Russia Equips The Admiral Nakhimov Nuclear Warship With Kalibr Cruise Missiles And Tsirkon Hypersonic Missiles

The nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov (080). (Wikimedia Commons/Fonduedaviation)

JAKARTA - The Russian military will again get additional strength, after one of their nuclear-powered missile cruisers has finished undergoing an upgrade of combat capabilities and the addition of a number of new features.

Not a short job, as the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov (080) underwent a series of upgrades since 1999 at the Sevmash Shipyard

If nothing goes wrong, the warship which has another name Project 1144 2M (Orlan class) Admiral Nakhimov will enter sea trials in 2023, Deputy CEO of the United Shipbuilding Corporation for Military Shipbuilding Vladimir Korolyov told TASS as quoted September 23.

"We can say our work is progressing on schedule. I believe the cruiser will enter trials in 2023," the deputy chief executive said when asked about the timeline for completion of the long-term project.

Counting as a short-lived project, much work has been done although it was previously suggested the ship will enter trials in 2021. The work being carried out focuses on the ship's power generation, weapons, and radio-electronic weaponry, with specialists handling work on missile systems.

"The speed of work of Admiral Nakhimov clearly shows the shipbuilder Sevmash can build a nuclear-powered underwater missile carrier, restoring the technical readiness of warships," Korolyov explained.

Broadly speaking, this time-consuming project will increase the attack capabilities of cruisers, having 10 multi-purpose launch tubes for eight Kalibr-NK or Oniks cruise missiles. And, finally, this warship can also carry Tsirkon hypersonic missiles.