<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US Navy is trying to retire all of its guided-missile cruisers by 2027.</li><li>US cruisers are specialized for air defense and are among the best-armed naval ships in service.</li></ul><p>In April, the US Navy presented an <a href="https://news.usni.org/2022/04/21/navy-plans-for-all-22-ticonderoga-cruisers-to-exit-fleet-in-5-years" target="_top">ambitious plan</a> to decommission all 22 of its Ticonderoga-class cruisers by 2027.</p><p>The move is not surprising. The Navy has tried to rid itself of its cruisers for years, but Congress has consistently rejected its proposals, largely out of concern that decommissioning them would take away a much-needed weapon as China's naval force continues to grow.</p><p>With the retirement of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2005/12/21/navys-last-2-battleships-to-be-decommissioned/bfe01ca7-abbf-4ab1-954a-fa6f0d47696a/" target="_top">the last battleships</a> nearly 20 years ago, cruisers are the largest surface combatants — a category that generally doesn't include aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships — in service.</p><p>Cruisers remain among the best armed and most powerful ships in the few navies that employ them, and decommissioning the Ticonderogas would take the US out of that small and very well-armed club.</p><h2>The Ticonderoga-class</h2><div type="image" title="uss cowpens ticonderoga" height="2329" width="3500" msid="92182095" hostid="261"></div><p>Twenty-seven Ticonderoga-class cruisers were built between 1980 and 1994. They have an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-faces-another-fight-to-get-rid-of-its-cruisers-2021-8" target="_top">extensive</a> service history, with high-profile operations all over the world. The 567-foot ships displace about 10,000 tons, and they are the US Navy's most heavily armed surface combatants.</p><p>Two Mk 41 Vertical Launching Systems, each with 61 cells, can carry up to 122 missiles. Two Mk-141 missile launchers can carry up to eight more missiles. Ticonderogas are also equipped with two Mark 45 5-inch guns, two <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/phalanx-close-in-weapon-system-navy-ships-last-missiles-defense-2021-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Phalanx close-in weapon systems</a>, and two triple-tubed Mark 32 torpedo tubes.</p><p>They can be armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Evolved Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missiles, and vertical-launch anti-submarine missiles, as well as anti-satellite and anti-ballistic missiles.</p><div type="image" title="Navy cruiser Vicksburg aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt Strait of Gibraltar" height="1147" width="1530" msid="92182097" hostid="261"></div><p>Their large and diverse arsenal allows Ticonderogas to fill multiple rules, including air-defense, anti-ship anti-submarine warfare, and land-attack strikes. They primarily serve as air-defense escorts in carrier strike groups, as they have the most robust air-defense capability in the surface fleet.</p><p>They were also the first ships to be equipped with the <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39508/how-the-aegis-combat-system-is-evolving-to-dominate-naval-warfare-of-the-future" target="_top">Aegis Combat System</a>, which uses computers and radars to track hostile forces and guide friendly fire toward incoming threats.</p><p>Because of the Ticonderogas' status and armament, their stand-alone deployments are usually meant to convey a message, as with USS Port Royal's <a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2022-05-11/taiwan-strait-us-navy-cruiser-uss-port-royal-china-military-5964347.html" target="_top">transit</a> of the Taiwan Strait in May.</p><h2>The Kirovs and Slavas</h2><div type="image" title="Soviet navy Kirov battlecruiser" height="1139" width="1519" msid="92182099" hostid="261"></div><p>The Russian Navy fields two types of cruisers. The most well-known and feared are the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/soviet-nuclear-powered-cruisers-led-us-to-bring-back-battleships-2021-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kirov-class</a>, four of which were built between 1974 and 1998.</p><p>Classified as "battlecruisers" because of their heavy armament, the Kirovs are 827 feet long and displace about 28,000 tons. Their nuclear propulsion gives them range limited only by the crew's endurance and their supplies.</p><p>Designed to destroy American carrier groups, their primary armament are 20 P-700 supersonic anti-ship missiles, each capable of carrying a 1,600-pound high-explosive warhead or a nuclear one. Kirovs also carry 136 surface-to-air missiles and six close-in weapon systems, as well as one double-barreled 130mm gun, 10 torpedo tubes, and two anti-submarine rocket launchers.</p><p>Only two Kirov-class battlecruisers, Pyotr Velikiy and Admiral Nakhimov, remain in service. Pyotr Velikiy is the flagship of the powerful Northern Fleet, while Admiral Nakhimov has been undergoing modernization since 1999, though Russian officials <u><a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/02/russias-sevmash-shipyard-says-it-will-deliver-admiral-nakhimov-in-2022/" target="_top">say</a></u> it will delivered this year.</p><div type="image" title="Russian missile cruiser Moskva in the Mediterranean Sea" height="4000" width="5333" msid="92182101" hostid="261"></div><p>Nakhimov's upgrades will allow it to fire Kalibr and Onyx cruise missiles and new anti-submarine weapons, and carry Pantsir-M air-defense systems. Russian officials also claim Nakhimov will be armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles in the future.</p><p>In 1976, the Soviets laid down the first of three Slava-class guided-missile cruisers.</p><p>At 611 feet long and displacing about 11,000 tons, the Slavas are armed with 16 P-500 cruise missiles in eight distinctive dual launchers on either side of the ship. Each P-500 can carry a 2,000-pound conventional warhead or a nuclear one. Some Slavas have reportedly been armed with more modern P-1000 anti-ship missiles.</p><p>Slava-class cruisers also carry 96 surface-to-air missiles, a twin-barreled 130mm gun, six close-in weapon systems, two anti-submarine rocket launchers, and 10 torpedo tubes.</p><p>Only two Slava-class cruisers, Marshal Ustinov and Varyag, remain in active service. Marshal Ustinov is assigned to the Northern Fleet and Varyag is the Pacific Fleet flagship. Moskva, the lead ship of the class, was the Black Sea Fleet flagship until <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-ships-head-south-as-flagship-moskva-battles-extensive-fire-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it was sunk by Ukrainian anti-ship missiles</a> in April.</p><h2>The 'destroyers'</h2><div type="image" title="China Type 055 destroyer Nanchang" height="1334" width="2000" msid="92182103" hostid="261"></div><p>Two countries field warships they designate as destroyers but the US and naval experts classify as cruisers because of their size, displacement, and armament.</p><p>China's <a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/01/bigger-than-a-u-s-navy-aegis-cruiser-china-is-building-more-type-055s/" target="_top">Type 055</a>, known as the Renhai-class, is the most notable. The <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international" source="Orion">International</keyword> Institute for Strategic Studies think tank has <a href="https://twitter.com/iiss_org/status/1232624353549922305?lang=de" target="_top">said</a> it "may be the most capable multi-role surface combatant currently at sea."</p><p>At 590 feet long and displacing over 12,000 tons, Type 055s are armed with 112 VLS cells capable of launching surface-to-air missiles, anti-submarine missiles, anti-ship missiles, and land-attack cruise missiles. They also carry a 130mm gun and a close-in weapons system.</p><p>China <a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/04/china-test-fires-new-yj-21-hypersonic-missile/" target="_top">tested</a> a hypersonic missile aboard a <keyword id="14185707" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="type-055" source="Orion">Type 055</keyword> earlier this year, and in the future the ships may be <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3101244/will-china-upgrade-its-destroyers-carrier-killer-missiles" target="_top">armed</a> with anti-ship ballistic missiles <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-aircraft-carriers-arent-little-teacups-their-captains-say-2022-4" target="_top">designed to kill carriers</a>.</p><p>Type 055s are equipped with Type-346A active electronically scanned array radars, a more modern and accurate radar than the passive phased-array radar aboard Ticonderoga-class ships.</p><div type="image" title="South Korea destroyer Sejong the Great" height="845" width="1933" msid="92182104" hostid="261"></div><p>Eight Type 055s have been built and launched since 2014. At least five <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3175233/chinas-navy-puts-2-more-advanced-type-055-destroyers-service" target="_top">have been </a><a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3175233/chinas-navy-puts-2-more-advanced-type-055-destroyers-service" target="_top">commissioned</a> and two more are believed to be under construction. Their deployment is already seen as a <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3174157/china-gathers-most-powerful-destroyers-us-carrier-group-holds" target="_top">show of strength</a> — they have been spotted near <a href="https://news.usni.org/2022/05/03/chinese-carrier-liaoning-strike-group-steaming-near-japan-says-mod" target="_top">Japan</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-coast-guard-shadowed-chinese-warships-near-alaska-2021-9" target="_top">Alaska</a> — and they may be a central part of China's <a href="https://asiatimes.com/2022/05/chinas-next-generation-nuclear-carrier-floating-into-view/" target="_top">future carrier battlegroups</a>.</p><p>South Korea's <keyword id="14185708" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sejong-the-great-class" source="Orion">Sejong the Great-class</keyword> destroyers are also classified by others as cruisers. Three are in active service, each 544 feet long and displacing over 10,600 tons.</p><p>Each Sejong the Great-class ship has 128 VLS cells and 16 anti-ship missile launchers in four quad mounts. They are Aegis-equipped and provide early warning of incoming ballistic missiles.</p><p>South Korea <a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/10/south-korea-new-kdx-iii-batch-ii-destroyer/" target="_top">plan</a><a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/10/south-korea-new-kdx-iii-batch-ii-destroyer/" target="_top">s</a><a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/10/south-korea-new-kdx-iii-batch-ii-destroyer/" target="_top"> to buil</a><a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/10/south-korea-new-kdx-iii-batch-ii-destroyer/" target="_top">d</a> three more Sejong the Great-class ships that will have only 88 VLS cells but will be equipped with SM-6 missiles that Seoul <a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/04/south-korea-to-acquire-sm-6-missiles-for-kdx-iii-batch-ii-destroyers/" target="_top">plans to buy</a>, allowing them to intercept ballistic missiles.</p><h2>'Divest to invest'</h2><div type="image" title="Navy guided-missile cruiser Vicksburg" height="1429" width="2000" msid="92182108" hostid="261"></div><p>The US Navy wants to shed the Ticonderogas — including USS Vicksburg, which is in the middle of <a href="https://news.usni.org/2022/04/21/navy-plans-for-all-22-ticonderoga-cruisers-to-exit-fleet-in-5-years" target="_top">a $200 million refit</a> — as part of a broader <a href="https://seapowermagazine.org/navy-fleet-would-shrink-further-under-2023-ship-decommissioning-plan/" target="_top">"divest to invest"</a> strategy to free up resources for <a href="https://news.usni.org/2022/01/12/navy-unveils-next-generation-ddgx-warship-concept-with-hypersonic-missiles-lasers" target="_top">newer</a> and more advanced vessels.</p><p>While lawmakers and others worry that doing so will leave Navy shorthanded against China, Navy officials argue the cruisers, all of which are over 30 years old, are approaching the ends of their service lives, have outdated electronics, and will cost too much to maintain or refit. Some are even <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2022/03/09/navy-offers-a-new-argument-for-decommissioning-cruisers-theyre-not-safe/" target="_top">unsafe to operate</a>, Navy officials say.</p><p>"They're eating us alive in terms of our ability to get maintenance back on track," Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations, said in March. "We are paying tens of millions of dollars beyond what we expected to because of growth work and new work on ships that are beyond their service life."</p><p>The Navy proposed retiring five cruisers in 2023. In budget documents released this month, the House Armed Services Committee would only allow four retirements and block that of USS Vicksburg, which is one of the youngest of the five on the chopping block, a committee aide told reporters.</p><p>The 2023 budget is yet to be finalized, but the documents released this month also direct the Navy to submit a report on the costs of modernizing and extending the service lives of its other cruisers, suggesting <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-faces-another-fight-to-get-rid-of-its-cruisers-2021-8" target="_top">the </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-faces-another-fight-to-get-rid-of-its-cruisers-2021-8" target="_top">divestment</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-faces-another-fight-to-get-rid-of-its-cruisers-2021-8" target="_top"> battle</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-faces-another-fight-to-get-rid-of-its-cruisers-2021-8" target="_top"> will only continue</a>.</p>

