The "Kuznetsov"-class ships were originally designed as aircraft cruisers. "Kuznetsov" carries twelve launchers for P-700 Granit (SS-N-19 "Shipwreck") anti-ship surface-to-surface missiles, which also form the main armament of the s. The Granits would be stored in 12 vertical launchers located beneath the front deck of the ship, just before the inclined ski-jump. The top deck hatches of these launchers would open to allow the missiles to be fired, however, when open they prevented the simultaneous launch of aircraft. The heavy surface armament makes "Kuznetsov" different from other countries' aircraft carriers, which carry only defensive armament and rely on their aircraft for strike power.