How Russia’s lone aircraft carrier will change the fight in Syria
The Kuznetsov, with its ramped flight deck and lack of a catapult system, can’t launch its jet aircraft — a mixture of MiG 29Ks and Su-33s — fully loaded with weapons and fuel, Gorenburg said. But for the Russians, that isn’t nearly as important as their military being able to field carrier-capable aircraft and training pilots in the extremely difficult task of taking off and landing from a floating runway in the middle of the ocean.
.. “This show of force, and great power status, is largely for a domestic audience,”