The contract design of Russian navy’s new carrier will be developed by 2014 and the ship will be constructed after 2020, Lenta.ru reports with reference to Vladimir Visotskiy, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian navy.

According to him, the new ship will not be like a traditional carrier. "It will be one step ahead. The ship must perform its mission in any environment", - Visotsky explained.

The advanced carriers perform their duties in only two types of environment – “air and, at best, the lower space orbit group". "But we intend to go further – there is space, there is an underbody, there is an upperworks with uncontrolled and controlled vehicles. That is to say we intend to make an integrated carrier, which would be able to perform its mission in almost any environment", - Visotsky said, noting that the main emphasis will be put on aerospace element, able to provide the sea supremacy.

The late launch of ship’s construction is connected with the necessity of careful elaboration of its project, Visotsky explained. If we start the construction today, we will have an upgraded “Admiral Kuznetsov” or degraded” Enterprise” or “Minsk” and “Kiev”. "That is what they have to offer today. But we need to make a quantum leap", - Visotsky said.

The existence of plans for construction of the carrier has been confirmed for the first time by Anatoly Serdukov, Russian Minister of Defense, in mid-November 2011. According to him, the Ministry of Defense has ordered the elaboration of avant-project by United Shipbuilding Corporation. However, the financing of the carrier’s construction is not assumed by the State program in the area of arms for 2011-2020. As expected, the elaboration of ship’s avant-project will be completed in 2012.

At present Russian navy operate only one carrier – aircraft-carrying heavy cruiser “Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov”. The ship was built in 1985 in the network of 1143.5 "Krechet" project and put into operation in 1991. 12 ka-27 helicopters and 33 Su-33 fighters form the carrier’s air grouping. It has been reported earlier that the modernization of the cruiser will be started this year and it will be completed in 2017.