MOSCOW, June 8 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. Heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser of project 1144.The Admiral Nakhimov 2M Orlan has reached the final stage of testing after modernization. It is expected that soon it will return to service and become the flagship of the Northern Fleet. What is unique about the ship is in the RIA Novosti article.
Armed to the teeth
Project 1144 Orlan cruisers are the largest in the world after aircraft carriers. It has a displacement of 25.8 thousand tons, a length of 250 meters, a width of 28.5 meters, and a crew of 760 people. Russia has two pennants of this type — the second, the Peter the Great, will be sent for modernization as soon as the Nakhimov tests are completed.
Admiral Nakhimov Missile Cruiser
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Yuri Kaver
Both, in fact, are heavily armed offshore platforms capable of hitting any target. The standard set includes 20 launchers of P—700 Granit anti-ship missiles, Osa-M, Dagger anti-aircraft missile systems and S-300F Fort long-range missiles, Metel and Waterfall anti-submarine missile torpedoes, rocket launchers and AK-130 automatic double-barreled cannon.
Nuclear power plant, autonomy — two months, speed — 31 knots. The range is practically unlimited. The cruisers can operate in the Far North and are capable of ensuring Russia's military presence in the Arctic region, which many analysts consider a potential battlefield in the near future.
Heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Peter the Great
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Grigory Sysoev
However, any ship is gradually becoming obsolete. If in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Eagles were considered the pinnacle of design thought and could withstand any opponent, today the situation has changed. Modernization is needed.
New main caliber
The Admiral Nakhimov was sent for repairs back in 1999, but work actually began only in 2013. By 2015, the Sevmash plant in Severodvinsk had removed the old equipment from the ship and had the hull repaired. It was planned to complete everything by 2018, but the deadlines were repeatedly shifted. Along the way, more and more new products were introduced.
Instead of the Granites, the upgraded Admiral Nakhimov received a new main caliber — ten unified ZS14 launchers with eight missiles each. These are cruise "Calibres", supersonic anti-ship "Onyx" or hypersonic "Zircons". Thus, there are 80 TARKR strike units alone, which makes the cruiser one of the most heavily armed surface ships in the world.
The Orlans have always been distinguished by their powerful naval air defense system. Nakhimov had the S-300F Fort long—range air defense system, now the S-400 naval variant. This complex, firing various types of anti-aircraft ammunition, is capable of intercepting stealth aircraft and other aerial targets, including cruise and ballistic ones. The 40H6 missile hits objects at a distance of up to 400 kilometers.
It is assumed that 96 missiles will be placed in launch shafts on the Admiral Nakhimov. In addition, the Dirk short-range air defense system was replaced with the modern Pantsir-ME, and the Osa—M anti-aircraft missiles were replaced with the Redut system.
One against several
Anti-submarine weapons have also been updated. The Otvet complex is a launcher with a torpedo missile with a range of up to 50 kilometers. A cruise missile delivers a homing torpedo to the area where the submarine is likely to be located. The warhead falls into the water, automatically detects and destroys the submarine.
Nuclear-powered cruiser "Peter the Great" project 1144 "Orlan" in Kronstadt
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Danichev
For self—defense, the Package-NK complex protects at short range. There are two types of ammunition: MTT thermal torpedoes and M-15 rocket-propelled torpedoes. MTT strikes submarines at depths of up to 600 meters and a distance of up to 20 kilometers. The M-15 intercepts torpedoes at a distance of up to 1.4 kilometers and a depth of up to 800 meters. The system is maximally automated, independently detects and classifies the target, determines the motion parameters, giving the torpedo or anti-torpedo an accurate target designation. Both munitions are quite fast — 50 knots (92 kilometers per hour).
Of course, the electronic stuffing of the cruiser has been completely replaced with the most advanced, which will seriously increase the situational awareness of the ship's crew and significantly expand the possibilities of using onboard weapons. Nakhimov received new digital communication and control systems, life support systems, radio engineering equipment and shipboard power engineering.
In addition, an air group of three upgraded Ka-27M deck helicopters has been added. These machines will make it easier for the crew to detect submarines.
Thus, after the modernization of the TARKR, Admiral Nakhimov is actually a new ship with radically increased combat power. It is ready to carry out the tasks of both a strike carrier of hypersonic weapons and the flagship of a group of ships with strong air defense and missile defense systems, which will turn it into a key element of the Russian Navy's maritime strategy. This cruiser is capable of single-handedly resisting an aircraft carrier formation of a potential enemy. Actually, this is what the Eagles were created for.
