(These two chapters are experimental anti-piracy editions, and they've been limited to these two chapters lately, and it's a bit of a panic that the main ones have dropped recently, and I want to figure out why there is such an avalanche when the book hasn't collapsed.) ）

January 1994 was not destined to be an ordinary month, just after the crisis in Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union ushered in a second major event, the launch of the aircraft carrier Ulyanovsk.

After six years of construction, on the morning of January 27, 1994, the launching ceremony of the aircraft carrier Ulyanovsk was held. This was a milestone in the second historic development of the Soviet Navy after the Varyag. Ulyanovsk, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the Soviet Union, also symbolizes the real arrival of the era of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

As early as 1991, when the arms reduction program was underway, there was a heated political debate about whether or not to continue the construction of the Ulyanovsk, and some people thought that such a costly aircraft carrier project should be put on hold first and discussed when sufficient funds were available, after all, at that time reducing defense spending had become the mainstream view of everyone.

But Yanayev was against the crowd, believing that aircraft carriers are the symbol and soul of a country's navy, and when everyone in the room was unanimously opposed, he said, "The United States has a sizable number of Minitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service to protect American maritime hegemony, but where are our nuclear-powered aircraft carriers?" People have been ahead of us for more than ten years, and will they continue to lag behind now? ”

Yanayev does not want such a historic milestone to remain in Ukraine's shipyards forever. It is precisely because of this that it is very inconceivable that Ulyanovsk can continue to be built even when half of the strategic missile project has been cut off.

Yanayev braved the bitter cold. Also head to the shipyard to see this one-of-a-kind aircraft carrier. The aircraft carrier that was removed from the Black Sea Shipyard Platform Zero is undergoing a final inspection, and Ulyanovsk, which has a length of three hundred meters alone, is undoubtedly a huge monster that brings unparalleled shock. Not to mention the displacement of 60,000 tons, even when walking on the deck in strong winds and waves, it is like walking on the ground.

It has 4 KN-3-43 nuclear reactors, 4 steam turbines, 4 shaft propulsion, can accommodate seventy carrier-based aircraft, the most advanced radar electronic equipment installation, mythical satellite reconnaissance system. It can be said that this aircraft carrier condensed the crystallization of the USSR Ministry of Defense Industry, and only such a strong and great country could complete it.

After the completion of the construction in Ulyanovsk, face your own great masterpiece. Captain Kamarov shed tears of relief.

Most importantly, this is the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the Soviet Union, and it also symbolizes an important symbol of breaking the monopoly of Western nuclear-powered aircraft carrier technology, Yanayev stands on the deck. There are many thoughts. It is clear that the aircraft carrier was eventually equipped with a catapult device. Gorshkov's long-cherished wish before his death was also realized, and he still thought about it even at the moment when his life was about to end, "If we do not provide our carrier-based aircraft with the ability to catapult and take off, our group of people will not be forgiven by history." ”

"After catapult take-off, the carrier-based aircraft will have a greater weapon carrying capacity and, more importantly, an increase in the combat radius of the aircraft. Catapult take-off may cause the carrier to sway and vibrate, and the pilot will be more uncomfortable when ejected, but all of these disadvantages must be overcome in order to achieve better combat performance. ”

This is also the most typical rebuttal of the fact that there was no need to build a catapult on an aircraft carrier at that time. Although the carrier's ejection flight test has not yet been carried out, Yanayev believes that perhaps a larger combat radius is necessary. So there is nothing wrong with installing a catapult device.

"Is it my delusion or something else, why do I think every time I think that once a Soviet aircraft carrier is launched, an old aircraft carrier is about to be sold." Defense Minister Yazov stood beside Yanayev and said with some emotion, "Last time the Varyag was launched, two Kiev-class aircraft carriers were sold, and now the Soviet Union already has two conventionally powered aircraft carriers in the real sense and one nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, as long as one more aircraft carrier is built, then we can maintain the strength of four aircraft carriers." ”

"Then Comrade Yazov guesses, will the Indians come to us again to buy Kiev-class aircraft carriers?" Yanayev jokingly said, "After all, they really like our decommissioned aircraft carriers that we 'sell cheaply'." ”

"I hope so." "After all, there are still two ships in our hands, and the money spent on daily basic maintenance is a nightmare for us." ”

An aircraft carrier is such a thing, it doesn't take a lot of money to maintain if you smash it in your hands, and it will cost more money to maintain it if you pull it out for service, no matter what you do, it's a gold-swallowing monster.

"Otherwise, if it is said that aircraft carriers are one of the important symbols of testing a country's strength, I think Washington should have another headache."

Then Yanayev's words changed, "But the most important thing now is to find more port bases for the Soviet Navy, don't you think that for us, there are almost only a handful of ice-free ports that can be used for many years?" This was one of Yanayev's biggest problems, as the Soviet Union's alpine zone not only troubled the growth of crops, but also constrained the development of the navy.

He had a bold idea to create a large-scale naval base in the South Kuril Islands, which would become a halfway supply depot for Soviet aircraft carriers. Of course, the result of this approach is the complete severance of diplomatic relations with Japan, which has just improved its relations, and the involvement of the US Navy.

At that time, there will be another crisis of confrontation in the oceans, but the vigorous development of the Soviet Navy will inevitably clash with the interests of the United States, and it will only be a matter of time. A country with supremacy of terrestrial power still has a long way to go before it can slowly pay attention to the role of the ocean.

"If we really want to build a naval aircraft carrier fleet that can reach all parts of the world, then it is very necessary to establish military bases overseas, from the Far East to the Pacific Ocean, and even the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, I would like to see the Soviet steel waves."

The ambition was very great, and it was not until he annexed the four oceans into his own hands that Yanayev's dream of reviving the Soviet Union was completed. Mario, who had the same ambitions as Yanayev, began to panic inexplicably after seeing Ulyanovsk go into the water.

Despite National Security Adviser Lake's repeated stress that the Soviet aircraft carriers would be the first to enter service with the North Sea Fleet and that their carriers would have to be commissioned for a long time, Mario saw the launch of the Soviet Union's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers as a provocation to U.S. maritime supremacy.

"They don't threaten our Pacific interests, Your Excellency." Lake reluctantly advised him, "According to historical tradition, the new aircraft carriers of the Soviet Union will generally be the first to serve in the Northern Fleet, to maintain their Arctic Circle backyard, and to deal with pressure from Europe, so that the Ulyanovsk will not directly conflict with us, but with our allies, such as the European Union, such as Canada's Arctic interests." ”

"But we can take advantage of this time to continue the transformation of the encirclement, to increase investment in Japan, to make it the first obstacle to the Soviet advance towards the Pacific, and with this hand, the Pacific Fleet can be locked in the waters off Okhotsk for several years. Then we can take advantage of this time to develop our naval forces and try to build more than half of the number of aircraft carriers of the Soviet Union, so that the Soviet Union, which has only half of its naval strength, is no match for us in any way. ”

Lake's suggestion was so useful to Mario that he nodded his head from time to time to express his affirmation, and of course, the US president did not anticipate the terrible blow it would have to the country's sluggish economy.

But Mario, who was bent on containing the development of the Soviet Union, would not care about these things, and the only thing he cared about was that the United States did not have enough aircraft carriers, and it would continue to be built. They will not stop until the whole world is covered with American aircraft carriers, forcing the Soviet Union to have no place to stand.

"But he can only challenge our American status, but he can't shake our supremacy."

"The entire earth is out of the United States Navy, and we will never allow a second challenger!" (To be continued.) )