The US Navy's plan to ditch its cruisers will leave it out of a small and well-armed club

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="46942" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Russian-Navy">Russian navy</keyword>'s Kirov-class nuclear-powered battlecruisers are among the most imposing surface ships in the world.</li><li>The Kirovs' fortunes fell with the fall of the <keyword id="6365126" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="soviet-union">Soviet Union</keyword>, but <keyword id="6358826" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword> has invested in upgrading them with new weapons and other systems.</li></ul><p>With the possible exception of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, no ships in the Russian Navy are as important or held in such high regard as the Kirov-class nuclear-powered battlecruisers.</p><p>At 827 feet long and with a displacement of over 24,000 tons, they are currently the largest surface combat ships in the world that are not aircraft carriers, and their massive armament of missiles makes them among the most powerful warships ever built.</p><p>Arriving in the latter days of the Cold War, the Kirovs were seen as a major threat - so much so that all four of the US Navy's Iowa-class battleships were reactivated and rearmed in part to deal with them.</p><h2>A nuclear battlecruiser</h2><div type="image" title="Soviet navy Kirov battlecruiser Frunze" height="1338" width="2000" msid="81514273" hostid="261"></div><p>The Kirovs were not the first nuclear warships. The US Navy had nine <a href="https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/navy-nuclear-power-cruiser-destroyer/" target="_top">nuclear cruisers</a> and one nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in service by the time the first battlecruiser, Kirov, was commissioned into the <keyword id="685666" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Soviet-navy">Soviet Navy</keyword> in 1980.</p><p>But their sheer size and massive armament set them apart from their direct <a href="https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/cgn-38.htm" target="_top">nuclear</a> and <a href="https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/cg-47.htm" target="_top">conventional</a> US counterparts. They were so large that Western observers designated them "battlecruisers," the first ships to receive that designation since World War II.</p><p>Five of the ships were planned but only four were built. Three of them, Kirov, Frunze, and Kalinin, entered service before the breakup of the Soviet Union, after which they were renamed Admiral Ushakov, Admiral Lazarev, and Admiral Nakhimov, respectively.</p><p>The fourth ship, Pyotr Velikiy (Russian for "Peter the Great"), was commissioned in 1998, almost a decade after its launch.</p><p>The Soviets designated them "heavy nuclear-powered guided-missile cruisers," and like most of the Soviet fleet, they were intended to counter the threat of US Navy carrier groups and nuclear submarines, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-and-russian-weapons-threaten-us-aircraft-carrier-dominance-2021-1" target="_top">biggest priorit</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-and-russian-weapons-threaten-us-aircraft-carrier-dominance-2021-1" target="_top">ies</a> for the Soviet Navy <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-us-navy-nuclear-powered-submarines-dominate-the-seas-2021-1" target="_top">in the event of war</a>.</p><p>Because they had nuclear propulsion, their range was limited only by mechanical problems, food supplies, and crew comfort. That extended range allowed them to pose a greater threat to carriers than other surface ships in the fleet.</p><h2>Armed to the teeth</h2><div type="image" title="Soviet navy Kirov battlecruiser" height="1365" width="2000" msid="81514276" hostid="261"></div><p>While American supercarriers are larger, no other warship is as well armed as the Kirovs.</p><p>The primary armament is 20 P-700 supersonic anti-ship missiles, each of them carrying a 1,600-pound high-explosive warhead. They could also carry low-yield nuclear warheads.</p><p>The ships also have a layered anti-air defense suite, consisting of 96 S-300F and 40 9K33 Osa surface-to-air missiles (SAM), along with 6 Kortik close-in weapon systems (CIWS).</p><p>Each Kortik has two 30 mm Gatling guns capable of firing over 4,000 rounds a minute and eight 9M311 anti-aircraft missiles, with an additional 144 9M311s in storage.</p><p>Ten torpedo tubes can fire Type 53 torpedoes as well as RPK-2 Vyuga and RPK-6 Vodopad <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVbqJOsrYPI" target="_top">anti-submarine missiles</a>. A single double-barreled AK-130 130 mm gun and multiple anti-submarine rocket launchers are also present, as is a hangar and landing pad for three Ka-25 or Ka-27 helicopters.</p><p>There are slight variations among the four ships. Admiral Ushakov, for instance, had two single-barreled AK-100 100 mm guns and a twin SS-N-14 Silex anti-submarine-missile launcher. Even with their differences, they were still considered some of the most heavily-armed vessels on the seas.</p><p>President Ronald Reagan, elected the same year Kirov was commissioned, worried about the increased Soviet naval power and initiated to bring the total number of US Navy vessels to 600.</p><p>Part of the plan involved <a href="https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwo0000unse_v9e5/page/72/mode/2up?q=Kirov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reactivating</a> all four Iowa-class battleships and arming them with Harpoon and Tomahawk missiles, as well as Phalanx CIWS.</p><h2>Time in service</h2><div type="image" title="Soviet navy Kirov battlecruiser Frunze" height="1349" width="2000" msid="81514279" hostid="261"></div><p>The first three Kirovs were commissioned in 1980, 1984, and 1988. Although they saw limited service with the Soviet Navy's Pacific and Northern Fleets, they were a source of anxiety for NATO naval commanders.</p><p>After the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia could not afford to keep all the battlecruisers operational simultaneously.</p><p>Admiral Ushakov was taken out of service in 1990 after an accident with its rector, and Admiral Lazarev was permanently docked in 1999. Both are set to be scrapped this year.</p><p>Admiral Nakhimov was commissioned in 1988 but was rarely deployed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and in 1997 it entered the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk for upgrades.</p><p>As the newest battlecruiser, Pyotr Velikiy is more modern and is the only vessel of the class in active service.</p><p>Currently the flagship of Russia's Northern Fleet, Pyotr Velikiy has operated in Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa. In 2009, it <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE51C2QZ20090213" target="_top">captured</a> 10 pirates off the coast of Somalia in what is perhaps the most uneven match in naval history.</p><h2>Modernization</h2><div type="image" title="Russia navy Kirov battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy Murmansk" height="1333" width="2000" msid="81514281" hostid="261"></div><p>Despite the Kirovs' fall from grace, the Russian Navy is attempting to revive their glory days with a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2020/08/15/russias-giant-battle-cruiser-will-return/?sh=ec25cbb66eaa" target="_top">complete refit</a> of Admiral Nakhimov, which began in earnest in 2014. The battlecruiser will receive new weapons, radars, and other electronics.</p><p>The specifics of Nakhimov's new arsenal are not known, but the <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/putin-pleased-russia%E2%80%99s-hypersonic-missile-flies-submarine-179770" target="_top">3M22 Zircon hypersonic missile</a>, reportedly capable of reaching speeds up to Mach 9, is expected to be a large part of it. Smaller than a P-700, Admiral Nakhimov may be able to carry as many as 60 Zircons.</p><p>Admiral Nakhimov's upgraded arsenal may also include Kalibr cruise missiles and dual-purpose Oniks land-attack and anti-ship missiles.</p><p>Weapons that will be included after the refit are the Fort-M surface-to-air missile system, the Pantsir-M CIWS, and the Paket-NK and Otvet anti-submarine missiles.</p><p>Russian officials have <a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/12/russias-upgraded-kirov-class-cruiser-admiral-nakhimov-set-for-late-2022-delivery/" target="_top">said</a> they expect Admiral Nakhimov to be delivered to the Navy by late 2022. It will be the most powerful warship in the entire Russian Navy and one of the most powerful in the world.</p>

Why the Soviet Union's nuclear-powered cruisers spooked the US into bringing back its battleships

