PeZook wrote:I don't think I need a 100 000 tonne megacarrier.
100 tonne, maybe not. But 40-50,000 carriers already are capable of fulldeck operations without STOVL, so building those could come handy. The UCSR is shifting towards a more full-scale, heavy tonnage carrier Navy, whereas other powers may need other types of carriers, but still.

The Kiev class carriers will be going to SLEP instead of retirement - saves money, and I've really underestimated the ship operation age w/good service.
BTW, some quick calcs are showing that the naval progress of the UCSR is quite good

at least, referring to the yardstick of the world's primary naval power:
UCSR
Summary nuclear supercarrier tonnage: 360,000 ton (2x Stanislav, 2x Ulyanovsk)
Summary fulldeck carrier tonnage: 810,000 ton (2x Stanislav, 2x Ulyanovsk, 4x Kuznetzov, 4x mod.Kiev)
Summary large-deck LPD tonnage: 80,000 ton (2x Kherson) [additionally, smaller LPD tonnage 40,000, 2x Yuzhao t.071]
Total carrier and large LPD tonnage: 890,000 ton
Wilkonia
Summary nuclear supercarrier tonnage: 711, 200 ton (7x Ford)
Summary fulldeck carrier tonnage: same [Wilkonia operates only nuclear carriers]
Summary large-deck LPD tonnage: 205,750 ton (5x Wasp)
Total carrier and large LPD tonnage: 916,950 ton
Ratios (UCSR to Wilkonia)
Nuclear carriers: 0,51:1
Fulldeck carriers: 1,14:1
Large LPD: 0,39:1
Total carrier/large LPD: 0,97
Dirty sub comparison
Wilkonia - only SSNs, but all VLS-capable. Summary tonnage: 126,400 ton
Summary VLS cruise missile power: 192 Tomahawk class or similar VLS launched missiles (excludes tube launched missiles if such are in the arsenal)
UCSR - SSNs and heavier SSGNs, all VLS-capable. Summary tonnage: 870,400 ton
Summary VLS cruise missile power: 200 (40 fast SLCMs + 160 Kh-101 stealth slow SLCMs), excluding tube launched Kh-55/555 family slow SLCMs.
Summary VLS anti-ship dedicated missile power: 424 (Bolid ramjet missile, 700 km range with RORSAT or plane guidance).
Summary VLS missile power: 624 missiles.
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The disparity in nuclear carriers, of course, shows, but having 50% of the largest power's nuclear carrier fleet is a huge achievment in itself; so is having slightly more fulldeck tonnage than Wilkonia has. Wilkonia's huge edge in large LPDs is explainable (Wilkonia is US-modelled), but large LPDs still aren't carriers par se. The UCSR on the other hand has really lots of smaller LPDs (Ivan Rogovs, Ivan Grens) - maybe not that versatile, but for a major war they are not quite relevant whereas for a small war, the two Khersons would suffice.
In the submarine department, the UCSR is far, far superior to Wilkonia and it operates not many, but still several different classes of submarines with variable armament. This gives the much needed versatility for cruise missile attacks - for example the Typhoon Mod 941UM SSGNs with Meteorit-M missiles can augment attacks with Kh-101 stealth SLCMs. The UCSR also operates dedicated anti-ship missile armed subs - despite the relative "obsolete" Bolid missile it's still capable of a formidable Mach 4 speed and operates on a ramjet. Augmenting slow missile attacks by these boats is also an ability that Wilkonia's strategic arsenal decidedly lacks. That is not unexpected since the UCSR has determined that submarines are a more survivable weapon in case of a large confrontation with either MESS or Japanistan. In case of a lopsided naval balance in a war, submarines of the UCSR will bear the brunt of destructive tasks. SSGNs and VLS-capable SSNs have replaced SSBNs in their role, basically.
I'm well satisfied with the naval programme that the UCSR has executed in the last decade.
Moreover, the core CATO forces are now rising to rough parity with the MESS in naval strength, both tonnage-wise and function wise. Of course, the drawbacks are that many CATO forces are, tonnage-wise, composed from smaller and often non-nuclear ships, but in reality a smaller fulldeck carrier is almost as large a potential threat as a large one if left unchecked, and the range improvements with the new Frequesue bases allows CATO to maintain a strong strategic counterbalance on the seas.