MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. The heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov has taken to the sea for shipbuilders’ sea trials after repairs and a major upgrade, a source in the domestic shipbuilding industry told TASS on Monday.

"The Admiral Nakhimov heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser has taken to the sea for shipbuilders’ sea trials," the source said.

TASS has no official confirmation of this information yet.

As the source specified, the first stage of testing will take place in the White Sea. After that, the trials will proceed in the Barents Sea for several months.

On August 12, Head of the All-Russian Movement for the Support of the Navy Captain 1st Rank Vladimir Maltsev told TASS that the Admiral Nakhimov warship would take to the sea for trials in August.

TASS reported in January that nuclear reactors had been physically launched on the missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov.

The heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov has been under repairs since 1999. Real work on the warship has been carried out since 2013. The upgrade has substantially boosted the cruiser’s strike capabilities. According to open source data, the warship will carry 10 versatile shipborne launchers for eight Kalibr-NK and/or Oniks cruise missiles each.