{"id":164185,"date":"2025-08-20T20:03:44","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T20:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/the-largest-russian-nuclear-cruise-missile-submarine-has-returned-to-the-sea-after-28-years-its-unclear-how-modern-its-technology-is\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T20:03:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T20:03:46","slug":"the-largest-russian-nuclear-cruise-missile-submarine-has-returned-to-the-sea-after-28-years-its-unclear-how-modern-its-technology-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/the-largest-russian-nuclear-cruise-missile-submarine-has-returned-to-the-sea-after-28-years-its-unclear-how-modern-its-technology-is\/","title":{"rendered":"The largest Russian nuclear cruise missile submarine has returned to the sea after 28 years. It&#8217;s unclear how modern its technology is."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Russia has returned to the sea with its largest \u00a0nuclear cruise\u00a0 ship for the first time since 1997. The *Admiral Nakhimov* began trial runs on August 18, 2025, in the \u00a0White Sea\u00a0, marking a significant milestone for a modernization program that has faced numerous delays over the years. According to <a rel=\"noopener, noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/tass.com\/defense\/2004077\" target=\"_blank\">Tass<\/a>, the ship&#8217;s two nuclear reactors were reactivated in early 2025, allowing it to move under its own power again. However, the re-emergence of this \u00a028,000-ton\u00a0 vessel raises critical questions about the \u00a0extent of modernization\u00a0 achieved by Moscow.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 1 --> <\/p>\n<p>The *Admiral Nakhimov* has a complicated recent history characterized by repeated delays. Although the modernization process was initiated more than two decades ago, <a rel=\"noopener, noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.twz.com\/sea\/russias-upgraded-nuclear-battlecruiser-back-at-sea-after-nearly-three-decades\" target=\"_blank\">The War Zone<\/a> notes that actual work on the ship didn\u2019t commence until 2014. Since then, target completion dates have continuously shifted: from 2018 to 2020, then to 2021 and 2023. While the ship&#8217;s return to sea is a tangible achievement, it also signifies the end of a prolonged cycle of unfulfilled promises that now need to be realized through demonstrable capabilities.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 2 --><\/p>\n<h2>What Has Really Modernized and What Remains in the Air<\/h2>\n<p>The return of the *Admiral Nakhimov* unfolds amidst a backdrop of scant information about the ship, raising multiple questions about its current capabilities. Initial reports suggest that the vessel has received at least \u00a0a new radar system\u00a0 and a modernized main gun (the \u00a0Ca\u00f1o AK-192m\u00a0).<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 3 -->  <\/p>\n<p>The modernization aimed to position the *Admiral Nakhimov* as the ship with the most vertical launch systems in the world, boasting a total of \u00a0174 missile cells\u00a0\u201478 for attack missiles (Kalibr, Oniks, Zircon) and 96 dedicated to S-300FM air defense systems. At present, only the newly installed main cannon has been conclusively documented; the rest remains to be validated through operational tests, official images, and documentation.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 4 --><\/p>\n<p>Its return to service is more than a mere technical undertaking; it&#8217;s largely \u00a0symbolic\u00a0. It is anticipated that the *Admiral Nakhimov* will take on the role of flagship for the northern fleet once \u00a0complete trials\u00a0 are conducted and the ship is formally accepted by the Navy. This would replace the aging *Pyotr Velikiy*, another nuclear-powered cruiser built during the Soviet era, which launched in 1996 but has only undergone minimal updates.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 5 --><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-asset-image article-asset-normal article-asset-center\">\n<div class=\"asset-content\">\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Admira Nakhimov 2\" class=\"centro_sinmarco\" src=\"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/The-largest-Russian-nuclear-cruise-missile-submarine-has-returned-to.jpeg\"\/>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Meanwhile, the *Kuznetsov* aircraft carrier remains in a precarious state. According to statements reported by <a rel=\"noopener, noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/russias-lone-aircraft-carrier-likely-be-scrapped-or-sold-says-shipbuilding-chief-2025-07-25\/\" target=\"_blank\">Reuters<\/a>, the president of the State Naval Construction Corporation indicated that the carrier is likely to be either scrapped or sold, which would further enhance the *Admiral Nakhimov*&#8217;s prominence in the Russian naval hierarchy.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 6 --> <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-asset article-asset-normal article-asset-center\">\n<div class=\"desvio-container\">\n<div class=\"desvio\">\n<div class=\"desvio-figure js-desvio-figure\">\n     <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Someone has taken a look at Russia's satellite images and has discovered something: it is running out of tanks\" width=\"375\" height=\"142\" src=\"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755720224_129_The-largest-Russian-nuclear-cruise-missile-submarine-has-returned-to.jpeg\"\/>\n   <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The *Admiral Nakhimov* still has much to prove. Just because it has navigated again does not imply that the \u00a0modernization\u00a0 is complete or fully operational. The actual status of its sensors, combat systems, data links, and integration with other naval assets remains unverified. Beyond the official narrative, the ship\u2019s operational activity will determine if this resurgence signifies a \u00a0new era\u00a0 or if it is merely a maneuver with limited impact.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 7 --><\/p>\n<p>Images | <a rel=\"noopener, noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RSS_40\/status\/1957519649647861927\/video\/1\">RSS_40<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In Xataka | Ukraine has entered a phase so deranged with the drones that his drones are knocking themselves to themselves<\/p>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/category\/general\/\" rel=\"dofollow\">General News &#8211; 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russia has returned to the sea with its largest \u00a0nuclear cruise\u00a0 ship for the first time since 1997. The *Admiral Nakhimov* began trial runs on August 18, 2025, in the \u00a0White Sea\u00a0, marking a significant milestone for a modernization program that has faced numerous delays over the years. According to Tass, the ship&#8217;s two nuclear [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[1762,1549,3284,7335,704,3586,457,34,7452,2835,1879,45],"class_list":["post-164185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-cruise","tag-largest","tag-missile","tag-modern","tag-nuclear","tag-returned","tag-russian","tag-sea","tag-submarine","tag-technology","tag-unclear","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}