OT: China's new carrier

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by dragoon500ly

The PRC has moved their former Russian Kiev-class carrier from the status of floating casino to major naval combatant (like nobody saw that one coming).

The Varyag is not a Kiev class carrier. It is Admiral Kuznetsov class. There's a big difference. The Kiev had a much smaller flight deck and could fly only YAK-38 VTOL aircraft- a very limited airframe even at the time it was first introduced. The YAK-38's replacement, the YAK-131, never really saw the light of day. The Admiral Kutzenov, on the other hand, has a full-length flight deck, not that much shorter than that of a Nimitz class CVN, and can fly the SU-27 naval variant(s), a much more capable multi-mission aircraft.