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia's navy has had limited involvement in the war in Ukraine.</li><li>But the war may be affecting Russia's plans to modernize and upgrade its navy.</li></ul><p>Russia's navy has limited involvement in Ukraine, but like the rest of Russia's military, it is still feeling the effects of the war.</p><p>Ukraine has sunk a handful of Russian naval ships but the only major one has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-ships-head-south-as-flagship-moskva-battles-extensive-fire-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the guided-missile cruiser Moskva</a> — an embarrassing loss because it was the Black Sea Fleet's flagship. Away from the battlefield, however, Moscow's setbacks in Ukraine appear to be affecting its naval modernization plans.</p><p>This seems most evident with Russia's largest surface warships: its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/soviet-nuclear-powered-cruisers-led-us-to-bring-back-battleships-2021-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kirov-class nuclear-powered battlecruisers</a>, Admiral Nakhimov and Pyotr Velikiy, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-aircraft-carrier-kuznetsov-getting-ready-for-return-to-action-2021-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Admiral Kuznetsov</a>, Russia's sole aircraft carrier.</p><p>They should be the most capable vessels in Russia's surface fleet, but a combination of maintenance issues, funding woes, and poor operational records has made them the Russian navy's biggest headaches.</p><h2>Kirovs and Kuznetsov</h2><div type="image" title="Soviet navy Kirov battlecruiser" height="1139" width="1519" msid="100475631" hostid="261"></div><p>The Kirov-class battlecruisers emerged from a mid-1960s Soviet project to create nuclear-powered warships capable of destroying the nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines in service with NATO navies.</p><p>Known in Russia as the Project 1144 Orlan class, the design was eventually merged with a competing cruiser project. Construction began on the first ship, called Kirov, in 1974. By the time it was commissioned in 1980, Kirov-class battlecruisers were meant to able to take on every type of enemy vessel.</p><p>Only four of five planned vessels were actually built. The first three — Kirov, Frunze, and Kalinin — entered service in 1980, 1984, and 1988, respectively. The fourth, <a href="https://tass.com/defense/1605419" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pyotr Velikiy</a>, was commissioned into Russia's navy in 1998.</p><p>At 827 feet long and with a full displacement of 28,000 tons, Kirov-class battlecruisers are the largest surface warships in the world other than aircraft carriers. Each ship has two nuclear reactors, giving them a range limited only by the endurance of their crews and their machinery.</p><div type="image" title="Russia navy battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy" height="1294" width="2000" msid="100475632" hostid="261"></div><p>The Kirovs are also perhaps the most heavily armed warships ever. Pyotr Velikiy, the only ship still in active service, has a main armament of 20 <a href="https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/todays-missile-threat/russia/p-700-granit-ss-n-19-shipwreck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">P-700 Granit</a> anti-ship cruise missiles, each of which can carry a 1,653-pound warhead (or a nuclear warhead), has a range of 388 miles, and a top speed of Mach 2.5.</p><p>For air defense, Pyotr Velikiy carries 72 <a href="https://weaponsystems.net/system/664-S-300F+Fort" target="_blank" rel="noopener">S-300</a> surface-to-air missiles, 128 <a href="https://weaponsystems.net/system/460-3K95+Kinzhal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3K95 Kinzhal</a> SAMs, and six <a href="https://weaponsystems.net/system/518-Kortik" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3M87 Kortik</a> close-in weapon systems, each of which is armed with eight <a href="https://en.missilery.info/missile/tunguska/zur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9M311</a> SAMs. To defend against submarines, it has one <a href="https://weaponsystems.net/system/528-RBU-6000+Smerch-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RBU 6000</a> and two <a href="https://weaponsystems.net/system/569-RBU-1000+Smerch-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RBU 1000</a> anti-submarine mortars and 10 torpedo tubes that fire <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVbqJOsrYPI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anti-submarine missiles</a>. The ship also has a single twin-barreled AK-130 130mm gun at its rear, just before a helicopter hangar capable of holding multiple <a href="http://www.military-today.com/helicopters/kamov_ka27_helix.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ka-27</a> and <a href="http://www.military-today.com/helicopters/kamov_ka31.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ka-31</a> helicopters.</p><p>Initially the Kirovs' primary mission was to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-and-russian-weapons-threaten-us-aircraft-carrier-dominance-2021-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sink</a> US Navy aircraft carriers and their escorts. The battlecrusiers were to take on an escort role of their own with the development of the Admiral Kuznetsov-class carriers, with which the Soviet Navy planned to form carrier battlegroups like those of the US Navy.</p><p>When it entered Soviet service in 1991, the <a href="https://tass.com/defense/1001341" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Admiral Kuznetsov</a> was supposed to usher in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/soviet-union-aircraft-carriers-are-still-influencing-other-navies-2020-12" target="_top">a new era in Soviet naval aviation</a>, bringing fixed-wing jets to a fleet previously only be able to operate helicopters or vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft.</p><div type="image" title="admiral Kuznetsov" height="1141" width="1701" msid="100475634" hostid="261"></div><p>Admiral Kuznetsov is about 1,000 feet long and displaces about 58,000 tons — roughly as long but only half the displacement of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-begins-planning-to-decommission-nimitz-nuclear-power-carrier-2023-5" target="_top">the US's Nimitz-class carriers</a>. The Kuznetsov's air wing is composed of 18 to 24 jets, mainly <a href="http://www.military-today.com/aircraft/su_33.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Su-33s</a> and <a href="https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/mig-29k-carrier-based-multirole-fighter-aircraft/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MiG-29Ks</a>, and about a dozen Ka-27 or Ka-31 helicopters.</p><p>The Kuznetsov's main armament is 12 P-700 Granit missiles in launchers in the <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/5700/russias-carrier-was-designed-to-be-heavily-armed-even-without-its-air-wing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forward section of the flight deck</a>, just before the ski-jump. It also has 190 3K95 Kinzhal surface-to-air missiles and 14 close-in weapons systems, six <a href="https://weaponsystems.net/system/565-30mm+AK-630" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AK-630Ms</a> and eight Kortiks, for air defense.</p><p>The missile arsenal allowed the Soviets to classify Kuznetsov as a "heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser" — an important distinction, as it meant the ship could legally transit the Turkish Straits, allowing it to exit the Black Sea, where it was built.