Russia Rethinks Its Battlecruiser Plans
There has been repeated speculation that the Russian Navy’s Kirov-class battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov could finally return to service later this year after a decades-long refit.
Last month, Russian media announced the successful activation of the second nuclear reactor on the Project 11442M warship.
The Russian battlecruisers, officially designated “heavy nuclear missile cruiser (TARKR),” are the largest surface combatants and nuclear-powered warships apart from the U.S. Navy’s fleet of Nimitz-class and Gerald R. Ford-class supercarriers.
Admiral Nakhimov has been undergoing its modernization since 2015. After it was first put in for repairs, the Russian Navy set a goal for the warship to begin sea trials by the end of 2018. When the Kremlin failed to meet that deadline, questions were raised about whether the battlecruiser, one of four built during the Cold War, would return to service.
Good Questions About the Battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy
Even as Moscow seems intent on returning Admiral Nakhimov to service, there are now questions about what it means for the sister battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great), which state media previously announced would be decommissioned.
“A principal decision on decommissioning the Pyotr Veliky has been made. This is due to take place after the Admiral Nakhimov re-enters service,” a source in the Russian Navy told Tass in July 2023.
The decision not to see Pyotr Veliky undergo modernization almost certainly comes from money. Even operating it is pretty expensive, which explains why it has not been deployed to sea since that announcement was made.
“Speculation regarding its retirement intensified in July 2023 when Pyotr Velikiy was absent from Russia’s annual Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg,” reported the French-based United24media.
“Reports at the time suggested that the crew had been reduced to a minimal maintenance team, barely enough to keep the ship’s onboard systems functional.”
Will the Battlecruiser Just Languish in Port?
It is unknown when and where the eventual scrapping of the former flagship of the Russian Navy will occur, but as of this month, the nuclear-powered battlecruiser was spotted at Severomorsk.
“[sic] We have the following: Pyotr Velikiy (Kirov class), Marshal Ustinov (Slava class), 2x Gorshkov class (Kasatonov & Gorshkov(??), Ushakov (Sovremenny), 1x Udaloy class (Kulakov(?)). Okolnaya only had a floating crane alongside,” open-source military intelligence reports suggest.
There is also speculation that the Kremlin is waiting for Admiral Nakhimov to begin sea trials so that it can at least lay claim to having the largest non-carrier surface combatant in service, even if it hasn’t left port in nearly two years.
Is the Battlecruiser’s Retirement Looming?
At this point, Moscow seems to be taking its traditional “wait and see” approach, even as the two other TARKR warships, Admiral Ushakov (ex-Kirov) and Admiral Lazarev (ex-Frunze), have both been sent for scrapping.
Cost may also be an issue due to the vessel’s nuclear reactors.
Unlike conventionally powered warships, those with nuclear propulsion require special care when breaking them up. That is something the United States Navy also learned the hard way with the former USS Enterprise, the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that was retired after more than five decades in service.
Even as smaller nuclear-powered vessels had been disposed of, dealing with such a large warship presented added challenges for the U.S. Navy. It was estimated that dismantling the carrier could take at least five years and cost between $554 and $696 million at a commercial yard.
One issue is that the U.S. simply lacks the facilities to deal with the retired carriers while it struggles to build the next generation of flattops. The situation is no better in Russia, which has also seen a decline in facilities compared to what the Soviet Union had during the Cold War.
Russia’s Battlecruisers: Key Facts
Each of the Russian Navy’s four Kirov-class battlecruisers displaced 24,300 tons (standard) and 28,000 tons (full load).
The vessels measured 252 meters in length and 28.5 meters in the beam. Though significantly smaller than the massive battleships of the Second World War, the battlecruisers were still more significant than many World War I-era capital ships.
Moreover, though developed in the Cold War, the warships were each armed with an impressive array of weapons, including twenty P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles, sixty-four 3K95 Kinzhal surface-to-air missiles, forty-eight S-300FM Fort-M surface-to-air missiles, and six Kashtan point defense gun/missile systems.
The keel-laying ceremony for the Pyotr Velikiy occurred on April 25, 1986.
Initially named Kuibyshev, the vessel was renamed Yuri Andropov in honor of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The warship was finally launched on April 25, 1989.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992, the battlecruiser was rechristened Pyotr Velikiy in honor of Tsar Peter I, founder of the Russian Imperial Navy.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites, with over 3,200 published pieces and over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author at [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock/ Kuleshov Oleg.