Kiev's cruiser, command, and aviation roles

The Kiev class improved on the Moskva concept with a more useful aviation arrangement. Concentrating on the bow's weapons makes it look like a cruiser, while the island and its facilities support a task-group command role and the flight deck supports carrier aviation. Those functions could coexist in a single design. Contemporary proposals to fit Iowa-class battleships with flight decks for Harriers provide a comparison with another hybrid approach, although those were design studies. Kiev's heavy missile battery did not make its Yak-38 Forgers effective opponents for F-14 Tomcats. The hypothetical squadron comparison treats that matchup as overwhelmingly unfavorable to the Forger, so the aircraft's useful role has to be sought elsewhere.