replenishment of ship's supplies and respite for the crew from stormy weather off the southwest coast of Norway. It then proceeded to the Mediterranean Sea, docking in Cyprus on 28 February. In May 2014, the ship and its task group: the Kirov-class nuclear-powered cruiser Petr Velikiy; tankers Sergey Osipov, Kama and Dubna; the ocean-going tug Altay and the Minsk (part of the Black Sea Fleet), passed the UK while sailing for home. Despite financial and technical problems, resulting in limited operations for the ship, it was expected that Admiral Kuznetsov would remain in active service until at least 2030. 2016–2017 deployment Admiral Kuznetsov set sail on 15 October 2016 from Severomorsk for the Mediterranean, accompanied by seven other vessels of the Russian Navy including the nuclear-powered battlecruiser and two s. The carrier was accompanied by an ocean-going tugboat as a precaution due to potential propulsion failure. The carrier air wing included 6-8 Sukhoi Su-33 fighters, four MiG-29KR/KUBR multi-role aircraft, Ka-52K "Katran" navalised attack helicopters, Ka-31R "Helix" AEW&C helicopters and Ka-27PS "Helix-D" search and rescue helicopters. All the Su-33 aircraft had been upgraded with the Gefest SVP-24 bombsights for free-fall bombs, giving them a limited ground-attack capability. Analysts suggested that a lack of trained pilots restricted the number of fixed-wing aircraft that could be deployed from the carrier. In the largest Russian military deployment since the Cold War, the carrier battle group sailed through the English Channel on 21 October. The British Royal Navy responded to this test by sending two of its own ships to escort the Russian warships. On 26 October 2016, the ship was reported to have passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and refuelled at sea off North Africa the following day. On 3 November 2016, the carrier battle group paused off the east coast of Crete. On 14 November 2016, a MiG-29K crashed into the sea after taking off from the carrier. The pilot ejected safely from the plane and was rescued by helicopter. The plane had run out of fuel waiting to land while the crew was attempting to repair a broken arresting cable. The carrier commander could have diverted the aircraft to land at a nearby airbase, but hesitated in the hope that the arresting gear would be repaired in time. On 15 November 2016—as part of a large-scale engagement—Admiral Kuznetsov launched Su-33 strikes against the positions of terrorist groups Islamic State and Al-Nusra