On the deck of the Liaoning ship, a total of 24 J-15 fighter jets, 1 Z-9, and 2 Z-8 were parked, and a total of 27 carrier-based aircraft were parked. At present, Russia only has 10 Su-33 carrier-based aircraft left.

A few days ago, in the documentary on the 10th anniversary of the service of the Liaoning ship , a grand scene of the Liaoning ship being fully loaded with fighter jets appeared. A total of 24 J-15 fighter jets, 1 Z-9, and 2 Z-8 were parked on the deck of the Liaoning ship, and a total of 27 carrier-based aircraft were parked. The author thinks of the northern neighbors, the Kuznetsov and the famous 33 carrier-based aircraft. At present, Russia only has 10 Su-33 carrier-based aircraft left. It has to be said that as a symbol of a great power's navy, this is a kind of helpless sorrow. So, what should I do after Su 33?

1. Jacques 38 is obviously not an opponent of the US F14

During World War II , the mode of naval battles underwent a huge change. The era of battleships against bombing has fallen behind. The perfect combination of aircraft carrier and carrier-based aircraft has become the naval battle ace in the new era. For example, on Pacific battlefield , the United States and Japan's aircraft carriers fought several rounds of carrier-based aircraft. After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States entered a tense Cold War . The two sides compete for hegemony in all aspects, among which the Soviet Union's comprehensive national strength was obviously inferior to that of the United States. Especially in terms of naval construction, the Soviet Union was no match for the United States in the 1950s.

1962 Cuban missile crisis , Soviet Navy suffered a great shame. Therefore, starting from the 1960s, the Soviet Union began to fully develop aircraft carrier fleets. In the 1960s, two Moscow-class helicopter aircraft carriers were successively developed, which belonged to the first generation aircraft carrier of the Soviet Union. After entering the 1970s, the Soviet Union's national strength had greatly improved, and the Soviet Union began to develop the second-generation aircraft carrier, namely the Kiev-class aircraft carrier. The Kyiv-class is a 40,000-ton aircraft carrier, mainly equipped with the Jacques 38 fighter jet.

However, the performance of the Jacques 38 fighter is very limited. At the same time, the US Navy has begun to equip the famous F14 carrier-based aircraft. Compared with the powerful F14, Jacques 38 is no match at all, and the F4 has an overwhelming advantage. In such a general environment, given the limited levels of the Kiev-class aircraft carrier and the Jacques 38 fighter jet. In the 1980s, at the height of the Soviet Union's national strength, the Soviet Union began to develop third-generation aircraft carriers and new generations of carrier-based aircraft, which were later Kuznetsov-class aircraft carriers and Su-33 carrier-based aircraft.

2. The Su-33 carrier-based aircraft is a classic work in the heyday of the Soviet Union

As we all know, the Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier is a 60,000-ton aircraft carrier, and a total of 2 ships were built. In the 1980s, in the process of designing carrier-based aircraft, Sukhoi and Migoyan competed fiercely. Sukhoi launched a ship-based model based on the Su-27 prototype. Mikoyang also launched the corresponding model based on MiG 29. It has to be said that this was the heyday of the Soviet Union. In 1987, the prototype of the Su-33 fighter was finalized and a two-year flight experiment began. In November 1989, the Su-33 fighter jet was basically finalized.

Compared with the old opponent F14, the Su33 fighter has inherited the maneuverability advantages of the Su27 fighter and has great advantages in high maneuverability and close-range air combat. However, due to the Soviet Union's lagging avionics and radar technology, the Su-33 fighter lacks sea-to-ground capabilities and can only be used in air combat. The Su-33 fighter jet has a range of up to 3,000 kilometers and a combat radius of more than 1,100 kilometers. However, the Su-33 fighter jets cannot use R77 medium-range air-to-air missiles and other precise weapons, which is a fatal problem.

