Russian Aircraft Carrier KUZNETSOV, by Brian W. McMullin, 1989 Russia’s 65,000-metric ton carrier KUZNETSOV, commissioned in 1991, marked a significant advance over their KIEV-class carrier, and was equipped with 18 SU-27 FLANKER fighters. China purchased an incomplete sister-ship in 2001, and India recently purchased an older KIEV-class carrier from the Russians, giving them a potential power projection capability in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.