search and rescue, and small transport. For take-off of fixed-wing aircraft, Admiral Kuznetsov has a ski-jump at the end of its bow. When taking off, aircraft accelerate toward and up the ski-jump using their afterburners. This results in the aircraft leaving the deck at a higher angle and elevation than on an aircraft carrier with a flat deck and catapults. The ski-jump take-off is less demanding on the pilot's body, since the acceleration is lower, but results in a clearance speed of only requiring an aircraft design which will not stall at those speeds. The "cruiser" role is facilitated by Admiral Kuznetsovs complement of 12 long-range surface-to-surface anti-ship P-700 Granit (NATO reporting name: Shipwreck) cruise missiles, resulting in the ship's Russian type designator of "heavy aircraft-carrying missile cruiser". Unlike most western naval ships that use gas turbines or nuclear power, Admiral Kuznetsov is a conventionally powered ship that uses mazut as a fuel, often leading to a visible trail of heavy black smoke that can be seen at a great distance. Russian naval officials have said that the failure to properly preheat the heavy mazut fuel prior to entering the combustion chamber may contribute to the heavy smoke trail associated with the ship. Transiting the Turkish Straits Admiral Kuznetsovs designation as an aircraft-carrying cruiser is very important under the Montreux Convention, as it allows the ship to transit the Turkish Straits. The Convention prohibits countries from sending an aircraft carrier heavier than 15,000 tons through the Straits. Since the ship was built in the Ukrainian SSR, Admiral Kuznetsov would have been stuck in the Black Sea if Turkey had refused permission to pass into the Mediterranean Sea. However, the Convention does not limit the displacement of capital ships operated by Black Sea powers. Turkey allowed Admiral Kuznetsov to transit the Straits, and no signatory to the Montreux Convention ever issued a formal protest of its classification as an aircraft-carrying cruiser. History 1982–1991: construction and dispute of ownership Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov, constructed at Chernomorskiy Shipyard, also known as Nikolayev South Shipyard, in Nikolayev within the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) was launched in 1985, and became fully operational in 1995. An official ceremony marking the start of construction took place on 1 September 1982; in fact it was laid down in 1983. The vessel was first named Riga, then the name was changed to Leonid Brezhnev, this was followed