The increasing range of Western carrier aviation forced the Soviet Union to extend its reconnaissance, missile, and air-defence network farther from shore. The Tu-142 Bear F's improved capabilities, including electronic warfare, were one response. Surface groups carrying heavy missiles also needed their own reconnaissance and outer air-defence layer when operating farther out. Admiral Sergei Gorshkov could justify carriers as an extension of the familiar defensive system, an argument suited to his political audience. Carriers offered more room to manoeuvre while protecting ballistic-missile submarines, surface forces, and maritime approaches. Each increase in Western offensive reach encouraged another Soviet attempt to raise the cost of approaching its territory.
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Why carriers returned to the Soviet defensive system
As NATO strike groups gained reach, Soviet planners saw carriers as a way to expand reconnaissance and air defence around their bastions.