TNI: Admiral Nakhimov cruiser returns to sea after long repairs
The Admiral Nakhimov nuclear-powered cruiser has completed its first series of tests after a long modernization, TNI writes. This largest nuclear-powered surface warship will become the flagship of the Russian navy and is a symbol of the country's military glory.
Peter Suchu
Admiral Nakhimov may become the flagship of the Russian fleet, as Moscow has abandoned plans for a similar expensive modernization of the Peter the Great ship of the same type.
Last weekend, the Russian Navy's nuclear-powered battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov completed its first series of sea trials and may soon return to service after a break of more than 25 years.
This missile cruiser is the largest nuclear-powered surface warship, not counting the aircraft carriers of the US Navy. Last month, he began testing the propulsion system and other key systems. Admiral Nakhimov joined the Soviet Navy in 1988 under the name Kalinin and sailed for the last time in 1997.
The Russian shipyard Sevmash, which carried out the repairs and supervised the subsequent sea trials, announced additional inspections that will take place later this year in the Barents Sea.
“The Admiral Nakhimov heavy nuclear missile cruiser, which underwent modernization and major repairs at Sevmash, has successfully completed the first stage of factory sea trials and arrived at the factory's regular berth. At this stage, the operation of the main power plant and a number of shipboard systems and mechanisms was checked,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Admiral Nakhimov's long return to sea
By all accounts, Admiral Nakhimov will become a record holder for the duration of repairs. Other warships, in particular the four Iowa-class battleships of the US Navy, have already returned to service after decades of downtime, but the Russian cruiser has not been decommissioned or sent to reserve.
Nevertheless, the ship's last combat mission took place in July 1997. Two years later, the ship was towed to the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk for scheduled repairs.
Then things came to a standstill as the Russian government discussed the future of the Cold War-era ship. In 2006, it was decided to modernize the cruiser. However, due to budget constraints, work began only in 2013. Modernization continued for more than ten years.
In August, the Admiral Nakhimov finally left the dry dock in Severodvinsk and began its first sea trials in almost three decades.
Admiral Nakhimov is a symbol of Russia's military glory
The Russian Navy's third Kirov-class missile cruiser, Admiral Nakhimov, entered service with the Soviet Navy in 1988 under the name Kalinin. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992, the ship was renamed in honor of Pavel Nakhimov, Admiral of the Russian Empire and hero of the Crimean War. Despite the fact that Nakhimov served during the Russian Empire, he is considered one of the most famous military heroes of the country, and his memory was honored even under Stalin.
The cruiser sailed to the Mediterranean in 1991, but due to the financial difficulties faced by Russia after the end of the Cold War, it rarely left the port and subsequently lay in dry dock for more than a decade. This led to the assumption that Moscow would write it off and scrap it.
The initial modernization schedule set by the Kremlin stipulated that the ship would return to service by 2018, but numerous delays followed. Two of its nuclear reactors were commissioned only last year, with work on the first completed in December 2024, and the second finally launched only in February.
The propulsion system has remained virtually unchanged since the ship's development, and repairs have focused primarily on its armament. It is reported that it is equipped with 80 vertical launch cells of the UCSC in ten eight-cell modules. Thus, the cruiser will become a powerful missile “truck".
Upon returning to service, Admiral Nakhimov will be able to carry missiles to attack land targets, Kalibr anti-submarine missiles, as well as Onyx anti-ship and Zircon hypersonic missiles. In addition, it will be equipped with the S-400 Triumph air defense system, which will provide it with powerful air and missile defense.
The Admiral Nakhimov is returning to service and may become the flagship of the Russian fleet, as Moscow has abandoned plans for a similar expensive modernization of the Peter the Great ship of the same type. The Kremlin has apparently realized that this attempt will be even more expensive and time-consuming. The unresolved question is whether the repair of the Admiral Nakhimov was worth all the effort and whether the Russian Navy will be able to boast of having a large and heavily armed cruiser upon its completion.
During his 30-year journalism career, Peter Suchu has published more than 3,200 articles in at least forty magazines and publications. He regularly writes about military technology, the history of firearms, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. He also publishes in Forbes and Clearance Jobs, and lives in Michigan.