</p><h2>Mixed records</h2><div type="image" title="Soviet navy Kirov battlecruiser Frunze" height="1338" width="2000" msid="100475636" hostid="261"></div><p>The Kirovs were imposing ships. After they entered service, the US Navy <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/soviet-nuclear-powered-cruisers-led-us-to-bring-back-battleships-2021-3" target="_top">reactivated and modernized its four Iowa-class battleships</a> to add muscle to its own fleet. As stout as they and the Kuznetsov were, however, they couldn't avoid the collapse of the Soviet Union.</p><p>During the 1990s, Moscow cut its defense budgets and the military's maintenance issues mounted. The Russians ultimately <a href="https://www.oni.navy.mil/Portals/12/Intel%20agencies/russia/Russia%202015screen.pdf?ver=2015-12-14-082028-313" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote off</a> over 70% of the Soviet ships they inherited (many of which were outdated anyway).</p><p>The size and complexity of the Kirovs meant they needed constant, intense maintenance, which the Soviets and then Russians could scarcely afford.</p><p>Maintenance issues forced Kirov and Frunze out of operation in the 1990s. Russian officials decided in 2019 that repairing and modernizing them was too expensive, and both are now being scrapped.</p><p>Kalinin, renamed Admiral Nakhimov, rarely deployed after the Cold War. In 1997, it entered a shipyard in Severodvinsk and never left. In 2006, the Russians decided to give it an extensive overhaul and modernization, which began in earnest in 2014.</p><div type="image" title="Russia aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov dry dock Murmansk" height="1334" width="2000" msid="100475638" hostid="261"></div><p>As the newest ship in the class, Pyotr Velikiy was the most modern. After repairs in 2004, it had a respectable service life, which included deployments around the world. It is currently the flagship of the powerful Northern Fleet.</p><p>Like the Kirovs, the Kuznetsov has been plagued by mechanical issues. It has been so breakdown-prone that <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a18141/towing-admiral-kuznetsov-video-tugboat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an ocean-going tug</a> sailed with it on deployments in case it needed to be towed back to Russia.</p><p>In 2016, the carrier sailed to Syria — <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/first-sight-massive-russian-aircraft-9094290" target="_blank" rel="noopener">belching thick black smoke</a> along the way — for what is still its only <a href="https://vid1.ria.ru/ig/infografika/kafidov/Sputnik/int/kuznetsov/page559847.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">combat mission</a>. It didn't go well: Two jets crashed into the Mediterranean because of issues with the carrier's arresting cable, which eventually led Russia to transfer the entire air wing to a base in Syria.</p><p>After the Syria deployment, the Kuznetsov returned to port for an extensive refit. Even in port, the carrier has been unlucky. In 2018, its floating dry dock <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/10/30/russias-only-aircraft-carrier-is-damaged-when-dock-sinks-crane-punches-huge-hole-in-ship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sank</a>, causing a 70-ton crane to smash through the flight deck. Two fires, one of them deadly, have broken out on the ship since then.</p><p>Kuznetsov has been so troublesome that a Russian lawmaker recently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-politician-suggests-buying-kuznetsov-aircraft-carrier-replacement-from-china-2023-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed scrapping it and trying to acquire</a> the Kuznetsov's sister ship, which Ukraine took possession of after the Soviet collapse and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-chinese-navy-went-rogue-to-get-first-aircraft-carrier-2021-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sold to Beijing as an incomplete hull</a> in 1998. (China's navy finished and commissioned that vessel as its first aircraft carrier, Liaoning, in 2012.)</p><h2>Modernization hopes</h2><div type="image" title="Russia navy battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy" height="1333" width="2000" msid="100475640" hostid="261"></div><p>Despite the setbacks, Russia seems committed to bringing both Admiral Nakhimov and Kuznetsov back to its fleet.</p><p>Russian media has <a href="https://ria.ru/20230227/nakhimov-1854515850.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Admiral Nakhimov's cable networks and radio-electronic systems have been replaced and that it now carries Kalibr and P-800 Oniks anti-ship missiles. It is also set to receive Otvet anti-submarine missiles, the <a href="https://navyrecognition.com/index.php/focus-analysis/naval-technology/9318-analysis-1-2-review-about-pantsir-m-russian-made-medium-range-naval-air-defense-system.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pantsir-M</a> anti-air system, and the Paket-E/NK torpedo system.</p><p>Russian officials also plan to arm Nakhimov with the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-putin-invincible-zircon-hypersonic-missile-speed-accuracy-limitations-2023-2" target="_top">3M22 Zircon hypersonic missile</a>.</p><p>After work on the Admiral Nakhimov is completed, the Pyotr Velikiy is supposed to enter the same shipyard for similar upgrades. However, Russian state media, citing a navy source, <a href="https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/17565603" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in April that the battlecruiser may be retired instead because of the high costs of Admiral Nakhimov's refit. Other Russian navy sources <a href="https://ria.ru/20230420/kreyser-1866526405.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quickly denied</a> the report to another state media outlet.</p><div type="image" title="Russia navy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov" height="1085" width="1447" msid="100475641" hostid="261"></div><p>Kuznetsov was <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/russias-cursed-carrier-is-finally-in-a-drydock-that-cant-sink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">put</a> in a new, specially built dry dock in May 2022. Russian outlet Izvestia has <a href="https://iz.ru/1502941/aleksei-ramm-roman-kretcul/perevooruzhen-i-opasen-flagmanu-vmf-rossii-narashchivaiut-ognevuiu-moshch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the carrier's upgrades will include Pantsir-M air-defense systems, a new integrated air-defense control system, new boilers, and special storage facilities for new precision-guided munitions.</p><p>Izvestia has also <a href="https://iz.ru/1495800/roman-kretcul-aleksei-ramm/podniat-flagman-dlia-avianostca-admiral-kuznetcov-nabiraiut-novyi-ekipazh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the Russian navy is reforming the Kuznetsov's crew, which was mostly disbanded when the ship began its refit.</p><p>Thanks to new automated systems, the crew is supposed to number about 1,500 sailors and aviators, down from 1,900, but Kuznetsov has neither set sail nor had a functioning air wing for about seven years, and the new crew will have to get familiar the ship and its new systems.</p><p>The shipyards doing the refits have said they intend to deliver both Admiral Nakhimov and Kuznetsov sometime next year. Delivery dates for both ships have already been pushed back several times, and if the war in Ukraine forces Moscow <a href="https://jamestown.org/program/russias-questionable-naval-modernization-during-wartime/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to reconsider</a> its naval ambitions, they may never return.</p>

