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Novorossiysk in 1986
Class overview
Builders:	Chernomorsky Shipyard 444
Operators:	Soviet Navy  Russian Navy  Indian Navy
In service:	28 December 1975
Ships in class:	4
Ships active:	INS Vikramaditya
Ships scrapped:	Novorossiysk
Ships preserved:	Kiev Minsk
General characteristics
Length:	273 m (896 ft)
Beam:	32.6 m (107 ft)
Draught:	10 m (33 ft)
Propulsion and power:	8 turbopressurized boilers, 4 steam turbines (200,000 shp), four shafts
Speed:	32 knots (59 km/h)
Complement:	1,200 to 1,600
Armament:	See article for variations 80 to 200 surface-to-air missiles 2 dual-purpose guns 8 close-in weapons systems 10 torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried:	Up to 30, including: 12 × Yak-38 aircraft 16 x helicopters
Aviation facilities:	Abbreviated angled aft flight deck

The Kiev class carriers (also know as Project 1143 or as the Krechyet (Gyrfalcon) class) were the first class of fixed-wing aircraft carriers built in the Soviet Union.

First laid down in 1970 the Kiev class was partially based on a design for a full-deck carrier proposed in Project Orel. Originally the Soviet Navy wanted a supercarrier similar to the American Kitty Hawk class, however the smaller Kiev class design was chosen because it was considered to be more cost effective.

Unlike American or British carriers the Kiev class is a combination of a cruiser and a carrier. In the Russian navy this class of ships is specifically designated as a heavy aviation cruiser rather than just an aircraft carrier. The intended mission of the Kiev class was support for strategic missile submarines, other surface ships and naval aviation, it was capable of engaging in anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and surface warfare.

A total of four Kiev class carriers were built and commissioned, serving in the Soviet and then Russian Navy. The first three having served out their lifetimes were decommissioned and have been either scrapped or sold as recreational pieces to China. The fourth ship, Admiral Gorshkov, was modernized and sold to the Indian Navy in 2004.

• Designer: Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau
• Builder: Nikolayev South (formerly Chernomorsky Shipyard 444)
• Power Plant: 8 turbopressurized boilers, 4 steam turbines (200,000 shp), four shafts
• Length: 273 meters overall (283 m for Vikramaditya)
• Flight Deck Width: 53 meters
• Beam: 32.6 meters
• Displacement: 43,000-45,500 metric tons full load
• Speed: 32 knots (59 km/h)
• Aircraft: 26-30
  • 12-13 Yak-38 VSTOL
  • 14-17 Ka-25 or Ka-27/29 helicopters
• Crew: 1,200-1,600 (including air wing)
• Armament:
  • Kiev and Minsk:
    • 4 × twin SS-N-12 Sandbox SSM launchers (8 missiles)
    • 2 × twin SA-N-3 Goblet SAM launchers (72 missiles)
    • 2 × twin SA-N-4 Gecko launchers (40 missiles)
    • 2 × twin 76.2 mm AA guns
    • 8 × AK-630 30 mm CIWS
    • 10 × 21" torpedo tubes
    • 1 × twin SUW-N-1 FRAS Anti-Submarine Rocket launcher
  • Novorossiysk:
    • 4 × twin SS-N-12 Sandbox SSM launchers (8 missiles)
    • 2 × twin SA-N-3 Goblet SAM launchers (72 missiles)
    • 2 × twin 76.2 mm AA guns
    • 8 × AK-630 30 mm CIWS
    • 1 × twin SUW-N-1 FRAS Anti-Submarine Rocket launcher
  • Admiral Gorshkov:
    • 6 × twin SS-N-12 Sandbox SSM launchers (12 missiles)
    • 24 × 8-cell SA-N-9 vertical SAM launchers (192 missiles)
    • 2 × 100 mm guns
    • 8 × AK-630 30 mm CIWS
    • 10 × 21" torpedo tubes
• Date Deployed: 1975 (Kiev)

• Kiev (1972–1993)
• Minsk (1975–1993)
• Novorossiysk (1978–1993)
• Admiral Gorshkov (1982–1995), now Vikramaditya (EIS 2008)

• List of aircraft carriers of the Russian Navy
• List of aircraft carriers

• History of soviet aircraft carrier development
• Article on the Kiev Class in Russian
• Article in English from FAS
• History of the Kiev (in Russian)
• Project 1143 Kiev (in Russian)
• Kiev Class Aircraft Carriers
• MaritimeQuest Kiev Class Overview