If there were no continued turmoil in the 1990s, the Soviet Union could improve and improve it little by little, and the Su-33 might be a very classic fighter. In 1991, the huge Soviet Union collapsed and was divided into more than 10 countries of all sizes. Among them, Russia inherited about 70% of the Soviet Union's family background. From 1991 to 1993, Russia produced a total of 24 Su-33 fighter jets, which just met the needs of the USS Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. After 1993, Su33 no longer produced it. In 1996, the Su33 production line was demolished.

After this, no new Su33 fighter jets appeared. It has been 29 years since 1993. Due to continuous losses and flight accidents, the number of Su33 fighters has been decreasing. At first, Russia used several Su33 prototypes, which after modification, made up for the shortage of carrier-based aircraft. Subsequently, the number of carrier-based aircraft continued to decline, and several Su33 prototypes were far from enough.As of 2017, Russia had only 10 Su-33 fighter jets left.

3. MiG 29K has become Russia's only choice

For Russia, it is no longer possible to restart the Su-33 production line. Because more than 20 years have passed, the subsystem of that year has changed. Moreover, restructuring the production line requires a lot of money, which is a big problem. After entering the 21st century, Russia began to transform and upgrade the USS Baku aircraft carrier for India, which is India's Super Riwang aircraft carrier . At the same time, we began to design a fixed MiG 29K fighter jet for India. It has to be said that in the case of obvious shortage of Su-33 fighter jets, the MiG-29K fighter jets played a substitute.

In other words, the MiG 29K fighter has become Russia's only choice. Since 2010, Russia has added a portion of the MiG-29K fighter jets to the USS Kuznetsov aircraft carrier to be used with the Su-33 fighter jets. In 2016, when the Russian aircraft carrier expeditioned Mediterranean , the classic situation of using Su-33 and MiG-29K was seen. At present, the USS Kuznetsov aircraft carrier is undergoing modernization and upgrading. As planned, we will not be able to rejoin the Navy until 2025.

By then, the only remaining Su33 fighter jets had already exceeded their service period. After 2025, if the Kuznetsov can be put into service again, it is very likely that the MiG 29K fighter jet will be built. Since the MiG 29K is a light fighter, it faces great choices in many aspects such as air stagnation time, weapon types, radar upgrades, etc. However, for Russia, a big problem has been solved.

4. Su33 went through the phoenix and reborn in the fire in neighboring countries

. The situation is different from Russia. Russia's eastern neighbors obtained the sister ship of the Kuznetsov, which is the famous Varyag in the early 21st century. After several years of improvement and improvement, in 2013, it was named Liaoning , becoming the first aircraft carrier of the neighboring navies. Subsequently, based on the Liaoning ship, the Shandong ship was further upgraded and improved. In terms of blood, the Liaoning ship, Shandong Province and the Kuznetsov in the north are "relative relationship."

In terms of carrier-based aircraft, due to the lagging performance of the Su-33 and the high cost of restarting the production line, the eastern neighbors did not directly import the Su-33 fighter jets from Russia. Moreover, through other channels, one of the Su 33 prototypes was obtained. After his own efforts, he studied, reverse research, improved and improved, and finally developed the J-15 fighter. At first, the J-15 fighter jets produced were still mainly air combat, mainly equipped with standard air combat equipment of China 4 and nearly 2.

In recent years, the J-15 fighter has undergone various upgrades, with the J-15T emerging. In many aspects of radar and waterway system capabilities, improvements have been made. In addition to being able to use various types of air-to-air bombs, it can also carry various sea-to-ground weapons, and the overall performance has been greatly improved. This is something that neither Su33 nor MiG 29K has, especially the future catapult type, which solves the problem of being unable to take off with full load. The stagnation time and mount capability can both reach the maximum value.

In the future aircraft carrier game, Russia's eastern neighbor aircraft carriers will have a mode of using fourth-generation fighter jets and third-generation fighter jets, which is better than the best. As for Russian aircraft carriers, it is very likely to use the MiG 29K fighter.

There are many more stories about the development and construction of the Russian Navy aircraft carrier. The author will chat with you slowly in future articles.