25 Years Later, Russia's Kirov-Class Battlecruiser Makes a 'Comeback'

Key Points and Summary - After being docked for over two decades, Russia's Kirov-class nuclear-powered battlecruiser, the Admiral Nakhimov, is finally set to return to sea following a massive, billion-dollar refit.

-The enormous Cold War-era warship has been upgraded with a new arsenal, including Russia's much-hyped Zircon hypersonic missiles.

-However, its return is plagued by continuous delays and skepticism.

The Kir0v-Class Battlecruiser Is Back (25 Years Later)

The Russian Navy's Kirov-class nuclear-powered battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov has begun preparations for long-awaited sea trials after more than 25 years in deep refurbishment, Russian media confirmed this week.

The 252-meter-long vessel - one of only three remaining Kirov-class cruisers - was first commissioned in 1988 and has been laid up at the Sevmash shipyard since 1999. A modernization program was authorized in 2006, but work did not begin in earnest until 2013, with repeated postponements and delays pushing back its return to service.

The parent company of Sevmash, United Shipbuilding Corporation, confirmed the latest development last week. Board chairman Andrey Kostin said in remarks released by the Kremlin's press service that the Nakhimov is expected to begin sea trials following the completion of repair work. Kostin added that the ship could soon be returned to the Russian Navy's active roster.

The milestone Follows news from February that both of the cruiser's nuclear reactors are functioning again. The state-run TASS news agency reported that one reactor was reactivated in December 2024, while the second became operational on February 2, 2025. A source familiar with the inner workings of the project told the agency that the ship's power plant was fully operational and that plans were underway for sea trials in the summer of 2025 - suggesting that the project is still on track.

The refit, estimated to have cost more than $1 billion, has been one of the most ambitious ever undertaken by the Russian Navy.

The project has upgraded virtually all of the ship's major systems, replacing older Soviet-era hardware with new weapons and sensors supported by modern computer systems.

Reports from earlier this year indicated that the ship now has 174 vertical launch cells, with about half reserved for Kalibr, Oniks, and Zircon cruise missiles.

Its layered air defenses have also been reinforced with S-300FM launchers and Pantsir-M close-in weapon systems (CIWS).

The Kirov-Class Doubts...

Despite these improvements However, some analysts are skeptical about the ship's overall value in modern naval warfare. Writing for this outlet, national security columnist Steve Balestrieri described the ship as a "Cold War holdover."

"Putin wants a return of a blue water navy, but the navy doesn't have the surface power to achieve it. The nuclear reactors on the Nakhimov are nearing the end of their life and have little useful life left before they need to be replaced," Balestrieri said.

The Kirov-class Admiral Nakhimov isn't a modern warship "but a relic of the Cold War; along with Russia's non-existent aircraft carrier, this isn't going to help return to a blue-water navy," he added.

If the Admiral Nakhimov clears its upcoming sea trials, it would rejoin the fleet for the first time in more than two decades, serving alongside the Pyotr Veliky.

About the Author:

Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments' approaches to today's pressing issues. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency .

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