28.07.2008
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Russia will create 5-6 aircraft carrier groups in the Northern and Pacific Fleets, the Navy commander said on Sunday.
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Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky said the Navy command had decided to build sea-borne aircraft carrier systems for these fleets instead of simply aircraft carriers.
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"Everything must work in a system, including aircraft carriers. We have called them sea-borne aircraft carrier systems, which will be based in the Northern and Pacific Fleets. The construction of such systems will begin after 2012," Vysotsky said before reviewing a military parade on the occasion of Navy Day in Russia.
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Vysotsky said new sea-borne aircraft carrier systems will operate in close contact with Russia's orbital group of military satellites, and also with the Air Force and air defense.
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At present, Russia has only one operational aircraft carrier, the <i>Nikolai Kuznetsov</i>, which was commissioned in the early 1990s and has recently re-entered service after a prolonged overhaul.
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The ship, also known as Project 1143.5 heavy aircraft carrier, is currently deployed with Russia's Northern Fleet and has recently participated in a two-month tour to the Mediterranean as part of Russia's plans to resume its continual presence in different regions of the world's seas.
