Russia will begin the refit of its mothballed nuclear-powered frigate Admiral Nakhimov (former Kalinin) with advanced weaponry and electronics at the Sevmash shipyard, Russia.
Commissioned in 1988, the Nakhimov Kirov-class cruiser was mothballed in 1999 and has been reportedly undergoing a major overhaul at the Severodvinsk Shipyard since 2005.
RIA Novosti has quoted Sevmash general director Andrei Dyachkov as saying: "During the talks with the Russian Defence Ministry, we have concluded that it would be senseless to continue the repairs without determining the final variant of the modernisation, so the repair work has been suspended until after 2012."
The refit will include replacement of the frigate’s main weaponry, the SS-N-19 Shipwreck missiles, with P-800 Yakhont (SS-N-26) anti-ship cruise missiles.
The cruiser will also be equipped with advanced air defence missile systems based on the land-based S-400 Triumf, and new point-defence systems.
The Russian Defense Ministry is also planning to refit the Admiral Lazarev and Admiral Ushakov missile cruisers by 2020 to leverage its combat strength.
The Kirov-class vessels, to be deployed with Russia’s Northern and Pacific fleets, are designed to engage large surface targets and are equipped with 12 SA-N-6 Grumble launchers, two SA-N-4 Gecko missiles and SS-N-19 Shipwreck missiles.
