Watch a Russian Su-33 depart from Kuznetsov aircraft carrier in cool 360-degree 4K video

November 18, 2016 Aircraft Carriers, Military Aviation, Russia, Troubled Areas
David Cenciotti

A panoramic camera brings you aboard Russia’s only aircraft carrier during “blue waters operations.”

Flight operations on the deck of Admiral Kuznetsov continue in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Shot with a 360-camera the following video shows Sukhoi Su-33 fighter jets being prepared for take-off and then another Flanker taking from the sky-jump of the Russian carrier.

Although the Su-33s are mainly used for air-superiority missions, screenshots from clips shot aboard the carrier showing the aircraft carrying FAB-500M-52 bombs on the centerline stations have made the rounds on social networks in the last few days, while the Russian MOD announced the beginning of the first air strikes launched from the carrier on targets located around Aleppo.

Still, we haven’t seen any clear footage of the aircraft actually taking off from Kuznetsov in that configuration even if it must be said that it’s not easy to spot the bombs carried underneath the fuselage between the air intakes.

On Nov. 13 a Russian Navy Mig-29KUBR operated by the 100th Independent Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment crashed while recovering aboard the carrier. The pilot managed to eject from the Fulcrum and was rescued by one of the Kamov helicopters embarked on Adm. Kuznetsov.

 

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

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7 Comments

    • Another sign of Russian Navy superiority. Did you ever see USS Theodore Roosevelt deploy a combat smoke screen?

  2. I’m no expert on carrier flight operations, but contrast this with what you typically see on video of a US carrier launching strikes. This seems very low key.

  3. All show, all show. The number of sorties launched from this insignificant warship won’t amount to much. Few bombs from the Ordinary Seaman Kuznetsov will ever find their way to targets in Syria. Maybe 1/1000th the tonnage of ordnance that can be put on targets by a U.S. supercarrier. But it makes the Russia fanatics puff their chests out with pride and drunken bravado. Problem is it’s all false. From the perspective of U.S. Naval Aviators, the planes and boat are nothing but a laughable joke!

  5. The oil smell from all that belching smoke coming out of the Kuznetsov’s stacks must choke the Russian pilots when they’re shooting an approach. That nauseating diesel stink must certainly get into the cockpit and work its way into their oxygen masks &straight up their nostrils. I wonder how many planes they’ve lost not just from lousy aircraft engines, but simply because the pilot filled his mask with a sudden burst of puke? Or perhaps vision is disturbed by watering eyes? Flying anywhere near that thing must feel like you’re about to land on your own casket!

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