MOSCOW, September 23. /TASS/. The Project 1144 2M (Orlan-class) heavy nuclear-powered missile-carrying cruiser Admiral Nakhimov undergoing its repairs and upgrade at the Sevmash Shipyard in Russia’s northwest will enter sea trials in 2023, Deputy CEO of the United Shipbuilding Corporation for Military Shipbuilding Vladimir Korolyov told TASS on Thursday.

"We can say that our work is proceeding on schedule… I believe that the cruiser will enter trials in 2023," the deputy chief executive said in response to a question about the timeframe of completing the work on the Admiral Nakhimov.

In the course of upgrading the cruiser Admiral Nakhimov, the shipbuilders have to deal with a lot of issues related to the warship’s powerplant, its weapons and radio-electronic armament. Specialists are carrying out a large amount of work on the cruiser’s missile systems, he said.

The pace of work on the Admiral Nakhimov vividly demonstrates that the Sevmash shipbuilders can both construct nuclear-powered underwater missile carriers and restore the technical readiness of such unique warships as Project 1144 Orlan-class heavy nuclear-powered cruisers, the deputy chief of the United Shipbuilding Corporation said.

The heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov has been under repairs at the Sevmash Shipyard since 1999. Real work on the warship has been carried out since 2013. It was earlier reported that the heavy missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov would enter trials in 2021.

The upgrade has substantially boosted the cruiser’s strike capabilities. In particular, the warship will carry 10 versatile shipborne launchers for eight Kalibr-NK or Oniks cruise missiles. Eventually, the Admiral Nakhimov will carry Tsirkon hypersonic missiles.