The Kirov class, Soviet designation Project 1144 Orlan (Russian: Орлан, lit. 'sea eagle'), is a class of nuclear-powered guided-missile battlecruisers of the Soviet Navy and Russian Navy, the largest and heaviest surface combatant warships (i.e. not an aircraft carrier or amphibious assault ship) in operation in the world. Among modern warships, they are second in size only to large aircraft carriers; they are similar in size to a World War I-era battleship. Defence commentators in the West often refer to these ships as battlecruisers - due to their size and general appearance. The Soviet classification of the ship-type is "heavy nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser" (Russian: тяжёлый атомный ракетный крейсер).

History

Originally built for the Soviet Navy, the class is named after the first of a series of four ships constructed, Admiral Ushakov, named Kirov until 1992. Original plans called for construction of five ships.

The lead ship of the class, Kirov, was laid down in March 1974 at Leningrad's Baltiysky Naval Shipyard, launched on 27 December 1977 and commissioned on 30 December 1980. When she appeared for the first time, NATO observers called her BALCOM I (Baltic Combatant I). She is presently laid up and was slated to be scrapped in 2021.

Design

The class was originally conceived to counter the U.S. Navy's submarines with its large payload of SS-N-14 anti-submarine missiles, and later evolved to carry twenty P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles for countering the U.S. carrier strike groups. Ultimately the class were intended to operate alongside new nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for global power projection, however these carriers never came to fruition.

Weapon systems

The Kirov class's main weapons are 20 P-700 Granit (SS-N-19 Shipwreck) missiles mounted in deck, designed to engage large surface targets. Air defense is provided by twelve octuple S-300F launchers with 96 missiles and a pair of Osa-MA batteries with 20 missiles each. Pyotr Velikiy carries some S-300FM missiles and is the only ship in the Russian Navy capable of ballistic missile defence.[2] The ships had some differences in sensor and weapons suites: Kirov came with Metel anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missiles, while on subsequent ships these were replaced with 3K95 Kinzhal (Russian: Кинжал – dagger) surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems. The Kinzhal installation is in fact mounted further forward of the old SS-N-14 mounting, in the structure directly behind the blast shield for the bow mounted RBU ASW rocket launcher. Kirov and Frunze had eight 30 mm (1.18 in) AK-630 close-in weapon systems, which were supplanted with the Kortik air-defence system on later ships.

Other weapons are the automatic 130 mm (5 in) AK-130 gun system (except in Kirov which had two single 100 mm (4 in) guns instead), 10 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo/missile tubes (capable of firing RPK-2 Vyuga ASW missiles on later ships) and Udav-1 with 40 anti-submarine rockets and two sextuple RBU-1000 launchers.

Russia is developing a new anti-ship missile to equip Kirovs called the 3M22 Tsirkon, which is capable of traveling at hypersonic speeds out to at least 620 mi (540 nmi; 1,000 km).

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  • SoylentSnake [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    22 days ago

    If there are skills to cultivate, it's the bravery to feel vulnerable/open up to people, choosing the right people to open up to, creating and maintaining boundaries, and cultivating a willingness to fuck around and find out. Otherwise, it's just sharing what you like with others and unlearning everything you thought you knew - it's not going to save you.

    this was very beautiful and insightful comrade <3

    • WhatDoYouMeanPodcast [comrade/them]
      ·
      22 days ago

      Thank you, comrade. I'm rooting for you so much you don't even know. I'll be minding my own business and go "I hope that wojak guy finds someone nice." soviet-heart

      Total aside, nearly irrelevant to everything, but a bit of commentary on how what you think you know's not going to save you: you should see someone experienced in BJJ spar with someone completely new. Really any combat sport would give the same message. It happens over and over - your instincts betray you. I'll let a newbie start in top of mount (making them start on bottom is an easy way to overwhelm them and not let them work), which is a very controlling position.

      Show

      If I give the slightest jostle with my arm, they'll lurch forward for it. So I'll give them a slight bump at the hips, they'll slam their hands on the ground, and their arm is in perfect position to catch so I can roll them over. It's not their fault, it's not like they have any reason to know any better; nor do they stand much of a chance against me with a decade of experience. But it's always a fun mental exercise to think "They're trying to control something they have no hope of controlling. Where else in life am I trying to exert control that I don't have?" When I go to a judo class and I stick my arm out as I'm falling, it's the same thing. But then it gets deep into the woowoo because it's not just that I'm trying to control it, it's that I'm not accepting that I've been thrown. Because I found this one tiktok one time about accepting your fate. It really scratched the itch for me. I strive to always be accepting what is and either use tactics (like the video) or play around with it he-laughed.

      • SoylentSnake [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        22 days ago

        (omg sorry i should have clarified I'm not the OP but i just resonated with what you said, but i hope they appreciate this message regardless of the mixup lmao much love to u both!)

          • SoylentSnake [he/him, they/them]
            ·
            edit-2
            22 days ago

            oh god ive made myself infamous w/ that shit amongst my megathread homies oooaaaaaaauhhh well listen i've actually been getting dates and shit from them in the past few months so idk if struggle is the right word big-cool (no oh god i still hate them please set me free please!!!! oooaaaaaaauhhh )