Project 1144 "Orlan"
According to the Izvestia newspaper, the Defense Ministry has matured a plan to reanimate nuclear-powered cruisers of the 1144 Orlan type. In the course of modernization, heavy nuclear cruisers should receive modern electronic equipment and weapons that allow them to perform a wide range of tasks to destroy enemy military installations at sea and land targets.
The conversation is about four project units. The lead ship of the Orlan series was laid down in 1973 at the shipyards of the Baltic Shipyard and transferred to the fleet in 1980 and until 1992 it went under the name Kirov, then it was renamed Admiral Ushakov and after 19 years was put on modernization and then assigned for disposal. The second was "Frunze", aka "Admiral Lazarev" from 1992 until 1999. It was followed by Kalinin, which also in 1992 changed its name to Admiral Nakhimov, founded in 1983 and commissioned five years later. The last was the currently operating "Peter the Great", when it was laid down in 1986, named "Kuibyshev" and transferred to the fleet in 1998.
Heavy nuclear missile cruisers of the project are designed to ensure the combat stability of the forces and means of the Navy, operating autonomously in
remote areas of the World Ocean, support of convoys and landing detachments during their passage by sea to the landing areas, destruction of enemy nuclear submarines and surface ships. The ships are 251.1 meters long, 28.5 meters wide and 59 meters high with a draft of 10.3 meters. They have a total displacement of 25860 tons. The power plant includes 2 KN-3 nuclear-fueled reactors with a capacity of 300 MW, 2 turbines with a total capacity of 140,000 hp, 4 power plants producing a total of 18,000 kW., 4 steam turbine generators with a capacity of 3,000 kW., 4 gas turbine generators of 1,500 each. kW. The autonomy of navigation is limited in terms of supplies and food for 60 days, in terms of fuel for 3 years.
In total, the ship has more than 1,500 rooms, including 56 officers' cabins, 6 and 30-seater cabins for foremen and sailors, a sauna with a swimming pool, two baths, 15 showers, a club for 200 seats, a salon with billiards. The two-tier medical block has isolation wards, infirmaries, an X-ray room, an outpatient clinic, an operating room and a dental office. It has its own cable TV studio and a mini-printing house. The crew consists of 105 officers, 130 warrant officers and 400 sailors.
The main armament of the cruiser is the Granit anti-ship missile system. 20 P-700 anti-ship missiles are located in the SM-233 underdeck launchers. The anti-ship missile system is autonomous throughout the flight due to the use of an inertial guidance system with an active homing head activated in the final section. The complex is capable of receiving target designation from radar reconnaissance satellites, reconnaissance aircraft, general ship reconnaissance means. The launch mass of the rocket is 6980 kg. With a nuclear warhead mass of 500 kg. or high-explosive 750 kg.
Heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Frunze"
The structure of anti-aircraft weapons includes 2 multi-channel air defense systems "Fort". They are capable of destroying high-speed, maneuverable and small targets in the entire range of altitudes, including surface targets up to a destroyer. The short-range air defense systems are represented by the 4K33 Osa-M complex. The missiles are launched from the ZIF-122 double-boom launcher, the ammunition load is 40 missiles. Fire control is assigned to a centimeter-range radar equipped with anti-jamming devices.
After work on the repair of hulls and power plants, the ships will acquire the latest universal firing systems loaded with various types of missiles, ranging from anti-submarine missile torpedoes and ending with long-range cruise missiles. At the same time, due to the compactness of the complexes, an increase in ammunition is expected from 20 to 80 missiles. These complexes are compatible with the Onyx and Caliber missiles, the main weapon in the fight against aircraft carriers. The anti-aircraft defense system of ships will receive missiles from the S-400 air defense system and new air defense systems for close combat. Taking into account anti-aircraft missiles, the total ammunition will amount to more than 300 pieces of rocket and artillery weapons, and the ships will become the most powerful nuclear missile carriers in the world. All these calculation measures will extend the service life of the ships until 2030-2040.
The project 1144 modernization scheme will be tested on the Admiral Nakhimov cruiser, on which repair work began this year. The ship will enter service presumably in 2015, then the fate of the cruisers Admiral Lazarev and Admiral Ushakov will be decided;
Heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Peter the Great"
The military believes that on the basis of these ships, it is possible to create powerful strike groups in the future, capable of successfully opposing aircraft carrier groups. However, so far the modernized "Orlans" do not fit into any plan for the use of the Russian navy. Despite the embarrassment on this issue, the military has drawn up a rough plan for the creation of a strike group in the Atlantic, which will receive, in addition to two cruisers, new frigates and submarines. This was reported to Izvestia by a source in the military department.
Experts do not consider the Orlan to be a good solution in terms of their cost, while at the same time recognizing its undeniable advantages, including high autonomy and the presence of a long-range air defense missile system on board. According to them, the strike functions of the ships are inferior to the cheaper submarine missile carriers, and their size, when faced with the enemy, can play a fatal role. According to Makienko in a conversation with Izvestia, Orlan will not be able to participate in possible conflicts in the Caucasus and Central Asia, and in the event of a war with NATO or Japan, it will be destroyed due to the large numerical superiority of the enemy.
On the other hand, without ships of this class, the Russian Navy will not be able to ensure Russia's military presence in the World Ocean, so the modernization of Project 1144 remains the most acceptable option for strengthening the Navy in the shortest possible time.