The Russian navy's biggest warships are becoming its biggest headaches

<ul class="summary-list"><li>On July 31, 1964, three US Navy ships set off on a mission to sail around the world.</li><li>The ships were all nuclear-powered and composed the first task force of its kind in history.</li></ul><p>On July 31, 1964, three US Navy ships set sail from Mallorca on a two-month voyage around the world.</p><p>The group, called Task Force One, was unique. Each ship — the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-spending-more-to-store-ex-enterprise-aircraft-carrier-2021-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aircraft carrier USS Enterprise</a>, the cruiser <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/long-beach-iii.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USS Long Beach</a>, and the frigate <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/bainbridge-iv.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USS Bainbridge</a> — was the first and only vessel of its class and was nuclear-powered, making TF-1 the first all-nuclear naval task force ever to set sail.</p><p>The ships represented what many hoped would be the future of US Navy surface warfare design, and their deployment, called <a href="https://www.navyhistory.org/2014/05/operation-sea-orbit-celebration-a-legacy-like-no-other/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Operation Sea Orbit</a>, was meant to demonstrate the US Navy's mastery of nuclear propulsion and the value of a nuclear naval force on a global scale.</p><h2>Nuclear-powered warships</h2><div type="image" title="Navy submarine Nautilus" height="1289" width="2000" msid="100688362" hostid="261" sizebytes="291426"></div><p>The benefits of nuclear-powered vessels had quickly become clear after the US Navy commissioned the first nuclear-powered attack submarine, USS Nautilus, in 1954.</p><p>With no need to refuel, nuclear-powered vessels were limited only by their ability to resupply and the endurance of their crew and machinery.</p><p>By the late 1950s, the Navy had fully <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-us-navy-nuclear-powered-submarines-dominate-the-seas-2021-1" target="_top">embraced nuclear-powered submarines</a> and started working on nuclear-powered surface combatants. Construction began on USS Long Beach in 1957 and it entered service in 1961, becoming the world's first nuclear-powered surface warship. A guided-missile cruiser — still a relatively new kind of warship — Long Beach had two C1W nuclear reactors.</p><p>At 721 feet long and with a crew of 1,160, Long Beach was armed with two <a href="https://www.seaforces.org/wpnsys/SURFACE/RIM-2-Terrier.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RIM-2 Terrier</a> surface-to-air missile launchers and one <a href="https://weaponsystems.net/system/1395-RIM-8%20Talos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RIM-8 Talos</a> surface-to-air missile launcher. It also had one <a href="https://weaponsystems.net/system/581-RUR-5%20ASROC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RUR-5 anti-submarine rocket</a> launcher, two 5-inch guns, and two triple-tubed torpedo launchers.</p><div type="image" title="Navy Douglas A-4C Skyhawk Enterprise Bainbridge Long Beach" height="797" width="1063" msid="100688364" hostid="261" sizebytes="156076"></div><p>Long Beach's distinctive box-shaped superstructure was designed to house the SCANFAR phased-array radar system, the first phased-array radar deployed by the US Navy. SCANFAR was composed of the AN/SPS-32 radar for air-surveillance/search duties and the AN/SPS-33 radar for target tracking.</p><p>Two months after Long Beach entered service, the Navy commissioned USS Enterprise. With eight Westinghouse A2W reactors, Enterprise was the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-begins-planning-to-decommission-nimitz-nuclear-power-carrier-2023-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in history</a>. It was just over 1,100 feet long and had a crew of about 4,600 sailors and aviators. Its air wing was usually about 60 aircraft, but it could carry up to 90. It also had the SCANFAR system.</p><p>USS Bainbridge was commissioned in 1962 and was the first nuclear-powered ship of its kind in service. (Originally considered a frigate, Bainbridge was reclassified as a cruiser in 1975.) Powered by two D2G reactors, Bainbridge was 565 feet long and had a crew of about 500. It was armed with two RIM-2 launchers, two twin-barreled 3-inch guns, one RUR-5 ASROC, and six torpedo tubes.</p><p>Enterprise was meant to project US airpower anywhere in the world, while Long Beach and Bainbridge were meant to deal with air, surface, and submarine threats. Their nuclear reactors meant that each ship could do their mission — whether it was launching aircraft or chasing submarines — for much longer than their predecessors.</p><h2>Operation Sea Orbit</h2><div type="image" title="US Navy map of Operation Sea Orbit" height="790" width="1427" msid="100688367" hostid="261" sizebytes="82706"></div><p>Operation Sea Orbit was meant to demonstrate the utility of nuclear propulsion. The ships were to circumnavigate the globe without refueling, stopping only at six ports along the way.</p><p>The task force would conduct exercises at sea and in the air, showing off US naval might in a manner similar to President Theodore Roosevelt's <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/publications/Publication-PDF/GreatWhiteFleet.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Great White Fleet in 1907</a>. It would also test how long a US Navy force could operate independently of ports in general.</p><p>The ships met in the Mediterranean on May 13. After a series of tests to ensure they could communicate and operate together, they sailed on July 31 under the command of Rear Adm. Bernard Strean.</p><p>The task force sailed along the African coast and crossed the Arabian Sea before arriving in Karachi in late August. The ships then sailed along the west coast of India, south of Indonesia, and to Australia, where Bainbridge docked in Fremantle, Long Beach in Melbourne, and Enterprise in Sydney.</p><div type="image" title="Operation Sea Orbit Enterprise Bainbridge" height="1292" width="1721" msid="100688369" hostid="261" sizebytes="178382"></div><p>After reassembling, TF-1 briefly stopped in Wellington and then sailed across the Pacific to Cape Horn before heading north. The task force visited Rio de Janeiro and then returned to the US, with Bainbridge sailing to Charleston and Enterprise and Long Beach to Norfolk. They all <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200426172943/https:/www.nytimes.com/1964/10/03/archives/atom-ships-world-cruise-great-white-fleet-nuclear-task-force-to-end.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrived</a> by October 3.</p><p>During the 65-day journey, the ships sailed more than 30,000 nautical miles and crossed the equator four times, all without refueling or taking on more supplies. There were no breakdowns or casualties, though two aircraft crashed due to mechanical failures.</p><p>The task force conducted air and naval exercises with the South African, Pakistani, British, and Australian navies and flew aerial demonstrations over Karachi, Fremantle, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Rio de Janeiro, and San Juan.</p><h2>Nuclear navy</h2><div type="image" title="Navy nuclear-powered guided-missile cruisers" height="1192" width="1589" msid="100688371" hostid="261" sizebytes="185664"></div><p>Afterward, Strean said the operation demonstrated conclusively "the special global mobility and self-sufficiency of nuclear powered surface ships."</p><p>Enterprise, Long Beach, and Bainbridge had shown they could deploy for extended periods and remain on station almost indefinitely without regular refueling or resupply while carrying a massive amount of firepower — qualities that were highly desired by US naval leaders who worried about ports being damaged or destroyed during a nuclear war.</p><p>The US Navy ultimately built seven more nuclear-powered guided-missile cruisers, with the last entering service in 1980. After the Cold War, the Navy decided the expense of nuclear-powered cruisers was no longer justified and canceled their mid-life refueling. They were all decommissioned between 1993 and 1999.</p><p>The Navy has continued building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, however. Enterprise was followed by 10 Nimitz-class carriers, and the Navy now has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-carrier-uss-gerald-ford-deploys-after-years-of-delays-2023-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one Ford-class carrier in service</a> with two more under construction.</p><p>The Soviet navy also built nuclear-powered surface warships. Its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/soviet-nuclear-powered-cruisers-led-us-to-bring-back-battleships-2021-3" target="_top">four Kirov-class battlecruisers</a> are the largest surface combatants in history other than aircraft carriers and are arguably <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-navy-struggles-with-kuznetsov-aircraft-carrier-kirov-battlecruisers-2023-5" target="_top">the most heavily armed warships ever</a> made.</p><p>Two of those battlecruisers were decommissioned in the 1990s. The third, Admiral Nakhimov, has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-navy-struggles-with-kuznetsov-aircraft-carrier-kirov-battlecruisers-2023-5" target="_top">undergoing a refit</a> since 2014. The fourth, <a href="https://tass.com/defense/1605419" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pyotr Velikiy</a>, is in active service, making it the world's only active nuclear-powered surface warship that isn't an aircraft carrier.</p>

