The new flagship of the Russian Navy

The new flagship of the Russian Navy will be the nuclear-powered cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov," Military Watch Magazine reports.

The Russian Navy's nuclear-powered cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov". (Source: TASS)

According to this report, the nuclear-powered cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov" will become the new flagship of the Russian Navy.

After modernization, the ship will be equipped with the most powerful weapons, including Zircon and Calibre hypersonic missiles. This will make the "Admiral Nakhimov" one of the most powerful surface ships in the world .

The authors of the paper note that restarting the nuclear reactors is a sign that the ship is ready for sea trials.

The "Admiral Nakhimov" was built in the 1980s and has a displacement of 28,000 tons. It is one of four Kirov-class nuclear-powered cruisers. Modernization has significantly improved the ship's combat potential, making it one of the most powerful ships in the world.

The cruiser Admiral Nakhimov has been docked since 1999, with a major overhaul and modernization process beginning in 2013, carried out by the Sevmash shipyard.

"Efforts to bring the 'Admiral Nakhimov' back into active service have been repeatedly interrupted, partly due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but it's also important to remember that this has never been an easy task," noted Thomas Newdick, a journalist for the American military website War Zone .

Although its exterior has not changed much since the Soviet era, the "Admiral Nakhimov" is now equipped with the most modern electronic, communication, and weapon systems available in Russia today. The nuclear reactor on board remains unchanged, but the operational and control equipment will be upgraded, ensuring stable and safe operation for decades.

The original armament, consisting of 20 P-700 Granit supersonic anti-ship missiles, will be replaced with Kalibr cruise missiles and P-800 Oniks supersonic anti-ship missiles, making the "Admiral Nakhimov" a multi-purpose combat ship capable of anti-ship, anti-submarine warfare, and attacking ground targets from a distance of 2,500 km.

This warship can also carry Zircon hypersonic missiles, as this type of missile shares the same vertical launch system with the Kalibr and Oniks systems.

After the upgrade, the ship can carry a maximum of 176 vertical launch systems, including 80 tubes for anti-ship and anti-land missiles, and 96 anti-aircraft missiles of the naval version of the S-400 system. Close-range defense tasks will be assigned to 8 Pantsir-M complexes with a maximum of 32 missiles in combat-ready state.

"The 'Admiral Nakhimov' will be equipped with more launch tubes than any other surface warship or submarine currently operating in the world," journalist Newdich reported.