Ulyanovsk and the limits of carrier independence

Building Ulyanovsk required a larger assembly and welding workshop, slipway changes, and new heavy transport equipment at the Black Sea shipyard. The planned carrier combined ski-jump fighter operations with steam catapults intended for Yak-44 airborne early-warning aircraft. The catapults sat on the angled deck because they could not run up the ski jump. Conflicting plans leave uncertainty about whether every lift could comfortably handle the Yak-44. The air wing was intended to improve reconnaissance, strike coordination, and air defence while the carrier's own missiles supplied its main anti-ship striking power. Industrial infrastructure, aircraft handling, and the wider sea-control system all constrained what the carrier could do.