Tbilisi class aircraft carrier

A port beam view of the Soviet aircraft carrier SVK Tbilisi (113) underway south of Italy on December 10th, 1991.

The Tbilisi-class aircraft carriers are a pair of aircraft carriers in service in the Soviet Union from the early 1990s onwards. Tbilisi is based part of the Red Banner Black Sea Fleet while Riga is stationed at Vladivostok as part of the Red Banner Pacific Fleet. Originally, the Tbilisi-class was going to be designated as an aircraft carrying cruiser, the design was changed into a full fledged aircraft carrier carrying nearly sixty fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. Both are currently in dock undergoing extensive modernization.

Specifications

• Type: Aircraft carrier
• Service Period: 1990-Present
• Characteristics:
  • Length: 1,001 feet (305.1 meters)
  • Beam: 236 feet (71.93 meters)
  • Draft: 36 feet (10.97 meters)
  • Displacement: 54,100 tons (Standard); 63,050 tons (Full Load)
• Crew: 1,800
• Endurance: 45 days
• Propulsion:
  • 4 x shafts
  • 4 x fixed pitch props
  • 4 x TV12 geared turbines x 50,000 hp = 200,000 shp
  • 8 x turbo pressurized boilers providing 200,000 shp
  • 9 x 2,011 hp / 1500 kW turbo generators
  • 6 x 2,011 hp / 1500 kW diesel generators
• Range: 8,500 nautical miles (15,742 kilometers) at 18 knots (33.34 km/h)
• Speed: 32 knots (59.26 km/h)
• Sensor Suite:
  • MR-710 Fregat-MA/Top Plate 3D Air/Surface Search RDF
  • MR-320M Topaz/Strut Pair 2D Air/Surface Search RDF x 2
  • Palm Frond Navigation RDF x 3
  • MR-360 Podkat/Cross Sword SA-N-9 Fire Control RDF x 4
  • 3P37/Hot Flash SA-N-11 Fire Control RDF x 8
  • Fly Trap B Aircraft Control RDF
  • Zvezda-2 search and attack ASDIC [medium and low frequency bands]
  • MGK-345 Bronza/Ox Yoke hull mounted ASDIC
• Countermeasures:
• Armament:
  • 8 x Kashtan CIWS mounts
  • 6 x AK-630 AA guns
• Aircraft Carried: 56 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters
• Aircraft Supported: Sukhoi Su-33, Sukhoi Su-25, Yakovlev Yak-44, Beriev P-42, Kamov Ka-27
• Aviation Facilities: Angled arrested landing flight deck, Bow ski jump, two waste mounted catapults

Unit Run

• SVK Tbilisi (113)
• SVK Riga (114)