Another major surface unit of the Russian Navy is to be brought back into service after being considered obsolete for many years.
The nuclear-powered battle cruiser, Admiral Nakhimov, was withdrawn from service in 1999, after having served in the Soviet Navy for 10 years. Admiral Nakhimov is the third battle cruiser of the nuclear-powered Kirov class (1144 Orlan project).
Altogether four vessels of this class were built and only the Pyotr Velikiy is operational. The four vessels are the Admiral Ushakov, the Admiral Lazarev, the Admiral Nakhimov and the Pyotr Velikiy.
The Admiral Nakhimov has been modernized since 2006 at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk. According to the Russian Navy’s Shipbuilding Department, the vessel will be delivered to the Navy in 2017-2018.
An earlier report mentioned that the battle cruiser was to be delivered by the end of 2019. The modernization programme includes the reconstruction of the vessel, an upgrade to the life support systems, missile systems and artillery weapons, as well as to the electronic weapons systems.
The Admiral Nakhimov will be equipped with P-800 Oniks supersonic anti-ship missiles and a navalized variant of the S-400 Triumf SAM system.
After completion of the reconstruction and modernization work, the life of the battle cruiser will be extended for at least another 35 years.