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The Kiev class, Soviet designation Project 1143 Krechyet (gyrfalcon), was the first class of fixed-wing aircraft carriers (heavy aviation cruiser in Soviet classification) built in the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. In addition to its aviation capabilities, the Kiev-class incorporated a large armament of anti-ship cruise missiles, surface to air missile systems, and sonar equipment, making it an aircraft cruiser.
The Soviet Union built and commissioned a total of four Kiev-class carriers, which served in the Soviet then Russian navies between 1975 and 1996. Kiev and Minsk were sold to China as museum ships, while Novorossiysk was scrapped.[3] The fourth ship, Baku, was sold to the Indian Navy as Admiral Gorshkov in 2004, and after years of extensive modifications and refurbishment, is in active service as the INS Vikramaditya.
