Soviet Union Began Building Nuclear Supercarrier in 1988; Ukraine Scrapped It in 1992
On November 25, 1988, the Soviet Union began construction of its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Ulyanovsk, at the Black Sea Shipyard in Nikolayev. The 73,000-ton vessel was designed with four reactors, two steam catapults, a ski jump, and capacity for 70 aircraft, including fighters and radar planes. It was intended to overcome limitations of earlier Soviet carriers like the Admiral Kuznetsov. However, construction stopped in November 1991 due to the Soviet Union's dissolution and economic collapse. The unfinished hull, with reactors never installed, sat in newly independent Ukraine. On February 4, 1992, Ukraine ordered the hull scrapped, ending the project. The article also traces the Soviet Navy's long debate over carrier doctrine, from smaller hybrid ships to the ultimately unrealized Ulyanovsk.
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