The ships of the Kiev class consisted of four aircraft carrier missile cruisers equipped with weapons for multiple purposes (antiship,
antisubmarine and antiaircraft/missile) including missiles, cannons and charges, which rendered these ships as highly versatile and
self-sufficient combat units. When the Kiev appeared for the first time in the Black Sea in August 1976 something totally new was
revealed to the western observers. She was not only an aircraft carrier, albeit restricted to V/STOL aircraft and helicopters, but also
a powerful warship extraordinarily armed.
In the dotation of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters usually four types were carried, with a typical
configuration of twelve Yakovlev Yak-38 "Forger-A" VTOL fighters, one Yak-38U "Forger-B" two-seat trainer, sixteen ASW (Anti Submarine
Warfare) helicopters (usually Kamov Ka-25 "Hormone-A") and three targetting helicopters (usually Ka-25T "Hormone-B"). The Ka-25 were
sometimes replaced by the newer Ka-27 "Helix". Finally, no AEW (Airborne Early Warning) aircraft was carried.
Class: Kiev (4 units - Baku, Kiev, Minsk, Novorossiysk)
Type: Aircraft carrier missile cruiser
Length: 273 meters
Beam: 53 meters
Draught: 10 meters
Displacement (standard): 30530 tonnes
Propulsion: 4 x shaft, 4 x steam turbine, 8 x boiler, 140000 horsepower
Speed: 32 knots (59 kilometers/hour)
Range: 13500 nautical miles (25000 kilometers) at 18 knots
Complement: 1612 mariners and officers, 430 for air group
Armament: 8 x SS-N-12 surface-to-surface missile launcher, 2 x twin SA-N-3 surface-to-air missile launcher,
2 x twin SA-N-4 surface-to-air missile launcher, 2 x twin 76-millimeter dual-purpose cannon, 8 x AK-630 close-in weapon system 30-millimeter cannon,
1 x twin SUW-N-1 antisubmarine missile launcher, 2 x RBU-6000 antisubmarine mortar, 2 x pentuple 533-millimeter torpedo launcher
Aircraft: 12 x Yak-38 VTOL fighter, 1 x Yak-38U training aircraft, 16 x Ka-25 antisubmarine helicopter, 3 x Ka-25T targetting helicopter
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