Amazing footage of Sukhoi Su-33 on the Admiral Kuznetsov “heavy aircraft-carrying missile cruiser”

As the Russian Navy prepares for the largest drills in decades (to be held in the Caucasus and Mediterranean areas towards the end of January), with warships from all of Ivan’s fleets, some amazing footage of Russia’s flagship Admiral Kuznetsov has emerged.

The Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker-D is an all-weather carrier-based air defence fighter based on the Su-27 “Flanker” and initially known as Su-27K. It has larger (folding) wings, upgraded engines, twin nose wheel, strengthened undercarriage for blue waters ops.

The aircraft was tested aboard Kuznetsov in 1995, and officially entered service with the Russian Navy in August 1998. Only 24 examples were produced when the Varyag was sold to China.

The Chinese Shenyang J-15, about to equip the refurbished ex-Soviet Kuznetsov class carrier Varyag now “Liaoning” is extensively based on the Su-27 and Su-33.

The “heavy aircraft-carrying missile cruiser”, equipped with an air wing of Sukhoi Su-33s (as well as a dozen long-range anti-ship missiles) is a frequent presence in the Mediterranean Sea off Syria, where the ship deployed towards the end of 2011, as a show of support for the Assad regime facing an uprising.

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.