Russia debates giving up on building helicopter-carrier ships for its Navy

There’s some confusion in Russia’s shipbuilding business about whether or not the country is done trying to build helicopter carriers. Russia’s industry and trade minister, Denis Manturov, said in an interview with the news agency Interfax on August 20 that these projects, “in a pure sense of the word,” are over, though the Navy will retain a few such ships. (Manturov added that Russia is still discussing the construction of a second aircraft carrier.)

Almost immediately after the interview was published, however, a “high-placed source in Russia’s shipbuilding industry” told RIA Novosti that the Defense Ministry hasn’t yet made up its mind about the future of helicopter-carrier construction in Russia.

In June 2017, Viktor Bursuk, the deputy head of Russia’s Navy, said the country planned to acquire two helicopter-carrier ships and complete work on a new aircraft carrier before 2025.

Moscow wanted to buy two Mistral-class helicopter-carrier ships from France, but the deal fell through in 2015, following the annexation of Crimea. Those vessels, built for Russia, were ultimately sold to Egypt.