A Russian state-run media website recently reported that Moscow plans to build the “biggest aircraft carrier in the world” to compete with the US’s 11 full-sized Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.

The new Russian carrier concept, called the “Shtorm,” would match the size of the US’s current carriers, displacing about 100,000 tons and carrying a similar number of aircraft, despite the the site’s claim that it would be the biggest carrier in the world.

Russia currently has only one aircraft carrier, the Soviet-built Admiral Kuznetsov, which after decades in service jsut completed its first combat deployment to Syria, where it struggled to remain operational and lost at least two planes.

“On the Russian ship’s deck there were about 30 planes, while an American aircraft carrier can carry up to 90,” a Russian defense official told the site, Russia Beyond The Headlines, comparing the Kuznetsov to US carriers. “Also, the take-off speed on the Admiral Kuznetsov was a few minutes, while on an American aircraft carrier three planes can take off in one minute. Moreover, there are many tasks that the Russian ship cannot perform today. Therefore, Russia needs a new modern aircraft carrier.”

Russia’s only aircraft carrier on its way to support Assad in Aleppo. Norwegian Navy

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Featured image courtesy of USNI News