At the height of the Cold War, the US Navy used a historic round-the-world operation to show off its new nuclear force

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The fleet <keyword id="6358826" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword> inherited from the Soviet Union quickly fell into disrepair after the Cold War.</li><li>But Moscow has invested heavily in its Navy over the past two decades.</li><li>The result is a growing and modern force that poses unique challenges to NATO militaries.</li></ul><p>The <keyword id="46942" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Russian-Navy">Russian Navy</keyword> has been busy.</p><p>It's <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/12/us/russia-military-alaska-arctic-fishing.html" target="_top">stepping up operations</a> in the Arctic, expanding its presence <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-sudan-navy-base-allows-russia-project-power-red-sea-2020-12" target="_top">in Africa</a> and <a href="https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/iran-russia-start-naval-drill-indian-ocean" target="_top">the Middle East</a>, and <a href="https://www.rand.org/blog/2020/06/russia-is-eyeing-the-mediterranean-the-us-and-nato.html" target="_top">keeping</a> a close eye on NATO <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/03/19/russia-deploys-all-black-sea-submarines-as-nato-kicks-off-drills-a73298">around Europe</a>.</p><p>It's also making progress on a number of high-profile shipbuilding projects. It plans to <a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/03/russian-navy-which-submarines-will-be-delivered-this-year/" target="_top">commiss</a><a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/03/russian-navy-which-submarines-will-be-delivered-this-year/" target="_top">i</a><a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/03/russian-navy-which-submarines-will-be-delivered-this-year/" target="_top">on</a> or receive six new submarines - three of them nuclear-powered - by the end of this year and <a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/12/russias-upgraded-kirov-class-cruiser-admiral-nakhimov-set-for-late-2022-delivery/" target="_top">expect</a><a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/12/russias-upgraded-kirov-class-cruiser-admiral-nakhimov-set-for-late-2022-delivery/" target="_top">s</a> to receive a fully modernized <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/soviet-nuclear-powered-cruisers-led-us-to-bring-back-battleships-2021-3" target="_top">Kirov-class nuclear battlecruiser</a> and to <a href="https://www.defenseworld.net/news/28463/Russian_Navy___s_Admiral_Kuznetsov_to_embark_on_Sea_Trials_in_2022" target="_top">begin sea trials</a> for its only aircraft carrier by the end of 2022.</p><p>These are impressive advances for a force that largely fell into disrepair after the Cold War. While the Russian Navy isn't as big as its Soviet forebear, the work shows that the Kremlin is committing to its modernization.</p><h2>Post-Cold War dilapidation</h2><div type="image" title="Soviet Navy ships scrap wreck" height="1321" width="2000" msid="81842977" hostid="261"></div><p>The Soviet Navy was a considerable blue-water force at the end of the Cold War, <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a18668/soviet-navy-vs-modern-day-russia-infographic/" target="_top">number</a><a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a18668/soviet-navy-vs-modern-day-russia-infographic/" target="_top">ing</a> about 650 ships by 1990. The US Navy had 570 ships in service at that time.</p><p>That Soviet fleet included seven <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/soviet-union-aircraft-carriers-are-still-influencing-other-navies-2020-12" target="_top">aircraft carriers</a>, 73 guided missile cruisers and destroyers, and as many as 260 submarines, though some of those vessels were not combat-capable and were counted to boost the fleet's numbers.</p><p>Russia inherited the bulk of the Soviet fleet after the dissolution of the USSR but couldn't afford to operate most of it. Moscow maintained a number of the larger, higher-end vessels, but ultimately wrote off 70% of the Soviet ships.</p><p>Russia's Navy went into a period of neglect and dilapidation after the Cold War, with deadly <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/major-russian-submarine-accidents-since-2000/30033592.html" target="_top">accidents</a> further tarnishing its prestige.</p><p>In 2000, the nuclear-powered submarine Kursk <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/08/12/otd-kursk-aug-12-a66818" target="_top">exploded</a> and sank, killing all 118 crewmen. In 2016, malfunctions on board its only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, caused the loss of two jets and forced its entire air wing to operate from land.</p><p>The carrier <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/russias-only-aircraft-carrier-junk-so-why-moscow-sticking-it-180408" target="_top">continue</a><a href="https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/russias-only-aircraft-carrier-junk-so-why-moscow-sticking-it-180408" target="_top">s</a> to face problems during its refit, with multiple accidents resulting in deaths and further damage.</p><p>Those incidents underline another critical problem for Russia's Navy: A lack of expertise and suitable shipyards after nearly two decades of neglect. The loss of access to Ukrainian shipyards and expertise, particularly after Russia's incursions in Ukraine in 2014, caused further problems.</p><h2>New ships, new capabilities</h2><div type="image" title="Russia navy frigate Zircon hypersonic missile SS-N-33" height="1250" width="2000" msid="81842978" hostid="261"></div><p>Today, the Russian Navy <a href="https://cimsec.org/battle-force-missiles-the-measure-of-a-fleet/" target="_top">operates</a> about 360 vessels of all types. Big guided-missile cruisers and destroyers have been largely replaced by smaller warships, such as <a href="http://www.military-today.com/navy/stereguschiy_class.htm" target="_top">corvettes</a> and frigates.</p><p>"Basically, they're building subs and small surface combatants," Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">International</keyword> Studies and a former Marine Corps colonel, told Insider. "That represents primarily a home-defense force, although they retain some ability to send forces overseas."</p><p>Corvettes like those of the <a href="http://roe.ru/eng/catalog/naval-systems/surface-ships-ships-and-boats/project-22800-karakurt/" target="_top">Karakurt</a> and <a href="http://www.military-today.com/navy/stereguschiy_class.htm" target="_top">Stereguschiy</a> classes are meant to support larger guided-missile frigates, namely the <a href="https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2020/february/russias-potent-new-frigates" target="_top">Admiral Gorshkov-class</a> and <a href="http://www.military-today.com/navy/admiral_grigorovich_class.htm" target="_top">Admiral Grigorovich-class</a>.