Editing Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier (section)

== History ==

[[File:ЧСЗ_АВИАНОСЕЦ.jpg|thumb|The launch of ''Admiral Kuznetsov'', formerly named as ''[[Leonid Brezhnev]]'' as shown in this image]]

In October 1978 the Soviet government decided to continue the production of additional [[Kiev-class aircraft carrier|Project 1143]] (''Kiev''-class) aircraft carriers, with the fifth vessel built with improved features like [[Aircraft catapult|catapults]] and arresting gear.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Polmar |first=Norman |title=Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and its Influence on World Events, Volume II: 1946-2006 |publisher=Potomac Books, Inc. |year=2007 |isbn=9781574886658 |edition=2nd |location=Washington D.C. |pages=355 |chapter=Soviet Aircraft Carriers}}</ref> This resulted in the Project 1143.5 (''Kuznetsov'' class) plan created by the Nevskoye Bureau and approved at the end of 1979. As originally planned, Project 1143.5 was to have a full load displacement of 65,000 tons, [[CATOBAR]] capability, and an air wing based around fixed-wing aircraft and Kamov helicopters.<ref name=":0" /> However, by 1980 Soviet defense minister [[Dmitry Ustinov]] ordered the deletion of the catapults, reduction of the ship's displacement by 10,000 tons, and revision of the air component toward [[V/STOL|VSTOL]] aircraft.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Polmar |first=Norman |title=Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events, Volume II: 1946-2006 |publisher=Potomac Books Inc. |year=2007 |isbn=9781574886658 |edition=2nd |location=Washington D.C. |pages=356 |chapter=Soviet Aircraft Carriers}}</ref> The design was revised to support only VSTOL aircraft under the project name "Nitka", but then was revised again to its final configuration to provide for fixed-wing aircraft by adding a 12-degree [[Ski-jump (aviation)|ski-jump]].