Young naval pilots were tested by skies

21.10.2010 Training flights were held over the Barents Sea as a preparation for long-range cruise. Practicing of takeoffs and landings on the deck of aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov were conducted in severe weather conditions.

These drills could have not been held at all. Atlantic cyclone brought rainfall and winds to the Barents Sea. Strong wind caused the most concern. Military forecasters warned the pilots that the weather was critical. Despite severe conditions, pilots decided to land on the deck. Nobody expected other reaction from the elite of Russian military aviation.

First Su-33 flied around the carrier for a long time, getting lost in clouds from time to time, suddenly flashing from the bulkhead and storming over the deck. That were pre-landing preparations, the officers said. Despite the carrier's considerable dimensions – 300 meters long – it looks from above like a matchbox swung by giant waves.

To young pilots, landing on a carrier's deck is an important and probably main stage in their career. They spend years of trainings – first on simulator, then on special deck-like airfield, and only after that they have a chance to do what is considered the most difficult thing in naval aviation.

"Only after you land on the carrier, you become a deck pilot", explains Evgeny Kuznetsov, 279th air regiment commander.

Soon major weapon of the Russian aircraft carrier will demonstrate its capabilities in the World Ocean. Admiral Kuznetsov prepares for a long-range cruise. Navy command keeps the lid on the route of Russian Navy's flagship.

The Alliance always traces all moves of this ship, and the recent drills were not an exception. NATO reconnaissance ship permanently loomed on the horizon.