Key Points – Russia’s sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, depicted as operational in the new “Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning” film, is in reality plagued by severe structural and technical issues, rendering it largely unseaworthy.
-The carrier has been undergoing an extensive and troubled refit for years, marked by numerous accidents including fires and a collapsed dry dock, and is not expected back at sea until at least 2026 or 2027, if ever.
-Its outdated design, reliance on polluting mazut fuel, problematic ski-jump, and history of operational failures contrast sharply with its fictional portrayal, highlighting a significant factual error in the movie.
Russia’s Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov Isn’t Sailing Anywhere
If you haven’t seen “Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning” yet, you should.
The latest in the Tom Cruise franchise does not disappoint, and it is a tour de force and roller coaster ride, keeping you on the edge of your seat.
Not to give away too much of the plot, but the United States faces a worldwide sentient artificial intelligence threat called the “Entity,” and Tom Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, must stop worldwide Armageddon at the Entity’s hands.
So far, so good, but as in most espionage and war films, there is a mistake in the military lore.
At one point, Ethan Hunt and his team are being infiltrated by V-22 Ospreys to fight their mission. Then, a Russian aircraft carrier appears in the distance. One American pilot said, “It’s the Admiral Kuznetsov!”
What In the World Did I Just See?
I immediately recoiled in surprise. “That’s impossible!” I told my wife.
“The Kuznetsov is still in port for extensive repairs,” I hurriedly whispered to her.
The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier only appeared for a few seconds.
Still, this scene must have eluded the film’s military advisors, who were trying to keep defense matters as accurate as possible.
Troubled Aircraft Carrier Is Not Way Near Seaworthy
If you don’t know by now, the Admiral Kuznetsov has been a comedy of errors over its service life and may never sail again.
It is in extensive re-fit and may not have a chance to hit the open seas until at least 2026 or 2027, if it ever gets that far.
The Kuznetsov has fundamental structural problems and complicated technical issues.
Workers have been streaming across the deck to resurface that carrier for years.
The Kuznetsov hasn’t seen a real deployment since 2016 when it entered the Middle East theater to assist Syria in its civil war. The carrier had trouble with basic operations such as launching and arresting aircraft. A MiG-29K once had to call off a landing, and when it circled the ship, it crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. The same thing happened to another fighter.
Burning Nothing But Thick Black Smoke
The incident was caused by faulty arrestor cables. This is in addition to the ship’s terrible design and structural defects.
There are also environmental issues due to the carrier’s use of mazut, a thick, tarry, and outdated fuel source that produces dense, black smoke. This makes the ship easy to spot and attack. There are no gas turbines or nuclear reactors onboard.
The Kuznetsov uses an outdated ski-jump ramp, which does not allow for modern aircraft to launch effectively. Airplanes must use a lower speed to take of,f and afterburners are needed to get off the deck. There are only 30 aircraft onboard.
This Thing Could Really Sink Someday
The aircraft carrier is in such a sorry state that there are fears it could sink or capsize. In the movie, it appeared the vessel was in pristine shape and able to handle the aviation mission in style. This cannot be further from the truth.
The decks are badly corroded. Some holds are filled with muddy water. This keeps the workers from doing their jobs. Russian engineers and technicians are likely just throwing up their hands in frustration and simply going through the motions of repairs. Vladimir Putin wants a carrier badly, but the Russians are far from achieving success with the Admiral Kuznetsov.
Aircraft Carrier Plagued By Deadly Mishaps and Accidents
The ship broke down in 2012 and had to be towed back to shore. The boilers are often faulty and tug boats must accompany the carrier while it only steams ahead at four to ten knots.
A floating dry dock collapsed and killed a worker in 2018, followed by a major fire the next year that resulted in one employee dying and ten others sustaining serious injuries. In 2022, there was another fire.
Since the sailors have nothing to do while the ship has been laid up, Vladimir Putin and his admirals ordered personnel to be redeployed to fight at the Ukrainian front. This means the Kremlin is not sure the Kuznetsov will be ready anytime soon. The naval aviators are so out of practice that they were probably sent to fly outdated airplanes over Ukraine, too.
While the latest Missio:n Impossible is not likely to be screened in Russia, even Putin (if he ever watches it) would be surprised that his only carrier made a cameo.
Russia just does not have an effective global blue-water navy that can project power far beyond its borders. This is a cautionary tale of how not to maintain and deploy a carrier. Russia must be embarrassed, and those military observers who know the Kuznetsov story would probably tell Tom Cruise that the film was in dire error by showing the Russian carrier at sea.
Moscow can only hope that the Admiral Kuznetsov is not retired completely someday and scrapped. That’s probably what its future holds.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
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