Modern Russian deep sea combat ships

If the Russian Navy is often in the news concerning its submarine fleet, its combatant surface fleet is today in full revival, and has new capabilities likely to pose significant problems to NATO and its naval force. foreground. This overview of the high seas combat surface units of the Russian Navy will provide an understanding of their capabilities and challenges.

Kirov class cruisers (2)

The entry into service of the cruiser Kirov in 1980 had so worried the US Navy that it decided to reactivate the 4 Iowa class battleships inherited from the Second World War, to rebalance the balance of power against the Soviet Navy. It must be said that with its 28.000 tonnes for 252 m in length, its two KN-3 nuclear reactors, and the 300 or so missiles of all types forming its arsenal, the Kirovs constitute a class of ship without equivalent even today in any world navy.
Although it inherited 4 buildings with the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Navy now has only two, one of which, Admiral Nakhimov, is being modernized. The already modernized Pyotr Velikiy is the only active unit of this class, and belongs to the Northern Fleet.

It implements 20 P-700 long-range heavy anti-ship missiles, as well as 96 S-300F / M long-range anti-aircraft missiles, reaching a range of 250 km. For its self-protection, it uses 128 3K95 Kinzhal missiles from the TOR system. Its artillery consists of a 130 mm twin-tube cannon, and 6 CIWS CAD-NA Kortik systems derived from the Pantsir system and each composed of 2 30 mm Gatling guns at very high rate of fire, and 8 anti-fire missiles. -Short range aerials 9M311. Finally, for anti-submarine warfare, it uses 3 RBU rocket launchers and 10 533mm torpedo tubes, as well as 3 Kamov ASM helicopters.

75% of this article remains to read,
Subscribe to access it!

The Classic subscriptions provide access to
articles in their full version, and without advertising,
from 6,90 €.

Newsletter subscription