Kirov-class battlecruiser

Kirov-class battlecruiser Frunze
Class overview
NameKirov class
BuildersBaltic Shipyard, Leningrad
Operators
Preceded byKara class
Succeeded byLider class
Built1974–1998
In service1980–present
Planned5
Completed4
Cancelled1
Active1 (1 undergoing refit)
Retired2
General characteristics
TypeHeavy guided-missile cruiser/battlecruiser
Displacement
  • 24,300 tons standard
  • 28,000 tons full load
Length252 m (827 ft)
Beam28.5 m (94 ft)
Draft9.1 m (30 ft)
Propulsion
Speed32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range
  • 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph) (combined propulsion)
  • unlimited at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) on nuclear power
Complement710
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Radars: (NATO reporting name):
    • Voskhod MR-800 (Top Pair) search 3D radar, foremast
    • Fregat MR-710 (Top Plate) 3D search radar, main mast
    • 2 × Palm Frond navigation radar, foremast
  • Sonar:
    • Horse Jaw LF hull sonar
    • Horse Tail VDS (Variable Depth Sonar)
  • Combat Management System:
    • Lesorub-44 combat information control system
Electronic warfare
& decoys
2 × PK-2 Decoy dispensers (400 rockets)
Armament
Armour76 mm plating around reactor compartment, light splinter protection
Aircraft carried3 helicopters
Aviation facilitiesBelow-deck hangar

The Kirov class, Soviet designation Project 1144 Orlan (Russian: Орлан, lit.'sea eagle'), is a class of nuclear-powered guided-missile battlecruisers of the Soviet Navy and Russian Navy, the largest and heaviest surface combatant warships (i.e. not an aircraft carrier or amphibious assault ship) in operation in the world. Among modern warships, they are second in size only to large aircraft carriers; they are similar in size to a World War I-era battleship. Defence commentators in the West often refer to these ships as battlecruisers - due to their size and general appearance.[3] The Soviet classification of the ship-type is "heavy nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser" (Russian: тяжёлый атомный ракетный крейсер).

The appearance of the Kirov class (first exemplar commissioned in 1979) played a key role in the recommissioning of the Iowa-class battleships by the United States Navy in the 1980s.[4][5][6]

The Kirov class hull-design was also used for the Soviet nuclear-powered command and control ship SSV-33 Ural.

  1. ^ "Kirov (Orlan) Class (Type 1144.1/1144.2) (CGN)". Jane's. 8 September 2000. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference rian20120920 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Armi da guerra, De Agostini, Novara, 1985.
  4. ^ Middleton, Drew (13 March 1981). "Pentagon likes budget proposal, but questions specifics". The New York Times. p. A14.
  5. ^ Bishop, p. 80.
  6. ^ Miller & Miller, p. 114.

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