Kirov-class battlecruiser

The Kirov-class battlecruiser is a class of nuclear-powered warship of the Russian Navy, the largest and heaviest surface combatant warships (i.e. not an aircraft carrier or amphibious assault ship) currently in active operation in the world. Among modern warships, they are second in size only to large aircraft carriers, and of similar size to a World War I-era battleship. The official designation of the ship-type is "heavy nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser", but because of their size and general appearance, the ships are sometimes referred to as battlecruisers in western media.

Originally built for the Soviet Navy, the class is named for the first of a series of 4 ships to be constructed, the SOVIET BATTLECRUISER Kirov, which was renamed RUSSIAN BATTLECRUISER Admiral Ushakov in 1992. Original plans called for the construction of 5 ships, however the last was cancelled. In Russia this class of ship is usually referred to by the designation Project 1144 Orlan (sea eagle). Only the Pyotr Velikiy is still operational, but Russia plans to reactivate the remaining three vessels by 2020.

The appearance of the Kirov class played a key role in the recommissioning of the s by the United States Navy in the 1980s.

The Kirov hull design also was used for the nuclear-powered SSV-33 command ship Ural.

Armament


The Kirov class's main weapons are 20 P-700 Granit (SS-N-19 Shipwreck) missiles mounted in deck, designed to engage large surface targets. Air defense is provided by twelve octuple S-300F launchers with 96 missiles and a pair of Osa-MA batteries with 20 missiles each. Pyotr Velikiy carries some S-300FM missiles and is the only ship in the Russian Navy capable of ballistic missile defence. The ships had some differences in sensor and weapons suites: Kirov came with SS-N-14 ASW missiles, while on subsequent ships these were replaced with 9K331 Tor SAM systems. The Tor installation is in fact mounted further forward of the old SS-N-14 mounting, in the structure directly behind the blast shield for the bow mounted RBU ASW rocket launcher. Kirov and Frunze had eight 30 mm AK-630 close-in weapon systems, which were supplanted with the Kashtan air-defence system on later ships.

Other weapons are the automatic 130 mm AK-130 gun system (except in Kirov which had two single 100 mm guns instead), 10 21-inch (533-mm) torpedo/missile tubes (capable of firing SS-N-15 ASW missiles on later ships) and Udav-1 with 40 anti-submarine rockets and two sextuple RBU-1000 launchers.

Fire control





 * 2 × Top Dome for SA-N-6 fire control (the forward Top Dome is replaced with Tomb Stone in Pyotr Veliky)
 * 4 × Bass Tilt for AK-360 CIWS System fire control (not in Nakhimov or Pyotr Veliky)
 * 2 × Eye Bowl for SA-N-4 fire control (Also for SS-N-14 in Ushakov)
 * 2 × Hot Flash/Hot Spot for SA-N-11 Grisom (CADS-N-1 units only)
 * 1 × Kite Screech for AK-100 or AK-130
 * 2 × Cross Sword for SA-N-9 (Gauntlet-equipped units only)

Deployment
The lead ship, Kirov (renamed Admiral Ushakov in 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union) was laid down in June 1973 at Leningrad's Baltiysky Naval Shipyard, launched on December 27, 1977 and commissioned on December 30, 1980. When she appeared for the first time in 1981, NATO observers called her BALCOM I (Baltic Combatant I).

Kirov suffered a reactor accident in 1990 while serving in the Mediterranean Sea. Repairs were never carried out, due to lack of funds and the changing political situation in the Soviet Union.

In 1983, a command and control ship, the SSV-33 command ship Ural was launched, although the ship would not be officially commissioned until 1989. It utilized the basic hull design of the Kirov-class vessels, but with a modified superstructure, different armament, and was intended for a different role within the Soviet Navy. The Ural was decommissioned and laid up in 2001, due to high operating costs.

SOVIET BATTLECRUISER Frunze, the second vessel in the class, was commissioned in 1984. She was assigned to the Pacific Fleet. In 1992, she was renamed Admiral Lazarev. The ship became inactive in 1994 and was decommissioned four years later. The ship is currently held in reserve. On 19 September 2009, General Popovkin, Deputy MOD for Armaments, said that the MOD is looking into bringing Lazarev back into service.

SOVIET BATTLECRUISER Kalinin, now Admiral Nakhimov, was the third ship to enter service, in 1988. She was also assigned to the Northern Fleet. Renamed Admiral Nakhimov, she was mothballed in 1999 and reactivated in 2005. She is in overhaul at Severodvinsk Shipyard.

Construction of the fourth ship, Yuriy Andropov, encountered many delays; her construction was started in 1986 but was not commissioned until 1998. She was renamed RUSSIAN BATTLECRUISER Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) in 1992. The ship currently serves as the flagship of the Russian Northern Fleet.

On March 23, 2004, English language press reported that the Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief, Fleet Admiral Vladimir Kuroedov said Pyotr Veliky's reactor was in an extremely bad condition and could explode "at any moment". Russian language reporting actually said that the condition of the propulsion plant was such that it could get worse at any moment. This statement was later withdrawn and Russian sensationalist press speculated it may have been the result of internal politics within the Russian Navy, alleging that Admiral Igor Kasatonov was the uncle of Pyotr Veliky's commanding officer, Vladimir Kasatonov), who was testifying in the court hearings on the losses of SOVIET SUBMARINE K-159 and RUSSIAN SUBMARINE Kursk.

The ship was sent to port for a month, and the crew lost one-third of their pay. Examinations found no problems with the ship's reactor.

A fifth Kirov-class cruiser was planned; originally named Fleet Admiral of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov or alternatively reported as Dzerzhinsky, the ship was never laid down. The name was later changed to Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya (October Revolution), and then just Kuznetsov; finally, on 4 October 1990, the project for a fifth ship was scrapped.