Russian battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov

Design

The Project 1144 Orlan (, NATO reporting name ) nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser began to be developed in 1968 for the purpose of hunting enemy submarines. The Northern Design Bureau initially planned for it to be much smaller, displacing no more than 8,000–9,000 tons, but this was rejected by the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Sergey Gorshkov. In 1971 it was decided that it should include additional weapon systems, requiring a larger design. The Project 1144 cruiser intended primarily for anti-submarine warfare was merged with the Project 1165, which would have carried anti-ship missiles. To accommodate anti-submarine, anti-ship, and anti-air missiles, the Kirov class has a standard displacement of 24,000 t and a displacement of 28,000 t when fully loaded. This makes the Kirovs the largest surface warships to have been built since World War II besides aircraft carriers. Being larger than any Western cruiser, it is often described as a battlecruiser.

The battlecruiser has a top speed of 32 kn. For such a large ship to achieve that speed, the Kirov class is equipped with a combined nuclear and steam system (CONAS) that provides 140,000 hp to its two propeller shafts. Both of its two steam turbines are connected to a KN-3 nuclear reactor and an oil-fired boiler, the latter providing additional power for the vessel to be able to reach its maximum speed. The alternative, having four to six nuclear reactors, was rejected by the designers as being too big of a design risk. It has a virtually unlimited range at lower speeds, and a top speed of 25 kn, while on nuclear power, but its range at 32 knots is limited by fuel. The Kirovs have a length of 251.1 m, a beam of 59 m, and a draft of 10.3 m. The crew consists of 710. Officers and warrant officers have about 150 single or double cabins while the petty officers and enlisted sailors have 30 quarters for 8-30 people each.

The Kirov class was described by the U.S. intelligence community in the 1980s as having "an array of weapons that makes it one of the most powerfully armed surface warships in the world." The original armament of Admiral Nakhimov included 20 P-700 Granit anti-ship missile launchers, with one missile held in each; twelve S-300F surface-to-air missile launchers with 96 missiles in total, two 4K33 Osa-M batteries with a total of 40 surface-to-air missiles. In addition the battlecruiser had one twin 130 mm AK-130 dual purpose gun, one RBU-6000 and two RBU-1000 anti-submarine missile launchers, and ten 533 mm torpedo tubes. It also had six Kortik close-in weapons systems. It has a landing pad and an under-deck hangar to hold up to three helicopters. The battlecruiser is designed to counter NATO submarines and carrier strike groups.

History

Kalinin was laid down on 17 May 1983 at Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad, launched on 25 April 1986, commissioned on 30 December 1988. It joined the Northern Fleet on 21 April 1989 though GlobalSecurity noted the cruiser was a Pacific fleet unit. After the end of the Cold War the cruiser was rarely deployed and the last time it went to sea on its own power was in July 1997. Admiral Nakhimov was towed from Murmansk to Severodvinsk on 14 August 1999 to undergo repairs. At that time it was manned by a reduced technical crew that was responsible for maintenance.

Reactivation

In 2006, a decision was made to modernize this ship instead of completing the construction of the submarine . Later in 2006, she was undergoing refit at Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, but was reported finished ahead of schedule and was announced to again be in service with the Northern Fleet. However, later reports state that the cruiser has been docked at Sevmash since 1999 without any activity. On 30 October 2008, Russian Navy representatives of the Northern Fleet announced that the first modification on Admiral Nakhimov had been started and that the ship would re-join the Russian fleet by 2012. In November 2010 the director of Sevmash, Nikolai Kalistratov, repeated this statement confirming that the Russian government had appropriated money for Admiral Nakhimov to be repaired in 2011 (costing over 50 billion rubles.) However he also said that the funds were insufficient and more were needed to bring the ship back to active service. After finishing repairs, Admiral Nakhimov was reported as likely to join the Russian Pacific Fleet. However, by 2020 it was reported that she would remain with the Northern Fleet.

In December 2011 the Sevmash shipyard stated that the refit of the ship would not be finished until after 2012. According to Sevmash General-Director Andrei Dyachkov the repairs were stopped because it was senseless to continue without having determined the final variant of modernization.

Work on modernizing Admiral Nakhimov was resumed in January 2014 with the vessel being projected to rejoin the Russian Navy in 2018. Admiral Nakhimov is slated to carry 60 Zircon hypersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles and a navalized variant of the S-400 (missile) SAM system, among other weapons. According to Sevmash as of 2 November 2015 work on removing the battlecruiser's old equipment had been completed, and work to install its replacement was about to be commenced.

In 2018, Aleksey Rakhimov, the head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, stated that the end date of the reconstruction remained 2021 or 2022, but additional changes made by the Ministry of Defense had made would require an amendment to the contract or a new contract. Trials are due to begin in 2020. In September 2019, state news agency TASS quoted Russian deputy defense minister Alexsey Krivoruchko that "It will be the most powerful navy warship. We inspected the project, the ship is now about 50% ready. As was agreed with Sevmash shipyard, we expect to receive the ship in late 2022." as reported by Jane's.

She was relaunched in August 2020 and was then expected to start sea trials in about 2023. It is expected to receive 176 VLS tubes: 80 for anti-surface and 96 for anti-air warfare. In early 2022, Sevmash CEO, Mikhail Budnichenko, noted that weapons systems for the cruiser would include: the Fort-M (NATO reporting name: SA-N-6 Grumble) and Pantsyr-M (SA-22 Greyhound) air defense systems and Paket-NK and Otvet antisubmarine warfare weapons. It was also reported that the cruiser would potentially be armed with up to 60 3M22 Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missiles.

In January 2023, it was reported that the loading of fuel and work on the power supply had begun, and that ship testing would begin later in the year. In February 2023, the head of United Shipbuilding Corporation Alexei Rakhmanov confirmed that testing of the ship would begin later in the year, and that the vessel is expected to return to service in 2024. On 30 May 2023, Sergei Shoigu announced that Admiral Nakhimov would begin sea trials before the end of 2023, with modernisation expected to be completed in 2024. On 13 June 2023, it was reported that the ship would begin sea trials in September 2023. However, on 21 June 2023, it was reported that Admiral Nakhimov would only begin sea trials in either December 2023 or May 2024, depending on how quickly modernisation work is completed. In late 2023, it was reported that sea trials would begin in Spring 2024. In June 2024, it was reported that factory sea trials would begin in the summer of 2025, and that Admiral Nakhimov would be delivered to the Russian Navy in 2026. In December 2024, TASS reported that the ship had begun factory sea trials. Its Reactor No. 1 was activated that month after being refueled, and Reactor No. 2 was activated in February 2025.

On 18 August 2025 it was claimed by a source in the shipbuilding industry that Admiral Nakhimov had started factory sea trials in the White Sea. Earlier that month, the head of the All-Russian Movement to Support the Navy said that the sea trials would begin in August. These claims were supported by video of the ship leaving harbour under tow.

References

References

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