</p><p>Many of these ships are smaller in size and armament than their NATO counterparts, but new technology and weaponry, especially the <a href="https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/todays-missile-threat/russia/ss-n-30a-kalibr/" target="_top">Kali</a><a href="https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/todays-missile-threat/russia/ss-n-30a-kalibr/" target="_top">b</a><a href="https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/todays-missile-threat/russia/ss-n-30a-kalibr/" target="_top">r cruise missile</a>, which was introduced in 2015, give them an edge.</p><p>Comparable to the US-made Tomahawk, the Kalibr can carry a 450 kg warhead to targets 1,500 km to 2,500 km away. The Kalibr has repeatedly proven its worth on Russia's ships and subs, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/world/middleeast/russias-kalibr-cruise-missiles-a-new-weapon-in-syria-conflict.html" target="_top">most notably</a> against land targets in Syria. It can also be used against naval targets.</p><p>The result is a green-water naval force with dozens of small, missile-laden ships with long-range strike capability at their core. Russia's high-end legacy ships also continue to show the flag around the world, a reminder that Moscow is still a great naval power.</p><p>"The fact that the Russians are building a lot of smaller ships but yet still have these long-range precision guided munitions really benefits that approach," Jeffrey Edmonds, a research scientist at the Center for Naval Analysis, told Insider. "You can have ships sitting in the Caspian Sea that can hit targets in Europe, and a lot of these are fairly small, so they're not difficult to produce and they're not expensive."</p><h2>Submarines</h2><div type="image" title="Russia Navy Yasen submarine Dmitry Medvedev" height="1301" width="2000" msid="81842980" hostid="261"></div><p>Like its <a href="https://cimsec.org/brad-dismukes-on-the-soviet-navy-and-attacking-ballistic-missile-nuclear-submarines/" target="_top">Soviet predecessor</a>, the Russian Navy's true strength is underwater. Russia's <a href="https://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/russia-submarine-capabilities/" target="_top">submarine force</a> is now 59 boats, including 12 nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines (SSBNs) and nine nuclear-powered cruise-missile submarines (SSGNs).</p><p>Russia hasn't embraced smaller, cheaper alternatives for its submarine fleet - largely because of the <a href="https://warontherocks.com/2020/06/escalation-management-and-nuclear-employment-in-russian-military-strategy/" target="_top">importance of nuclear weapons</a> to Russian defense doctrine and the role submarines have in launching them.</p><p>Russian military strategists also see submarines as among the best weapons to defeat the US Navy. For their part, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-nato-train-to-counter-russian-submarines-missile-threat-2020-9" target="_top">US Navy officers have taken note</a> of the <keyword id="910669" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Russian-submarine">Russian submarine</keyword> fleet's expanding capabilities.</p><p>The submarine fleet of the future will be based around <a href="http://www.hisutton.com/Borei-A.html" target="_top">Borei-class</a> SSBNs and <a href="http://www.hisutton.com/Pr885_Severodvinsk_Class.html" target="_top">Yasen-class</a> SSGNs, which are slowly replacing their predecessors. Built after the Cold War, they are <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2021/02/russian-submarines-still-a-relevant-threat/" target="_top">considered</a> the best submarines Russia has ever made and first-rate vessels on par with their NATO counterparts.</p><p>Borei-class subs have six torpedo tubes and carries 16 new <a href="https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/ss-n-32-bulava/" target="_top">RSM-56 Bulava</a> submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Each missile carries six to 10 150-kiloton nuclear warheads and can travel some 8,000 km.</p><p>Yasen-class subs have 10 torpedo tubes and eight vertical missile launchers, allowing the launch of 32 Kalibr or 24 <a href="https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/todays-missile-threat/russia/16962-2/" target="_top">P-800 Oniks</a> anti-ship missiles. The Yasen-class has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhAaFXyy9rU" target="_top">already proven</a> it is able to evade NATO detection for extended periods.</p><p>Russia has four Borei SSBNs and one Yasen SSGN in service. It hopes to have 10 Boreis and at least nine Yasens by 2030.</p><h2>A new Russian military</h2><div type="image" title="Russia Navy frigate Admiral Makarov Black Sea" height="1281" width="2000" msid="81842982" hostid="261"></div><p>The Russian Navy is currently <a href="https://asiatimes.com/2021/03/russias-kalibr-missile-puts-us-on-the-back-heel/" target="_top">outfitting</a> all its ships with Kalibr missiles and <a href="https://eurasiantimes.com/russias-yasen-m-class-nuclear-sub-to-be-armed-with-hypersonic-missiles-reports/" target="_top">plans</a> to put the <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/putin-pleased-russia%E2%80%99s-hypersonic-missile-flies-submarine-179770" target="_top">Zircon hypersonic missile</a>, which is <a href="https://tass.com/defense/1269929" target="_top">still being</a> tested, on both submarines and surface ships. The Zircon, capable of reaching speeds up to Mach 8, will further enhance the fleet.</p><p>The new investments and developments are just one part of a broader effort to modernize the Russian military.</p><p>"There was this tremendous reckoning after the disappointing showing of the Russian military against Georgia in 2008, and the Russian military has gone through a huge reorganization," Cancian said.</p><p>The Russians have slimmed down their force with the intention to make it a higher-quality, more professional force with more modern equipment.</p><p>For the Navy, this has meant restructuring the fleet, focusing on quality over quantity to the extent allowed by budgets and ship-building capability. With new weaponry, the fleet now has a larger and more important role in Russia's defense strategy.</p><p>"In a certain sense, the Navy is now more integrated into Russia's strategic framework that they refer to as '<a href="https://www.cna.org/CNA_files/PDF/DRM-2019-U-022455-1Rev.pdf" target="_top">strategic deterrence</a>,'" Edmonds said, noting that the threat from Kalibr-equipped warships enables Russia to threaten critical infrastructure <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-active-in-north-atlantic-but-russia-sub-activity-may-be-in-arctic-2018-7" target="_top">across virtually all of Europe</a>.</p><p>There are serious obstacles - the lack of expertise and infrastructure are major challenges to shipbuilding - but Russia is committed to <a href="https://tass.com/defense/1227213" target="_top">overcoming</a> them. Its Navy is not likely to reach the size of the Soviet fleet, but recent developments show that it is no longer the dilapidated force it was in the 1990s.</p><p>"The gears might be turning slowly, but they are turning again," Edmonds <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBf2nMVeWps&amp;t=20s=20s" target="_top">said</a> at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in 2019. "They're getting there."</p>

