In a follow-up to our story on Russia's class aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov” we discovered that the fleet is currently off the coast of Malta and heading for eastern Mediterranean from their base in the Barents Sea. Reports say that the Russian navy and Israeli military will hold joint exercises next week close to Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The exercises, according to a report on the Famagusta website, are slated to begin on November 28 and last a week.
The article said that Russia is determined to send the message that they have invested interests in the region and will secure them. It is understood that the aircraft carrier is carrying 24-fixed wing planes and a number of helicopters. It has also been reported in the press that the Russian navy may request to use port facilities at Limassol.
The radio report also claimed that three Russian destroyers are currently anchored off the Syrian coast. Russia's naval supply and maintenance site near Syria's Mediterranean port of Tartus will be modernized to accommodate heavy warships after 2012, the Russian Navy chief said earlier this week. "Tartus will be developed as a naval base. The first stage of development and modernization will be completed in 2012," Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky said, adding it could then serve as a base for guided-missile cruisers and even aircraft carriers.
The Russian aircraft carrier is equipped with 19 aircraft Su-33, 4 Su-25 (impact) and 17 Ka-27 helicopters and will transport a large number of nuclear warheads for use on missiles P-700 Granit. Read more in a previous hellasfrappe article about this carrier here
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