"Peter the Great" is the most powerful non-aircraft-carrying combat ship of not only domestic, but also the world navy
Twenty years ago, at the Baltic Shipyard, the launching ceremony of the heavy nuclear missile cruiser (TARKR) "Yuri Andropov" of project 11442, the fourth type "Kirov", took place. It was founded three years earlier under the name Kuibyshev. But the completion of the ship took seven years. Only in 1996, in the presence of the first President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin, the cruiser, which received the new name "Peter the Great", was handed over to the sailors for testing.
It must be admitted that, not least thanks to the name, this TARKR managed to survive. Maybe he would have been put on pins and needles, as in those days many other unfinished and undelivered ships and submarines of the Navy were mercilessly cut. But the 300th anniversary of the Russian regular Navy was approaching, and on the eve of this holiday it was obvious blasphemy to "execute" "Peter". Therefore, the cruiser survived.
True, he was also somewhat "sequestered". For example, due to insufficient funding, only the aft SAM "Dagger" was placed on it, although a place was reserved under the bow. But this TARKR received the newest air defense system of zone defense "Fort-M" (S-300FM), which was not provided for by the initial project, which can hit 6 highly maneuverable and unobtrusive aerodynamic targets at once at a distance of up to 120 km at low and high altitudes.
In general, "Peter the Great" is the most powerful non-aircraft-carrying warship not only of the domestic, but also of the world navy. Its length is a quarter of a kilometer, its total displacement exceeds 24800 tons. The cruising range is unlimited, its autonomy in terms of provisions is 60 days. The crew consists of more than 740 people, of which 101 are officers. The main strike weapon is the Granit anti-ship complex, whose P-700 (3M-45) missiles can be equipped with 500 kt nuclear warheads and conventional warheads weighing 750 kg, which, when hitting the target, guarantees its destruction or, at least, withdrawal from building. "Granite", in fact, is a reconnaissance and strike system. When firing in a salvo, the first missile flies higher and gives target designation to other missiles. In the arsenal of "Peter the Great" there are 20 P-700. A very impressive arsenal!
The ship's defensive armament is also varied. ABM and air defense at the close range is provided by 6 combat modules of the Kortik air defense missile system, anti-submarine and anti-torpedo ones - by the Vodopad-NK, RBU-6000 and Udav-1 submarine missile systems. Three Ka-27 helicopters carry out a variety of missions: from anti-submarine to search and rescue. The twin universal 130-mm artillery mount is capable of hitting targets at a distance of over 22 km.
"Peter the Great" is rightfully considered the flagship not only of the Northern Fleet, but of the entire Russian Navy. And the crew of the ship does not get tired of confirming the high rank. On March 10 this year, the cruiser returned from a long six-month voyage, during which she set a cruising range record, furrowing the Atlantic and Indian oceans far and wide. In a word, "Peter", as the sailors affectionately call this ship, proved to be a fine fellow.
