MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. The heavy nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser The Admiral Nakhimov (Project 11442M Orlan), currently undergoing a refit and repairs at the Sevmash shipyards (an affiliate of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, USC) will be rearmed with fourth generation weapons, the USC said on the occasion of its 15th anniversary.
"The ship’s outdated systems and weapons will be replaced with new generation ones, which by their parameters are worthy of the image of a fourth generation vessel and the fleet’s flagship," the USC said.
Currently, repair and upgrade work is proceeding in accordance with the original schedule. The cruiser’s first sea voyage is due after the mooring trials.
"After the repairs and upgrade Russia’s Navy will have a new advanced ship capable of coping with its tasks in all crucial regions of the world ocean," the USC said.
The cruiser was withdrawn from service for repairs in 1999. The repair work has been underway since 2013. The upgrade is to considerably increase the cruiser’s attack power. It will be armed with ten universal systems for Kalibr-NK and Oniks cruise missiles. In the longer term the ship will be able to carry hypersonic Tsirkon missiles.
The USC, Russia’s largest shipbuilding holding company, accounts for 80% of ships being built in Russia. It was established under a presidential decree on March 21, 2007. According to its website, the USC incorporates 45 organizations, including design bureaus, research centers, shipyards, and ship repair and machine-building plants.