Slava-class cruiser

The Slava class, Soviet designation Project 1164 Atlant (Russian: Атлант, romanized: Atlant, lit. 'Atlas'), is a class of guided-missile cruisers designed and constructed in the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy, and currently operated by the Russian Navy.

Marshal Ustinov underway
Class overview
NameSlava class
Builders61 Communards Shipyard, Mykolaiv
Operators
Preceded byKara class
Succeeded byLider class
Built1976–1990
In service1982–present
Planned10[1]
Completed3
Cancelled6
Active2
Laid up1 (construction incomplete)
Lost1
General characteristics
TypeGuided-missile cruiser
Displacement
  • 9,380 tons standard
  • 11,490 tons full load
Length186.4 m (611 ft 7 in)
Beam20.8 m (68 ft 3 in)
Draught8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)
PropulsionCOGOG: GTU M21 2 × M70 cruise gas turbines and 4 × M90 boost gas turbines, 2 cruise steam turbines, 2 exhaust gas boilers, 4 × M8KF gas turbines, 2 shafts, 130,000 shp (97,000 kW)
Speed32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range6,800 nmi (12,600 km; 7,800 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)[2]
Complement485 (66 Off, 419 WO/Enl),[1] alternate information 476-529 (84 Off, 75 WO, 370 Enl)[2]
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Radar: MR-800 Voshkod/Top Pair 3-D long-range air search, MR-700 Fregat/Top Steer (first two) or MR-710 Fregat-MA/Top Plate (second two) 3-D air search
  • Sonar: MG-332 Tigan-2T/Bull Nose hull mounted LF, Platina/Horse Tail MF VDS
  • Fire Control: 3R41 Volna/Top Dome SA-N-6 SAM control, MPZ-301 Baza/Pop Group SA-N-4 SAM control, Argument/Front Door-C SSM control
Electronic warfare
& decoys		Kol'cho suite with Gurzhor-A&B/Side Globe intercept, MR-404/Rum Tub jammers, Bell Crown intercept, Bell Push intercept, 2 PK-2 decoy RL, 12 PK-10 decoy RL (in last two units only)
Armament
ArmorSplinter plating
Aircraft carried1 Kamov Ka-25 or Kamov Ka-27 Helicopter

Design and history

The design started in the late 1960s, based around use of the P-500 Bazalt missile. The cruiser was intended as a less expensive conventionally powered alternative to the nuclear-powered Kirov-class battlecruisers. All are now armed with P-1000 Vulkan AShM missiles, developed in the late 1970s to late 1980s. There was a long delay in this programme, while the problems with the Bazalt were resolved.[3]

These ships acted as flagships for numerous task forces. All ships were built at the 61 Kommunar yard in Mykolaiv (Nikolaev), Ukrainian SSR. The class was a follow-up to the Kara-class cruiser, which the Soviet Navy typed as a Large Anti-submarine Ship (Russ. BPK), constructed at the same shipyard and appears to be built on a stretched version of the Kara-class hull.[3]

The Slava class was initially designated BLACKCOM 1 (Black Sea Combatant 1) and then designated the Krasina class for a short period until Slava was observed at sea. The SS-N-12 launchers are fixed facing forward at around 8° elevation with no reloads available. As there was nothing revolutionary about the design of the class, western observers felt they were created as a hedge against the failure of the more radical Kirov class.[4] The helicopter hangar deck is located a half deck below the landing pad with a ramp connecting the two.[5]

Originally ten ships were planned, but with the collapse of the Soviet Union, only three were completed. A fourth vessel was launched, but final construction remains incomplete, and the ship has not been commissioned into service.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the three finished ships commenced service in the Russian Navy, while the uncompleted fourth vessel, renamed Ukraina, had its ownership transferred to Ukraine. Efforts have been made to complete and update the unfinished ship. In 2010, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych stated that Russia and Ukraine would work together on the project.[6]

Russia has also expressed interest in purchasing the vessel, which Ukraine had previously offered for sale. However, as of early 2011, no final agreement had been concluded between the two countries.[7]

The Russian Navy had plans to extensively upgrade all of their Slava-class vessels during the 2010s; completing work on Ukraina may have served as a test-bed for this. As of April 2022, the fourth hull remains afloat at a Ukrainian shipyard, uncompleted. One of the vessels, Moskva, sank in the Black Sea on 13 April 2022 following an explosion during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian military officials claimed this was the result of a Neptune missile strike by Ukraine, while Russian military officials claimed the vessel suffered an explosion to its ammunition depot and sank while being towed to port.[8]

