Meeting the Varyag missile cruiser on the ocean, the American warships semaphore the phrase “You're Looking Good!”, Which means “Look good!” Forgetting that in front of them is a ship of a likely enemy, they express admiration for this formidable ship, nicknamed the "killer of aircraft carriers."
A special feature of this ship (project 1164) are eight large double containers, angled upward, four on each side. They, of course, are not for beauty, each has the P-100 Volcano complex. This is a terrible weapon.
The volley that the Varyag missile cruiser can produce is deadly for the whole squadron that makes up the aircraft carrier group of ships. A "wolf pack" of eight five-ton missiles rushes toward a specified target, controlled by an electronic brain. As expected, this "group of comrades" has its own leader, giving commands to the other seven participants in the attack. It is he who chooses for himself the largest target - the flagship aircraft carrier - and gives out directions where to fly to others. In the event of the premature death of the main missile, the next command takes over, which at this moment will be at its highest altitude. Only this is unlikely, it’s very difficult to bring down an aircraft traveling at a speed of almost 3,000 km / h and performing deceitful maneuvers. And when you consider that there are eight of them, and each has a nuclear charge ...
The missile cruiser Varyag, the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, was built in Nikolaev more than thirty years ago. Until 1996, it was called Chervona Ukraine.
The initial design involved six double launch containers (three on each side). The intervention of Admiral Gorshkov led to a change in the original plan in the direction of increasing firepower. The commander of the Navy also influenced the composition of artillery weapons: instead of the automatic ship’s gun A-100, a double-barreled AK-130 was installed on the tank. Displacement increased, driving performance deteriorated somewhat, had to reduce ammunition. It is difficult to judge how much all these measures have improved the combat qualities of the ship, but the fact remains, and today the Varyag missile cruiser is one of the most formidable combat units in the world.
The Pacific Fleet happened to participate in a campaign to the shores of Somalia (2011). Pirates off the African coast obstructed shipping, endangering the safety of merchant sailors. A squadron of several ships was led by the missile cruiser Varyag. Photos of Russian courts were published by all the print media of the world after successful operations, which thwarted the activity of newly appeared corsairs. Anti-ship systems were not needed in this campaign; using them would be as rational as shooting guns at sparrows. But artillery was very welcome.
In 1991, Ukraine, like all other republics of the USSR, ceased to be red. Five years later, the crew offered to give the ship a name glorified as far back as 1904. Then, during the Japanese war, the unconquered Russian cruiser did not lower the Andreevsky flag at Chemulpo and went to the bottom, not reaching the enemy. The feat of the last parade impressed the German poet Rudolf Greits, who composed the lyrics of the song, which became the unofficial anthem of the Russian Navy. The proud and expensive name was inherited by the Varyag guards missile cruiser, which cuts ocean waves in its 21st century with its stem.