By Decarlos Brown Jr
Copyright pravda
Russia’s heavy nuclear missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov has successfully completed the first stage of sea trials and returned to the pier of the Sevmash shipyard in Arkhangelsk Region, according to the Ministry of Defense.
During the initial phase, the cruiser’s main propulsion system and several critical onboard mechanisms were tested. The trials were conducted with the participation of the Sevmash acceptance team alongside the ship’s crew. The testing program is set to continue in the coming months.
Return After 26 Years in Dock
The cruiser left the shipyard for open sea on August 18, 2025, marking its first movement after 26 years of repairs. The overhaul, estimated at 200 billion rubles, is considered the most extensive modernization in the history of the Russian Navy.
“Admiral Nakhimov is the strongest missile cruiser in the world today. Its main weakness, however, is that it remains the only one of its kind,” noted Ilya Kramnik of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations.
The Admiral Nakhimov, a flagship of Russia’s Northern Fleet, has a displacement of around 28,000 tons and a crew of nearly 800 sailors. Commissioned in 1988, the cruiser was placed into repair in 1999 and has undergone a full modernization since 2013. The upgrade has equipped the vessel with a vastly expanded arsenal of cruise and hypersonic missiles, surpassing other warships of its class.
The ship’s return to service has faced multiple delays. Originally promised by naval command in 2016 for 2020, later revised to 2022, the completion was repeatedly postponed due to the scale of its rearmament program. Sea trials officially began in December 2024, and by January 2025 its nuclear reactor was reactivated, paving the way for full operational readiness.
