 missiles)
  - 2 × twin 76.2 mm AA guns
  - 8 × AK-630 30 mm CIWS
  - 10 × 21" torpedo tubes
  - 1 x twin SUW-N-1 FRAS Anti-Submarine Rocket launcher
- Novorossiysk:
  - 4 × twin SS-N-12 Sandbox SSM launchers (8 missiles)
  - 2 × twin SA-N-3 Goblet SAM launchers (72 missiles)
  - 2 × twin 76.2 mm AA guns
  - 8 × AK-630 30 mm CIWS
  - 1 x twin SUW-N-1 FRAS Anti-Submarine Rocket launcher
- Admiral Gorshkov:
  - 6 × twin SS-N-12 Sandbox SSM launchers (12 missiles)
  - 24 × 8-cell SA-N-9 vertical SAM launchers (192 missiles)
  - 2 × 100 mm guns
  - 8 × AK-630 30 mm CIWS
  - 10 × 21" torpedo tubes
Date Deployed: 1975 (Kiev)