The carrier air wing the Soviet Navy was still developing

Did the Soviet Navy possess a capable and suitable carrier-aircraft lineup?

Not yet, but it was developing one, and Ulyanovsk could have supported a substantially more capable air wing if completed.

The Soviet Navy had not yet fielded the complete carrier-aircraft lineup envisaged here, although development was under way. A completed Ulyanovsk-class carrier is expected in this counterfactual to have supported a stronger air group. Its projected nuclear propulsion, roughly 72,000-ton displacement and capacity for about fifty aircraft place it on a different scale from an Invincible-class carrier. The Soviet programme illustrates the gap between an interesting technical idea and delivering it in service. The F-35B comparison is a claim about influence from earlier Yak vertical-lift research, rather than a detailed account of the American aircraft's development.