UPI
The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is getting ready for a voyage to the Syrian coast in the Mediterranean. The goal of the deployment is to check the combat capabilities of the ship and its strike group, including Russia's state-of-the-art KA-52K Katran helicopters.
The cruiser's deck-based aircraft will join the Syrian campaign from October 2016 to January 2017.
The air group's tasks
The deployment of the Admiral Kuznetsov amounts to a planned inspection of Russian arms, Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of the Arsenal Otechestva (Arsenal of the Fatherland) magazine, told RBTH.
"Sending the Admiral to Syria is a test of the operational and technical capacity and ability of our air carrier strike group, since previously Russia has never used air carriers in real combat conditions," said Murakhovsky.
Currently, the vessel carries 15 Su-33 and MiG-29K/KUB fighter jets, as well as more than 10 Ka-52K, Ka-27 and Ka-31 helicopters.
The main task of the air group will be to ensure the Russian Aerospace Forces' air defense and support the government troops in battles with militants opposed to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Murakhovsky denied reports by some Russian media that the cruiser will be involved in combat earlier than planned in response to the killing of Russian pilots near the city of Palmyra.