MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov described UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon’s remarks about UK HMS Queen Elizabeth’s beauty and supremacy over the Russian Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft cruiser as nothing but bragging.
"The ecstatic statements of UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon about the exterior supremacy of the new aircraft carrier over Russia’s Admiral Kuztensov warship demonstrate his absolute ignorance of the naval science, first of all, of core differences between an aircraft carrier, which the British ship is de facto, and an aircraft cruiser of Project 1143.5, the Admiral Kuznetsov," he said.
"Like with bees, the British aircraft carrier is capable of merely releasing planes from its womb being surrounded by a swarm of warships, support vessels and submarines to ensure its protection," he said. "Unlike the Admiral Kuznetson aircraft cruiser equipped with multiple launch, anti-submarine, and what is most important, Granit anti-ship missiles, the British aircraft carrier is just a convenient large sea target."
"Bearing this in mind, it would be in the interests of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy not to demonstrate the "beauty" of its aircraft carrier out at sea closer than several hundred miles off its ‘distant relative,’" Konashenkov stressed.
Earlier, UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said in an interview with the Telegraph described the Admiral Kuznetsov as "dilapidated" and said that the Russians "will look at this ship [HMS Queen Elizabeth - TASS] with a little bit of envy." "We will take every precaution to make sure that they don't get too close, but I think they will be admiring her," he said.