The debut combat deployment of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov should allow Russian Navy Aviation to evaluate and test its recently delivered Mikoyan MiG-29KR/KUBR multi-role fighters, as well as its newly modernized Sukhoi Su-33 shipborne fighters.
THE RUSSIAN MILITARY stepped up its involvement in Syria on November 15, 2016, when pro-Assad forces launched intensive attacks on Syrian rebels around eastern Aleppo. As well as missile strikes from land and sea, aircraft were flown from the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, stationed off the coast. Initial footage released by the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) suggested that only Su-33s were launched from the carrier, and most of these carried an exclusively air-to-air load. Subsequently, Russian TV reports showed Su-33s on deck with free-fall FAB-500M-54 high-explosive bombs on the centerline.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu announced that Russia had launched missile strikes against Islamic State militants in Idlib province, using missiles and jets flying off the Admiral Kuznetsov.
There was no evidence of Mikoyan MiG-29KR/KUBR fighters operating from the Admiral Kuznetsov in these strikes. On No…
