The missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov, which has been undergoing modernization at Zvezdochka shipyard for about four years, is a notable 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, two of which, Moscow and Varyag, are the flagships of the Black Sea and Pacific fleets, respectively.
Transfer to a new duty station
Relatively recently, in the media, citing 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 the repair was completed to the Pacific Fleet. This is an important decision, since it significantly changes the distribution of Russian naval forces in the direction of the Far Eastern theater of operations.
State of the Pacific Fleet
If you understand in more detail, then such a decision has matured quite a long time ago. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Pacific Fleet began to rapidly lose ships. Lack of funding for maintenance, ongoing repairs and modernization of ships led to the failure of the largest and most significant ships - aircraft carrying cruisers "Minsk" and "Novorossiysk". It should also be noted that the Pacific Fleet lost (although not completely) the cruiser Admiral Lazarev, as well as most of the destroyers and landing ships. In addition to putting ships out of action, maintaining ships on alert was also 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 this state of the fleet, there could be no talk of any full-fledged presence in the ocean.
The replenishment of the Pacific Fleet with the cruiser Marshal Ustinov, coupled with the overhaul of the 956 project destroyers in the reserve , allows the deployment of two sufficiently powerful anti-submarine groups in the far sea zone. With the re-commissioning of the Admiral Lazarev nuclear-powered missile cruiser in 2018 and the replenishment of the fleet with corvettes under construction, the Pacific Fleet will be able to carry out almost any tasks in the region after such a long, long break.
Infrastructure
The difficulties arising in providing the basing infrastructure for such a large ship are minimized due to the disruption of the Mistral acquisition transaction. To accommodate the helicopter carriers, a pier was built, the size of which allows the adoption of missile cruisers. Given that, most likely, the transfer of helicopter carriers will not take place, a logical decision would be to use the created infrastructure to deploy the Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser.
Project Description 1164
The missile assemblies of project 1164, to which the cruiser Marshal Ustinov 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 - P-1000 Vulkan missile systems. Their tasks also include providing air defense as part of the naval formations of the fleet. The air defense systems of these ships are represented by the heaviest Russian naval air defense system Fort today, as well as Osa-MA complexes as auxiliary air defense systems of the near zone.
The artillery armament of the ship is represented by one AK-130 installation in the bow of the ship, as well as six automatic AK-630 anti-aircraft artillery systems. As anti-submarine weapons, there is a RBU-6000 bomb. In general, the missile cruisers of this project are an inexpensive alternative to the nuclear missile cruisers of project 1144. The most valuable thing for these ships is the presence of a powerful offensive anti-ship complex, as well as the possibility of creating (in combination with other, less equipped with air defense ships) an echelon air defense system due to the presence of the Fort »With a fairly large ammunition of missiles.
Modernization
So, what will be the missile cruiser of the Marshal Ustinov project 1164 after repair and modernization? Of course, there is no exact information about the specific elements to be replaced and modernized. However, it is reliably known for sure that during major repairs more than fifty percent of ship wiring, the element base of navigation systems, antenna groups, and also radar stations are subject to replacement. The armament and power plant will not be modernized, but significant repairs are being carried out. It is worth noting that the repair of the missile cruiser "Marshal Ustinov" is a priority for the Zvyozdochka shipyard.
In general, the cruiser "Marshal Ustinov" will not undergo significant changes, and the range of tasks it resolves will not fundamentally change. However, it should be noted that a four-year repair will certainly 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
In conclusion, it should be noted that the decision to relocate the Marshal Ustinov project 1164 missile cruiser 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 force the military leadership of the Russian Federation to also increase the grouping of troops and forces in this direction.