  • 1) AK-130, 2) P-500 Bazalt, 3) RBU-6000, 4) AK-630, 5) S-300, 6) OSA-MA
    1) AK-130, 2) P-500 Bazalt, 3) RBU-6000, 4) AK-630, 5) S-300, 6) OSA-MA
  • Placement of P-500 Bazalt (SS-N-12 Sandbox) launchers on the Slava class.
    Placement of P-500 Bazalt (SS-N-12 Sandbox) launchers on the Slava class.
  • A close up view of SA-N-6 launchers with 3R41 Volna "Top Dome" fire control radar on Marshal Ustinov.
    A close up view of SA-N-6 launchers with 3R41 Volna "Top Dome" fire control radar on Marshal Ustinov.
  • A stern view of Marshal Ustinov in 2018, after modernization
    A stern view of Marshal Ustinov in 2018, after modernization
  • Video footage of Moskva during Russian military operations in Syria
  • Marshal Ustinov (right) alongside the Kirov-class battlecruiser Kirov
    Marshal Ustinov (right) alongside the Kirov-class battlecruiser Kirov

Ships
Name Laid down Launched Commissioned Status Picture Notes
Moskva
(ex-Slava)		 1976 1979 1982 Sunk on 14 April 2022[9] Overhauled from 1991 to 1998.[1] Was involved in the 2008 South Ossetia war.[10] In 2010 the vessel participated in military exercises in the Indian Ocean and Russia's Vostok 2010 military drills in the Sea of Okhotsk in July 2010.[11] Sent to Syria in 2013.[12] Sunk on 14 April 2022 during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[13]
Marshal Ustinov
(ex-Admiral Flota Lobov)		 1978 1982 1986 In service with the Northern Fleet Overhaul completed in October 2016.[14][15][16]
Varyag
(ex-Chervona Ukraina)		 1979 1983 1989 In service with the Pacific Fleet Listed as under reduced manning since 2002. Operating with a caretaker crew at reduced readiness since arrival with the Soviet Pacific Fleet in 1990. Re-entered service in the Russian Pacific Fleet in early 2008 after an overhaul.[3] In 2010, the Varyag visited San Francisco, California coincident with the visit of Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev to Silicon Valley during his trip to the U.S.
Ukraina
(ex-Komsomolets, ex-Admiral Flota Lobov)		 1983 1990 Unfinished Moored unfinished in Mykolaiv, Ukraine.
Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya[1] 1988 Cancelled and disassembled on the way in 1990
Admiral Flota Sovetskovo Soyuza Gorshkov[1] Planned for 1990 Cancelled
Varyag[1] Cancelled
Sevastopol[1] Cancelled

See also

References
  1. Апалков, Ю.В. (2003). Ударные корабли, Том II, часть I. Санкт-Петербург: Галея Принт.
  2. "Project 1164 Atlant Krasina/Slava class Guided Missile Cruiser - Specifications". GlobalSecurity.org. 11 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  3. "Project 1164 Atlant Krasina/Slava class Guided Missile Cruiser". GlobalSecurity.org. Archived from the original on 25 April 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  4. Miller, David; Miller, Chris (c. 1986). Modern Naval Combat. London; New York: Salamander Books. p. 150. ISBN 0-86101-231-3.
  5. Cullen, Tony (1988). Encyclopedia Of World Sea Power. Crescent. p. 86. ISBN 0-517-65342-7.
  6. Gorenburg, Dmitry (24 August 2010). "The Future of the Russian Navy Part 1: Large Combat Ships". Russian Military Reform. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  7. Gorenburg, Dmitry (24 August 2010). "The Future of the Russian Navy Part 1: Large Combat Ships". Russian Military Reform. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  8. "Russian warship: Moskva sinks in Black Sea". BBC News. 15 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  9. Новости, Р. И. А. (14 April 2022). "Минобороны заявило, что при шторме затонул крейсер "Москва"". РИА Новости (in Russian). Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  10. Gambrell, Jon (14 April 2022). "The Moskva, sunk off Ukraine, served in wars hot and cold". AP News. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  11. "Black Sea Fleet flagship heading to Pacific Ocean". Kyiv Post. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  12. "Russia sends missile cruiser to Mediterranean". Toronto Star. 4 September 2013. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  13. "Moskva sinking: US gave intelligence that helped Ukraine sink Russian cruiser - reports". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  14. Staalesen, Atle (31 October 2016). "Sea trials for Northern Fleet missile cruiser". The Barents Observer. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  15. "Missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov moves to Pacific Fleet". Rusnavy.com. 24 March 2011. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  16. "Refitted Slava class guided missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov to rejoin Russian Fleet in 2015". Navyrecognition.com. 16 December 2013. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
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