"The lack of a catapult system on board the Admiral Kuznetsov has hampered the ability of pilots to operate at sea, forcing them to carry fewer weapons and less fuel when they take-off from a specially built ramp," The Times wrote on Wednesday, November 30.
In addition, only a limited number of Russian pilots have the required level of training to take-off or land on a carrier, according to Igor Sutyagin, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.
The aerial photos made on November 20 and published by the IHS Jane's magazine, 8 Russian Su-33 and one MiG-29 are seen at the Russian base in the Syrian province of Latakia. Previously those jets were known as belonging to the Admiral Kuznetsov's wing.
The Russian fleet arrived in the eastern Mediterranean earlier this month.
Read alsoRussia's major offensive in Syria: airstrikes on Aleppo resumeAs was reported earlier, airstrikes hit the rebel-held neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo in the middle of November for the first time in weeks, as Russia announced the start of a major operation in the Syrian provinces of Idlib and Homs involving its aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.
