 Kirov class battlecruiser Frunze |
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | Leningrad |
| Operators: |  Soviet Navy Russian Navy |
| Built: | 1974-1998 |
| In service: | 1980- |
| Building: | 0 |
| Planned: | 5 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Cancelled: | FADMSU Kuznetsov/Dzerzhinskiy |
| Active: | Admiral Nakhimov (ex-Kalinin) Pyotr Velikiy (ex-Yuriy Andropov) |
| Lost: | 0 |
| Preserved: | Admiral Lazarev |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 24,300 tons standard, 28,000 (full load) |
| Length: | 252 m (830 ft) |
| Beam: | 28.5 m (94 ft) |
| Draft: | 9.1 m (30 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft CONAS, 2× KN-3 nuclear propulsion with 2× GT3A-688 steam turbines 140,000 shp[1] |
| Speed: | 32 knots (59 km/h) |
| Range: | 1,000 nautical miles (2,000 km) at 30 knots (56 km/h) (combined propulsion), unlimited at 20 knots (37 km/h) on nuclear power |
| Complement: | 710 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
Radars (NATO reporting name): |
| Armament: | 20 P-700 Granit (SS-N-19 Shipwreck) AShM 14 SS-N-14 Silex ASW cruise missiles (Ushakov only) 12x8 (96) S-300PMU Favorit SA-N-6 Grumble surface-to-air missiles (Ushakov, Lazarev, Nakhimov) 96 S-400 (SA-NX-20 Gargoyle) long-range SAM (Pyotr Velikhy) 192 9K311 Tor (SA-N-9 Gauntlet) point defense SAM 44 OSA-MA (SA-N-4 Gecko) PD SAM 2x RBU-1000 305 mm ASW rocket launchers 2x RBU-12000 (Udav-1) 254 mm ASW rocket launchers 1 twin AK-130 130 mm/L70 dual purpose gun (2x AK-100 100 mm/L60 DP guns in Ushakov) 10 533 mm ASW/ASuW torpedo tubes, Type 53 torpedo or SS-N-15 ASW missile 8x AK-630 hex gatling 30 mm/L60 PD guns (Ushakov, Lazarev) 6x CADS-N-1 Kashtan missile/gun system (Nakhimov, Pyotr Velikhy) |
| Armour: | 76 mm plating around reactor compartment, light splinter protection |
| Aircraft carried: | 3 helicopters |
| Aviation facilities: | Below-deck hangar |
The Kirov class battlecruisers are the largest and most powerful surface combatant warships in the Russian Navy and the largest and most powerful surface combatant warships (i.e., not an aircraft carrier or submarine) in the world. Originally built for the Soviet Navy, in Russia they are usually known by the designation Project 1144 Orlan (sea eagle).
They are second in size only to aircraft carriers, and are similar in size to a World War I battleship. Because of this, the ships are sometimes known as battlecruisers in the West. It is more appropriate to consider Kirov an oversized guided missile cruiser, analogous to the U.S. Navy Alaska-class large cruiser, which had the displacement and armament of a battlecruiser but otherwise was closer to a heavy cruiser in mission and construction. Soviet and Russian naval analysts always referred to it as a TAKR ("large missile cruiser"; a literal translation from Russian - Heavy Nuclear (-Powered) Missile Cruiser). The appearance of the Kirov class played a large role in the recommissioning of the Iowa-class battleships by the United States Navy in the 1980s.[citation needed]
The Kirov hull design also was used for the nuclear-powered SSV-33 command ship.
Contents |
Armament
This class is equipped with missiles and guns as well as electronics. Its largest radar antenna is mounted on its foremast, and called "Top Pair" by NATO. 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, and air defense is provided by 12 × 8 S-300F launchers with 96 missiles and 2 × 20 Osa-MA with 40 missiles. The ships had some differences in sensor and weapons suites; the lead ship Kirov came with SS-N-14 ASW missiles; on subsequent ships these were replaced with 9K331 Tor SAM systems. The 9K331 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 (CADS-N-1) air-defence missile/gun system on later ships.
Other weapons are the automatic 130 mm AK-130 gun system (except on Kirov which had two single 100 mm guns instead), 10 × torpedo/missile tubes (capable of firing SS-N-15 missiles on later ships), Udav-1 with 40 anti-submarine rockets and the 2 × RBU-1000 six-tube launchers.
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. She may have been cannibalized as a spare parts cache for the other ships in her class.
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.[2]
Kalinin 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 Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great) in 1992.[3] The ship currently serves as the flagship of the Russian Northern Fleet.
On March 23, 2004, the Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Vladimir Kuroedov said Petr Velikiy's reactor was in an extremely bad condition and could explode "at any moment". This statement was later withdrawn and may have been the result of internal politics within the Russian Navy, as Admiral Igor Kasatonov (the uncle of Petr Velikiy's commanding officer, Vladimir Kasatonov) was testifying in the court hearings on the losses of K-159 and Kursk.[4]
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.[citation needed]
The fifth ship, originally to be named Fleet Admiral of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov, was never laid down and was cancelled in 1990.[3] Alternately reported to be known as Dzerzhinskiy, also ran into delays. Her name was changed to Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya (October Revolution),[5] and then Kuznetsov,[6] and later scrapped while incomplete.
Fire control
- 2 × Top Dome for SA-N-6 fire control (the forward Top Dome is replaced with Tomb Stone in Pyotr Velikiy)
- 4 × Bass Tilt for AK-360 CIWS System fire control (not in Nakhimov or Pyotr Velikiy)
- 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)
Units
| Original Ship Name | Renamed | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirov | Admiral Ushakov | December 30, 1980 | Inactive since early 1990s. Slated for scrapping[7] |
| Frunze | Admiral Lazarev | October 31, 1984 | Held as reserve in the Pacific Fleet, according to Jane's it is reportedly undergoing modernization and repairs for reactivation.[8] |
| Kalinin | Admiral Nakhimov | December 30, 1988 | Moored at Sevmash awaiting completion of overhaul since 1999. Sevmash claims the cruiser could return to active service in 2012 assuming that 20 billion RUB or about 455 million EUR in necessary funding was provided and work started immediately (November 2009). [9] |
| Yuri Andropov | Petr Velikiy | April 18, 1998 | Active |
| Dzerzhinsky | Kuznetzov | Cancelled | Never laid down[3] |
References
- ^ Janes.com
- ^ Agentsvo Natsionalnykh Novostey (Russian) 19 Sep 2009
- ^ a b c Ударные корабли, Том 11, часть 1, Ю.В. Апалков, Галея Принт, Санкт-Петербург, 2003
- ^ http://www.bellona.org/english_import_area/international/russia/navy/northern_fleet/incidents/32924
- ^ GlobalSecurity.org Ship list.
- ^ GlobalSecurity.org Project 1144.2 Orlan.
- ^ GlobalSecurity.org Project 1144.2 Orlan - Kirov class - Guided Missile Cruiser (Nuclear Powered) - class article.
- ^ http://www.janes.com/news/defence/naval/jni/jni091111_1_n.shtml
- ^ Barents Observer, Sevmash ready to modernize nuclear cruiser, 2009-11-16, [1]
External links
- Globalsecurity.org page on Kirov class
- Kirov class photos from Mark Meredith
- (Russian) Encyclopedia of ships
- (Russian) Military Reform Support Fund
- (Russian) Forum discussion of ships' armament
- FAS.org article
See also
- Kirov class cruiser for World War II-era ships
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