Russia's Navy is making a big bet on new, smaller warships loaded with missiles

<ul class="summary-list"><li>With massive guns and stout armor, battleships were the centerpiece of any major navy for decades before World War II.</li><li>The US Navy sent its battleships into combat from the 1890s until the Gulf War. Here's how they were used during that century of warfare.</li></ul><p>For nearly a century, battleships were the preeminent symbol of naval dominance, commanding the seas until the use of carriers became widespread during World War II.</p><p>Armed with massive guns and a host of secondary armaments, battleships were originally the centerpiece of any major fleet. They would deliver knockout blows in massive engagements and bring lesser powers to heel.</p><p>At least 21 different classes of battleships were built for the US Navy between 1888 to 1947, and they played decisive roles in projecting American power.</p><h2>The pre-dreadnoughts</h2><div type="image" title="USS Texas navy battleship" height="771" width="1024" msid="79783809" hostid="261"></div><p>By the 1880s, all-metal ships had only recently become popular. The performance of ironclads in the American Civil War and the Third Italian war of independence - particularly at the <a href="https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/hampton-roads" target="_top">Battle of Hampton Roads</a> and the <a href="https://www.naval-encyclopedia.com/the-battle-of-lissa-1866/" target="_top">Battle of Lissa</a> - showed that the future of naval warfare was armored vessels with large guns.</p><p>The first American <keyword id="389983" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Battleship">battleship</keyword>, <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/texas-i.html" target="_top">USS Texas</a>, was the US's attempt to catch up to European powers that were fitting their metal ships with rotating turrets. Texas was actually ordered in response to the purchase of European-made ships by South American countries, which briefly made Brazil the strongest naval power in the Western Hemisphere.</p><p>Texas featured two turrets with a single 12-inch gun in each. It also had six other 12-inch guns in different mounts throughout the ship, as turrets were still relatively new and secondary armaments were considered equally important.</p><p>Though Texas was a new design, the fast-paced shipbuilding environment made it largely obsolete by the time it was commissioned no less than eight other classes of battleships between 1895 and 1908, as well as a number of protected cruisers.</p><p>Dominance in the Spanish-American War in 1898, as well as the Great White Fleet's voyage around the world between 1907 and 1909, proved American naval power, but the ships themselves were still considered wanting compared to those of the major sea powers - namely Britain.</p><h2>Dreadnought battleships</h2><div type="image" title="USS New York navy battleship" height="1585" width="2000" msid="79783811" hostid="261"></div><p>Battleship design entered a new phase in 1906 when the Royal Navy commissioned HMS Dreadnought.</p><p>Dreadnought was the first warship to feature a uniform main battery with large guns in multiple turrets instead of a few large guns with a sizable complement of secondary guns. Dreadnought's general layout became the model for all future battleships, and it sparked a naval arms race around the world.</p><p>By the time of World War I, the US Navy had at least 16 battleships from eight Dreadnought-inspired classes in service.</p><p>Ships in four of those classes had 12-inch guns, while ships of the other four had 14-inch guns. The number of turrets varied, as did their number of guns: The Wyoming-class had as many as six twin turrets, while the Pennsylvania-class had four triple turrets.</p><p>Although World War I saw a number of major ship-to-ship engagements - most notably the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Jutland" target="_top">Battle of Jutland</a> - the US entered the war too late to join any major naval battles, though some of its battleships did fire on German vessels while on patrol or escort duty.</p><h2>The Washington and London Naval Treaties</h2><div type="image" title="USS Colorado navy battleship" height="1421" width="1894" msid="79783813" hostid="261"></div><p>Two more classes of battleships, the Tennessee and Colorado classes, were completed after the war ended.</p><p>The Colorados featured an upgraded armament of eight 16-inch guns in four twin turrets. The developments proved that the US had caught up and was now a major naval power.</p><p>But worries of another naval arms race sparking a second major war lead the US, Britain, France, Italy, and Japan to sign the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Five-Power-Naval-Limitation-Treaty" target="_top">Washington Naval Treaty</a> in 1922, putting strict limits on new capital ships, their total tonnage, and the size of their guns.</p><p>In the US, this resulted in the canceling of all six vessels of the planned South Dakota-class, as well as one incomplete Colorado-class battleship. No new American battleships would be under construction again until 1937.</p><p>In 1930, the London Naval Treaty extended the restrictions to submarines and cruisers, but by 1936, Japan and Italy had both renounced the treaty, and Germany had withdrawn from the League of Nations and the World Disarmament Conference.</p><p>France, Britain, and the US also signed the Second London Naval Treaty that year, in an attempt to keep the limitations alive.</p><h2>World War II</h2><div type="image" title="USS West Virginia pearl harbor" height="900" width="1123" msid="79783816" hostid="261"></div><p>All eight Battleships of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet were sunk or damaged in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The newest battleships of the North Carolina-class were in the Atlantic and had to support operations against Germany.</p><p>But the war would be entirely different than what the Navy envisioned. The Navy's aircraft carriers, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-us-navy-aircraft-carriers-avoided-destruction-at-pearl-harbor-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all of which survived the Pearl Harbor attack unscathed</a>, became the prime weapon against Japan's formidable navy, dealing decisive blows at the battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, and Eastern Solomons.</p><p>American battleships were instead mostly used to escort aircraft carriers and provide shore bombardment for amphibious landings. They engaged Axis powers' battleships only three times during the war: the Battle of Casablanca, the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, and the Battle of the Surigao Strait.</p><p>Surigao Strait, part of the larger <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leyte-gulf-biggest-naval-battle-ever-last-time-battleships-fought-2020-10" target="_top">Battle of Leyte Gulf</a>, was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leyte-gulf-biggest-naval-battle-ever-last-time-battleships-fought-2020-10" target="_top">the last battle between battleships</a> in history.</p><h2>The Cold War</h2><div type="image" title="USS Missouri Tomahawk 1991" height="606" width="900" msid="79783818" hostid="261"></div><p>By 1947, the US had decommissioned all its battleships except the four vessels of the Iowa-class. In addition, all five of the planned 48,000-ton Montana-class ships were canceled.</p><p>While World War II had proved that carriers were the kings of the seas, battleships were still extremely useful for shore bombardment and were still a symbol of naval supremacy.</p><p>The four Iowa-class battleships were held in such high regard that they were brought in and out of service multiple times during the Cold War. They provided naval gunfire support for UN forces during the Korean War and shelled Vietcong positions during the Vietnam War.</p><p>In response to the arrival of the Soviet navy's Kirov-class battlecruisers in the 1980s, the Iowas were modernized. They were given launchers for land-attack and anti-ship missiles, four Phalanx Close-in Weapon Systems, and the ability to launch unmanned aerial vehicles.</p><p>US battleships saw combat for the last time during the Gulf War in early 1991. USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin <a href="https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/battleships-pulled-off-the-biggest-ruse-of-operation-de-1754104974" target="_top">fired</a> 1,078 16-inch shells and launched 52 cruise missiles at Iraqi targets - a show of force <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-of-us-navy-battleships-firing-guns-2019-1" target="_top">meant to deceive Iraqi commanders</a> about the US-led coalition's real plans.</p><p>The end of the Cold War, the break-up of the Soviet Union, and advances in missile technology all made it harder to justify keeping such large and expensive vessels. The four Iowa-class battleships were finally decommissioned between 1990 and 1992 and are now all museum ships.</p>

You Searched For "kirov class battlecruiser" and got 6 results

The US Navy's plan to ditch its cruisers will leave it out of a small and well-armed club

Benjamin Brimelow

Why the Soviet Union's nuclear-powered cruisers spooked the US into bringing back its battleships

Benjamin Brimelow

The Russian navy's biggest warships are becoming its biggest headaches

Benjamin Brimelow

At the height of the Cold War, the US Navy used a historic round-the-world operation to show off its new nuclear force

Benjamin Brimelow

Russia's Navy is making a big bet on new, smaller warships loaded with missiles

Benjamin Brimelow

US battleships fired their guns for the last time 30 years ago. Here's how they dominated the seas for nearly a century.

Benjamin Brimelow