Earlier ships could reload their large anti-ship missiles from below-deck magazines, while Baku carried twelve P-500 Bazalt missiles without reloads. Removing the reload magazine, railway, and dedicated lift probably freed more internal volume for aviation. The class's many Soviet designations reflected its simultaneous ASW, aviation, command, and cruiser functions. Its roughly thirty-aircraft group was only modestly larger than Invincible's despite Kiev's much greater displacement, showing how much volume the cruiser armament consumed. Concentrating on helicopter ASW and limited fixed-wing reconnaissance and interception also made the move into carrier operations less demanding than developing a full fleet carrier at once.
Chapter · 1:41:53-1:45:13
Kiev traded aircraft space for a heavy cruiser weapons fit
Kiev-class ships combined roughly thirty aircraft with a dense missile and gun battery, while later changes to missile storage offered potential space for aviation.