The Russian Navy Report

Kirov Class

 

Project 1144.2 is a heavy missile cruiser that is nuclear powered. The four ships of this class were built in St. Petersburg, but only one of the units remains active.  One unit of the class is on Severodvinsk ship yard undergoing refit and repair.

It is one of the largest surface combatants in active service with a Navy (excluding aircraft carriers). They are roughly the size of a World War I era battleship. Because of their size they are often referred to as battle cruisers in the West.

 

These ships are meant to be the center of battle groups, and carry weapons in order to engage surface, subsurface, and air targets. The main armament of the ship is the SS-N-19 Shipwreck. This is a weapons system that is intended to engage large surface combatants.

 

Here is a list of the ships of this class and their current disposition:

Kirov (renamed Admiral Ushakov after the fall of the Soviet Union)- Commissioned in late 1980, the lead ship of the class suffered a reactor accident in 1990 while on patrol in the Mediterranean Sea.  She was never repaired, and likely became cannibalized in order to supply parts to the other ships of the class. Currently the ship is moored at the shipyard in Severodvinsk. It is unclear if she will be repaired and returned to service, but according to the Russian Navy all three cruisers not in active service will be refitted and modernized in order to return to the fleet by 2020.



Admiral Lazarev in Severodvinsk



Frunze (renamed Admiral Lazarev)- Commisioned in Oct. 1984. Joined the Pacific Fleet in Dec 1984.  The ship served until 1999, and was defueled in 2004-2005. According to reports she will also be returned to service.  The ship is moored in Vladivostok.

Admiral Nakhimov

Kalinin (renamed Admiral Nakhimov) – Commisioned in 1989. The ship saw little action, and has been moored in Severodvinsk since 1999. The ship entered refit in 2008, and should rejoin the fleet sometime in the next few years.

Pyotr Veliky

Pyotr Veliky (originally named Yuri Andropov)- Because of finiacial delays this unit wasn’t commissioned until 1996. Upon commissioning the ship joined the Northern Fleet and became the flagship. This is by far the most active unit, and deployed as recently as 2010.