Two Billion Euros and Thirty Years Later: Russia’s Nuclear Flagship Rejoins the Fleet
After nearly three decades out of operational service, the nuclear-powered Kirov-class battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov is completing sea and state trials and is expected to rejoin… 
After nearly three decades out of operational service, the nuclear-powered Kirov-class battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov is completing sea and state trials and is expected to rejoin Russia’s Northern Fleet by late 2026 or early 2027. Laid down as Kalinin and commissioned in 1988, the ship last steamed under her own power in the late 1990s before a refit that began as a repair and became one of the longest and most expensive surface-ship modernizations in modern naval history. At about 252 meters and some 28,000 tonnes full load, she remains the largest non-carrier surface combatant afloat, nuclear-powered, and, on paper, the most heavily armed. Whether that paper strength…
