Russia plans to start testing the nuclear reactors of the missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov, which has taken almost 25 years and cost billions of dollars to repair

The Russians are preparing to move on to testing the nuclear reactors of the missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov. The ship has been under repair since the end of the last century.

Here's What We Know

Russian state media reports that the physical launch of the two reactors is scheduled for November 2023. It marks the start of practical full-scale testing of the nuclear reactors.

Based on the results obtained during the tests, the performance of the ship's nuclear power plant will be assessed. If everything goes according to plan, sea trials will begin in late spring next year.

"Admiral Nakhimov" is a heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser of Project 11442M. In 1999 it went in for repairs, but the real work began 14 years later. The purpose of the modernisation programme is to increase the strike power.

The Admiral Nakhimov missile cruiser will be equipped with ten universal shipboard systems. Each system will be able to fire a salvo of eight Kalibr cruise missiles or Onyx anti-ship missiles.

Late last month, the Russians said the cost of repairing the nuclear-powered missile cruiser had already exceeded 200 billion rubles. Since the modernisation process has been delayed, it is impossible to correctly translate the amount into dollars due to the volatility of the exchange rate. But in any case, we are talking about billions of dollars.

Source: TASS