The Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser, which has been under modernization at the Zvyozdochka shipyard for about four years, is a prominent combat unit of the Northern Fleet. More specifically, there are only three such units in the Russian Navy, one each in the Northern, Black Sea and Pacific Fleets, and two of them, "Moskva" and "Varyag", are the flagships of the Black Sea and Pacific Fleets, respectively.
Transfer to new duty station
Relatively recently, in the media, with references to sources in the military industry and the Ministry of Defense, information began to appear about the intention of the Navy command to reassign the Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser after repairs were completed to the Pacific Fleet. This is an important decision, as it significantly changes the distribution of Russian naval forces towards the Far Eastern theater of operations.
State of the Pacific Fleet
If you look in more detail, then such a decision is long overdue. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Pacific Fleet began to rapidly loseships. The lack of funding for maintenance, current repairs and modernization of ships led to the decommissioning of the largest and most significant ships - the aircraft-carrying cruisers "Minsk" and "Novorossiysk". It should also be noted that the Pacific Fleet lost (though not completely) the Admiral Lazarev cruiser, as well as most of the destroyers and landing ships. In addition to the withdrawal of ships from the system, the maintenance of ships in combat readiness also became a problem. The aforementioned Varyag, as well as the large anti-submarine ships of Project 1155, are practically the only large vehicles remaining in service. In such a state of the fleet, there was no question of any full-fledged presence in the ocean.
The replenishment of the Pacific Fleet with the Marshal Ustinov cruiser, coupled with the overhaul of project 956 destroyers in the reserve, makes it possible to simultaneously deploy two fairly powerful anti-submarine groups in the far sea zone. With the re-commissioning of the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Lazarev in 2018 and the replenishment of the fleet with corvettes under construction, the Pacific Fleet will be able to perform almost any task in the region after such a long break.
Infrastructure
The emerging difficulties in providing the infrastructure for basing such a large ship are minimized due to the failure of the deal to acquire the Mistrals. To accommodate helicopter carriers, a pier was built, the dimensions of which allow missile cruisers to be received. Considering that ratherIn general, the transfer of helicopter carriers will not take place, the logical decision would be to use the created infrastructure to accommodate the Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser.
Project description 1164
Missile units of Project 1164, to which the Marshal Ustinov cruiser belongs, play a crucial role in the Russian naval forces both in the far and near sea zones. They are capable of hitting any enemy surface ships, including aircraft carriers, using the main armament - the P-1000 Vulkan missile systems. Also, their tasks include providing air defense as part of the naval formations of the fleet. The air defense systems of these ships are represented by the Fort, the heaviest Russian shipborne air defense system to date, as well as the Osa-MA complexes as auxiliary air defense systems of the near zone.
The ship's artillery armament is represented by one AK-130 installation in the bow of the ship, as well as six AK-630 automatic anti-aircraft artillery systems. As an anti-submarine weapon, there is a rocket-bomb installation RBU-6000. In general, missile cruisers of this project are an inexpensive alternative to nuclear missile cruisers of project 1144. The presence of a powerful offensive anti-ship complex, as well as the ability to create (in combination with other ships less equipped with air defense systems) a layered air defense system due to the presence of the Fort air defense system gives the greatest value to these ships. » with a sufficiently large stock of missiles.
Modernization
So, what will be the project 1164 missile cruiser "Marshal Ustinov" after repair and modernization? Of course, there is no exact information about the specific elements to be replaced and upgraded. However, it is known for certain that during the overhaul more than fifty percent of the ship's wiring, the element base of navigation systems, antenna groups, and radar stations are to be replaced. The armament and power plant will not be upgraded, but significant repairs are being carried out. It is worth noting that the repair of the Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser is a priority for the Zvezdochka shipyard.
In general, the cruiser "Marshal Ustinov" will not undergo significant changes, and the range of tasks it solves will not change dramatically. However, it should be noted that the four-year repair will most likely have a positive effect on the overall combat readiness of the ship, reducing the number of malfunctions, as well as increasing the overall reliability of the ship's systems and assemblies.
Conclusion
As a conclusion, it should be noted that the decision to relocate the Project 1164 missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov to the Pacific Fleet also symbolizes the special attention paid to the development of the armed forces in such a tense region as the Far East. The presence of unresolved territorial disputes, the massive US naval presence,The development of the PLA Navy and many other factors are forcing the military leadership of the Russian Federation to also increase the grouping of troops and forces in this direction.
