Sufficient funding was not secured, and the Navy looked at the possibility of a fifth, and larger, Project 1143 carrier, modified to allow for Yak-141, MiG-29K and Su-27K operations.

[5][6] To prepare for the operations of the Su-27K and the rival MiG-29K on board the new carrier, work proceeded on the development of the steam catapult, arresting gear, optical and radio landing systems.

[6] The first Su-27K prototype, piloted by Viktor Pugachyov, made its maiden flight on 17 August 1987 at the NITKA facility; the second followed on 22 December.

[2][6] Viktor Pugachyov, piloting the second Su-27K, became the first Russian to conventionally land aboard an aircraft carrier on 1 November 1989.

The pilot, Pugachyov, reduced engine throttle, accidentally causing the detents (blocks used to restrain aircraft from accelerating) to retract and the fighter to move forwards.

[12] Notable improvements over the Su-33 included a revised forward fuselage and leading edge slats, bigger wings and stabilators.

[14] This modernized Su-33 was to compete with a potential Chinese indigenous version of the original Su-33, the Shenyang J-15, and to encourage orders from the Russian Navy.

[16] According to military author Richard Fisher, it has been speculated that further modifications to a new production batch would include a phased-array radar, thrust vectoring nozzles, and long-range anti-ship missiles.

[16] In September 2016, it was announced the Su-33 will be outfitted with new sighting and computing system SVP-24 from the Russian company Gefest & T, that will allow the aircraft to use unguided bombs with a similar precision as guided ones, giving it an ability of a strike fighter.

[19] The second stage of the modernization is to include installation of more powerful engines and detection systems, according to Naval Aviation Chief Major-General Igor Kozhin.

[21] The leading edge slats, flaperons and other control surfaces are enlarged to provide increased lift and manoeuvrability at low speeds, although the wingspan remains unchanged.

[21] The wings and stabilators are modified for folding to maximise the number of aircraft the carrier can accommodate and to allow ease of movement on deck.

[21] The Su-33 sports canards that shorten the take-off distance and improve manoeuvrability, but have required reshaping of the leading edge root extensions (LERX).

[23] Compared with the rival MiG-29K, the Su-33's maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is 50% higher; fuel capacity is more than double, allowing it to fly 80% further at altitude (or 33% at sea level).

If the Varyag, Oryol and Ulyanovsk had been commissioned, a total of 72 production airframes would have been built; the early-airborne warning and MiG-29K would also have proceeded, instead of being abandoned.

[31] However, in 2015, Chief of the Naval Aviation General Major Igor Kozhin, announced that a second fighter regiment would be formed to augment the current force, with the MiG-29Ks to be used by the new unit.

[citation needed] The main targets were ammunition warehouses, gathering and training centers and weapon production plants.

Russia's state weapons exporter, Rosoboronexport, was previously negotiating an order of 50 aircraft totalling US$2.5 billion.

[41] However, worries over other Chinese intentions emerged when it was reported that China had acquired one of the T-10Ks, a Su-33 prototype, from Ukraine, potentially to study and reverse engineer a domestic version.

[43][44] Photos of Shenyang aircraft designers posing in front of a T-10K carrier based fighter prototype strongly suggest that the J-15 is directly related to T-10K.

[13][47][48] The size of the Su-33 reportedly led to concerns over potential difficulties in operating it off the Indian carriers, a constraint not shared by the smaller MiG-29K.