Kiev-class aircraft carrier

Also known as

Project 1143 Krechyet
Project 1143
Project 11433
Project 11434
Krechyet class
Kiev class
Kiev-class heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser
Kiev-class aviation cruiser
Baku class
Admiral Gorshkov

The Kiev class, Soviet Project 1143 Krechyet, was a family of heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers built at the Black Sea Shipyard in Mykolaiv for Soviet naval aviation. The ships combined Yak-38 VTOL aircraft and Kamov helicopters with cruiser-style P-500 Bazalt anti-ship missiles, air-defense weapons, and anti-submarine systems; the revised fourth hull, Baku / Admiral Gorshkov, later became India's INS Vikramaditya after a major STOBAR carrier conversion.

Kiev-class aircraft carrier, Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser / VTOL aircraft carrier, Naval Systems

Image source: Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev underway.jpg

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin: Soviet Union
Built by: Black Sea Shipyard
Type: Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser / VTOL aircraft carrier
Service note: 1975-1996 Soviet/Russian service; one extensively rebuilt for Indian service as INS Vikramaditya
Designer: Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau; A.V. Marinich was chief designer for Kiev, Minsk, and Novorossiysk
Designed: Project work began in the late 1960s
Produced: 1970-1987
Number built: 4 completed
Developed from: Project 1123 Moskva-class helicopter carriers
Developed into: Project 1143.5 Kuznetsov-class heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser; Project 11434 Baku hull converted into INS Vikramaditya

Specifications

Displacement: Project 1143 ships ranged from about 41,370 to 43,220 t full load in RussianShips data; Project 11434 Baku is listed at about 44,490 t full load.
Length: About 273.1 m overall for Project 1143; 273.08 m for Project 11434 in RussianShips data.
Beam: About 49.2 m overall for Project 1143; 51.9 m for Project 11434.
Draft: About 8.95 m for Project 1143; 9.42 m for Project 11434.
Propulsion: Steam-turbine plant with four shafts; RussianShips lists four 45,000 hp steam turbines and four fixed-pitch propellers.
Speed: RussianShips lists 32.5 knots for Project 1143 and 30.7 knots for Project 11434.
Aircraft: Yak-38 / Yak-38M VTOL aircraft and Ka-25 or Ka-27-family helicopters; Project 11434 sources also list Ka-29 helicopters.
Primary missile armament: P-500 Bazalt anti-ship missiles: eight launchers on the first three ships and twelve on Project 11434 Baku in RussianShips and GlobalSecurity summaries.
Air-defense armament: Shtorm and Osa-M on the first ships; Project 11434 Baku used a revised Kinzhal/Tor-family vertical-launch fit in open sources.
Role: Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser with aviation, surface-strike, anti-air, and anti-submarine functions.

Variants

Project 1143 evolved from the first two ships through the modified Novorossiysk and the more extensively revised Project 11434 Baku / Admiral Gorshkov hull.

Variant	Configuration	Designation notes
Kiev	Lead ship	Nevskoye-linked reporting identifies Kiev as the first Project 1143 heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser; RussianShips lists its Black Sea Shipyard construction and 1975 service entry. Sources: Nevskoye PKB Kiev history, Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143
Minsk	Second ship	RussianShips lists Minsk as the second Project 1143 hull and places it in Pacific Fleet service after 1978 commissioning. Sources: Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143
Novorossiysk	Modified third ship	RussianShips and Naval Encyclopedia distinguish Novorossiysk from the first two ships through its Project 11433 / 1143M designation and modified equipment fit. Sources: Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143, Kiev Class (1972-82)
Baku / Admiral Gorshkov	Revised fourth ship and later Indian conversion hull	RussianShips treats Baku / Admiral Gorshkov as the single Project 11434 unit, with revised dimensions and armament; GlobalSecurity documents the later Indian Vikramaditya conversion. Sources: Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser - Project 11434, R Vikramaditya [ex-Gorshkov] Aircraft Carrier

Carrier Aircraft And Helicopters

Project 1143 ships combined VTOL aircraft with shipboard helicopters; only existing catalog aircraft records are linked here.

Carried item	Item type	Carriage evidence
Ka-27	Shipborne ASW/SAR helicopter	GlobalSecurity lists Ka-27 PLO, Ka-27 PS, and Ka-27 RLD helicopters in the Project 1143 air wing, and RussianShips lists Ka-27 helicopter fits for the class. Sources: Project 1143 Krechyet, Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143, Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser - Project 11434
Ka-29	Shipborne assault transport helicopter	RussianShips lists Ka-29 helicopters among Project 11434 Baku's air group, while the linked Ka-29 record covers the shipborne assault-transport derivative. Sources: Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser - Project 11434

Carried item

Item type

Carriage evidence

Ka-27

Shipborne ASW/SAR helicopter

GlobalSecurity lists Ka-27 PLO, Ka-27 PS, and Ka-27 RLD helicopters in the Project 1143 air wing, and RussianShips lists Ka-27 helicopter fits for the class.

