FREESTYLE on a TBILISI-Class Carrier
by Brian W. McMullin, 1989
The first unit of theUSSR's new 65,000-metric ton carrier (this class went through several names--BREZHNEV, TBILISI, and finally KUZNETSOV), constructed in the 1980s, was to mark a significant evolutionary advance over the KIEV-class carriers. The navy tested the Yak-41 FREESTYLE vertical takeoff fighter/interceptor as a candidate aircraft for the carrierâs air wing.
