Post-Stalin rejection of earlier naval approaches left the Soviet Navy rebuilding aviation experience through successive ships. The difficult Moskva helicopter carriers supplied experience for the larger Kiev class, which combined aviation with heavy missiles, and Kuznetsov added more capable fighters through short takeoff and arrested recovery. Missiles remained the primary offensive weapon, while aircraft chiefly provided air defence for home waters and ballistic-missile-submarine bastions. Each stage introduced improvements based on operating its predecessor, including differences between ships within a class. More ambitious successors also required investment in supporting infrastructure. Distant offensive disruption remained largely the work of cruisers and submarines until projected later carrier designs began to suggest a broader role.
Chapter · 32:54-40:14
Soviet carriers evolved for bastion defense
The Soviet path from Moskva through Kiev and Kuznetsov produced missile-heavy carriers whose aircraft primarily defended strategic submarine bastions.