Story by TASS Russian news agency
“It was towed from the pool. The difficult operation is unprecedented in shipbuilding,”
Sevmash Shipyard
Sevmash CEO Mikhail Budnichenko, acting Arkhangelsk regional Governor Alexander Tsybulsky, Commander of Belomorskaya naval base Rear Admiral Konstantin Kabantsov supervised the operation.
The cruiser had large units and hull constructions replaced and new insulation and cables installed. 3D modeling was used in the overhaul.
The warship will now have life-support systems, radio-technical equipment, power supplies, missile and artillery arms replaced. The Admiral Nakhimov will have new tactical characteristics and will reinforce the surface fleet of the Russian Navy.
The Defense Ministry said Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov chaired a meeting on the overhaul and upgrade of the cruiser and called to closely interact with the United Shipbuilding Corporation and strictly observe the overhaul schedule.
The Admiral Nakhimov Orlan-class cruiser was laid on May 17, 1983 by the Baltic Shipyard and floated on April 25, 1986. It joined the Navy on December 30, 1988 as the Kalinin. The cruiser was renamed in 1992.
Sevmash has been overhauling the warship since 1999. The upgrade has actually begun in 2013. The cruiser will be armed with Kalibr and Onix missiles and Tsirkon in future.
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Naval News comments
For the record, the “Admiral Nakhimov” (Project 1144 “Orlan”) was named “Kalinin” until 1992. It was laid down on May 17, 1983 at the Baltic Shipyard. Launched on April 25, 1986 and commissioned with the Soviet Navy on December 30, 1988. On April 22, 1992 it was renamed “Admiral Nakhimov”.
The vessel arrived from Severomorsk to Severodvinsk at Sevmash shipyard to undergo repair and modernization back in 1997. On August 14, 1999, the ship was officially accepted for repair and modernization at the shipyard. However, the work did not start fora while, and only in September 2008 the spent nuclear fuel was unloaded.
In 2012, the technical project for the modernization of the ship under the project 11442M was completed. On June 13, 2013, Sevmash signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense worth 50 billion rubles for the repair and modernization of the cruiser, with a contractual deadline for its return to the fleet in 2018. On October 24, 2014, the cruiser was brought into the Sevmash pool/dry dock, after which the actual modernization work began. Experts estimate that the vessel won’t be back at sea for post-modernization sea trials until 2022 at best.
Modernization of the weapon systems includes, according to Sevmash CEO, the Fort-M (NATO reporting name: SA-N-6 Grumble) and Pantsyr-M (SA-22 Greyhound) air defense systems and the high-power Paket-NK and Otvet antisubmarine warfare weapons. According to H I Sutton, the cruiser will be also armed with the 3M22 Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missile, possibly a total of 60 missiles.
