Nuclear Cruiser Admiral Nakhimov Returns to Sea After 28 Years
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The nuclear-powered battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov, <\/em>pride of the Soviet fleet, has completed a decadal modernization and refit program. The vessel was recently spotted departing Sevmash Shipyard for long-awaited builder’s trials on the White Sea.\u00a0<\/p>\n Admiral Nakhimov<\/em> is the third of four Kirov-class nuclear battlecruisers laid down in the twilight years of the Soviet era. Designed as a true multirole surface combatant, the Kirov-class carried heavy weaponry built to target NATO’s submarines, carriers, aircraft and destroyers. The large size and weight of these weapons systems influenced the selection of a large platform: the design weighs in at 28,000 tonnes full load displacement – about three times the size of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. The class is the largest surface combatant in service today, and the only one with a nuclear powerplant. Fitted with a pair of nuclear reactors and twin oil-fired boilers, the Kirov-class can hit 32 knots at full steam.\u00a0<\/p>\n Commissioned in late 1988, Nakhimov <\/em>served in an active role for nearly a decade. But Russia’s struggling economy in the 1990s meant that funding was scarce for a super-warship like Nakhimov<\/em>; the vessel tied up at a Murmansk pier in 1997 and didn’t sail again under her own power for the next 28 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beginning in 2010, Nakhimov’s <\/em>reactor was defueled, and from 2014 onward the vessel underwent a deep refit. The weapons systems were largely removed and replaced, and Nakhimov <\/em>was fitted out to carry the more modern Kalibr anti-ship missile and the S-300FM surface to air missile system. The project’s scope was\u00a0ambitious and has been delayed multiple times; it is currently about seven years behind schedule, but has finally been seen out on sea trials.<\/p>\n Today, the Project 11442M Kirov-class heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov after repair and modernization went to sea for factory sea trials.\n
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