The military and political journal Military Watch Magazine concluded that Russia could earn billions of dollars if it preserves and returns to service its only heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, Admiral Kuznetsov, which currently faces the risk of decommissioning and scrapping.

According to the publication, bringing the ship back into the Russian Navy with a modernized air wing could create major opportunities for Russia’s defense industry.

Analysts noted that keeping the cruiser in service would allow Moscow not only to conduct joint strategic exercises with allies that operate similar warships but also to demonstrate its naval aviation and related military technologies to potential foreign customers.

The magazine recalled that Russia had previously earned $2.35 billion from the sale of the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya to India and more than $2 billion from India’s purchase of MiG-29K carrier-based fighter jets for that ship. It also mentioned several smaller contracts tied to carrier operations, including an order for 14 Ka-31 airborne early-warning helicopters.

The American publication emphasized that Russia’s ability to give New Delhi access to its naval aviation technologies makes it a more attractive partner for India than France. This advantage could allow Moscow to position itself as a supplier of next-generation carrier-based aircraft, including variants of the Su-57.

The magazine warned that without an operational aircraft-carrying cruiser, Russia would lose the ability to showcase its carrier aviation technology and therefore would struggle to promote its most advanced aircraft on global arms markets.

The article concluded that scrapping Admiral Kuznetsov would effectively remove Russia from the list of serious future suppliers of carrier-based aircraft and related naval technologies.