Sources: Project 1143 Krechyet, Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143, Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser - Project 11434

Ka-29

Shipborne assault transport helicopter

RussianShips lists Ka-29 helicopters among Project 11434 Baku's air group, while the linked Ka-29 record covers the shipborne assault-transport derivative.

Sources: Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser - Project 11434

Installed Anti-Ship Missile Battery

The Kiev-class ships retained cruiser-style heavy anti-ship missiles forward of the flight deck.

Carried item	Item type	Carriage evidence
P-500 Bazalt	Heavy anti-ship cruise missile	RussianShips lists P-500 Bazalt launchers for Project 1143 and Project 11434, and Weaponsystems.net identifies Project 1143 as an early P-500 launch platform. Sources: Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143, Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser - Project 11434, WeaponSystems.net P-500 Bazalt

Carried item

Item type

Carriage evidence

P-500 Bazalt

Heavy anti-ship cruise missile

RussianShips lists P-500 Bazalt launchers for Project 1143 and Project 11434, and Weaponsystems.net identifies Project 1143 as an early P-500 launch platform.

Sources: Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143, Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser - Project 11434, WeaponSystems.net P-500 Bazalt

Carrier-Cruiser Layout

The Kiev class was neither a plain cruiser nor a Western-style carrier. The aft and port-side flight-deck area supported Yak-38 vertical/short-takeoff aircraft and Kamov helicopters, while the forward deck retained heavy missile, gun, and anti-submarine weapons.

Aviation role

Project 1143 carried Yak-38-family VTOL aircraft and Ka-25 or Ka-27-family helicopters; Baku's published air group also includes Ka-29 helicopters.

Surface strike

The first three ships carried eight P-500 Bazalt anti-ship missiles, while Project 11434 Baku carried twelve in the revised foredeck fit.

Air defense changes

The first ships used Shtorm and Osa-M systems, while Baku moved to a revised Kinzhal/Tor-family vertical-launch air-defense fit in open-reference summaries.

Conversion boundary

The Indian Vikramaditya conversion removed the cruiser-style missile battery and rebuilt the ex-Gorshkov hull for STOBAR fixed-wing carrier operations.

Sources: Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143; Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser - Project 11434; R Vikramaditya [ex-Gorshkov] Aircraft Carrier.

Timeline

Kiev-class aircraft carrier Key Events

May 5, 1967
Kiev entered onto Soviet Navy lists
Sudostroenie.info, citing Nevskoye PKB, says the first Project 1143 heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Kiev was entered onto Soviet Navy lists on 5 May 1967.
Sources: Nevskoye PKB Kiev history
Jul 21, 1970
Lead ship laid down
Nevskoye-linked reporting and RussianShips list Kiev's keel-laying at Black Sea Shipyard No. 444 in Mykolaiv on 21 July 1970.
Sources: Nevskoye PKB Kiev history, Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143
Dec 28, 1975
Kiev enters service
Sudostroenie.info and RussianShips place Kiev's service entry on 28 December 1975, before its June 1976 assignment to the Northern Fleet.
Sources: Nevskoye PKB Kiev history, Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143
Sep 27, 1978
Minsk commissioned
RussianShips lists Minsk as commissioned on 27 September 1978 and assigned to the Pacific Fleet.
Sources: Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143
Sep 14, 1982
Novorossiysk commissioned
RussianShips lists Novorossiysk, the modified Project 11433 ship, as commissioned on 14 September 1982.
Sources: Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143
Dec 11, 1987
Baku enters service
RussianShips lists Baku, later Admiral Gorshkov, as commissioned on 11 December 1987 with the revised Project 11434 configuration.
Sources: Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser - Project 11434
Jan 20, 2004
Admiral Gorshkov transfer agreement
GlobalSecurity describes the 2004 India-Russia agreement that set up the Admiral Gorshkov transfer and refit program for India.
Sources: R Vikramaditya [ex-Gorshkov] Aircraft Carrier
Nov 16, 2013
INS Vikramaditya commissioned
GlobalSecurity reports that Russia handed over the rebuilt ex-Admiral Gorshkov to India as INS Vikramaditya on 16 November 2013 after the conversion.
Sources: R Vikramaditya [ex-Gorshkov] Aircraft Carrier

Hull Comparison

Open sources split the four completed ships into the original Project 1143 pair, the modified Novorossiysk, and the substantially revised Baku / Admiral Gorshkov hull.

Hull	Project	Service entry	Configuration and fate
Kiev	1143	1975	Lead ship; served with the Northern Fleet and later became a preserved attraction in China.
Minsk	1143	1978	Second ship; served with the Pacific Fleet and later became a preserved attraction in China.
Novorossiysk	11433 / 1143M	1982	Modified third ship; decommissioned after the Soviet collapse and scrapped in South Korea.
Baku / Admiral Gorshkov	11434	1987	Revised fourth ship; later transferred to India and rebuilt as INS Vikramaditya.

Sources: Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143; Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser - Project 11434; Kiev Class (1972-82); R Vikramaditya [ex-Gorshkov] Aircraft Carrier.

Media