The initial name of the ship was Tbilisi ; it was launched as Leonid Brezhnev , embarked on sea trials as Tbilisi , and was finally named after Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Nikolay Gerasimovich Kuznetsov. It was originally commissioned in the Soviet Navy , and was intended to be the lead ship of the two-ship Kuznetsov class.
However, its sister ship Varyag was still incomplete when the Soviet Union disbanded in The ship has been out of service and in repairs since The repair process has been hampered by accidents, embezzlement of funds, and other setbacks. The current projection is that repairs will be completed and the ship will be transferred back to the Russian Navy in , but this may be pushed back to if issues arise during overhaul and testing.
As of December [update] the non-operational Admiral Kuznetsov is the Russian Navy's only carrier, leaving the Russian Navy without an operational aircraft carrier. The design of Admiral Kuznetsov class implies a mission different from that of the United States Navy 's carriers. The term used by its builders to describe the Russian ships is Tyazholyy Avianesushchiy Kreyser TAVKR — "heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser " — intended to support and defend strategic missile-carrying submarines, surface ships, and naval missile-carrying aircraft of the Russian Navy.
Admiral Kuznetsov ' s main fixed-wing aircraft is the multi-role Sukhoi Su It can perform air superiority , fleet defence , and air support missions and can also be used for direct fire support of amphibious assault , reconnaissance and placement of naval mines. For take-off of fixed-wing aircraft, Admiral Kuznetsov has a ski-jump at the end of its bow. When taking off, aircraft accelerate toward and up the ski-jump using their afterburners.
This results in the aircraft leaving the deck at a higher angle and elevation than on an aircraft carrier with a flat deck and catapults. The "cruiser" role is facilitated by Admiral Kuznetsov ' s complement of 12 long-range surface-to-surface anti-ship P Granit NATO reporting name : Shipwreck cruise missiles, resulting in the ship's Russian type designator of "heavy aircraft-carrying missile cruiser". Unlike most western naval ships that use gas turbines or nuclear power, Admiral Kuznetsov is a conventionally powered ship that uses mazut as a fuel, often leading to a visible trail of heavy black smoke that can be seen at a great distance.
