By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization (Washington D.C.) Russia’s Soviet-era Kirov class [https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/02/putins-battleship-meet-russias-deadly-kirov-class-battlecruiser/] guided-missile cruiser was second in size only to aircraft carriers and armed with a massive arsenal of guns, rockets, missiles, and torpedos. And yet, its most distinctive feature may be its sea-based deployment of Russian S-300 air defenses [https://eurasiantimes.com/better-than-patriots-russian-media-hails-s-300-says-us-defense/]. KIROV-CLASS: ATTACK AT SEA There is only one Kirov-class [https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/07/kirov-class-russias-battlecruisers-are-the-largest-non-aircraft-carrier-warships-on-earth/] left in active service; it is currently being repaired. The existence of a ballistic missile defense [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-intel-helped-ukraine-sink-russian-flagship-moskva-officials-say-rcna27559] and counter-air capability such as the S-300 on the ship clearly impacts the threat equation. Russian-built S-300 air defenses, long thought of as highly effective and lethal road-mobile weapons [https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/russia-pulls-its-syrian-s-300-sam-battery-ships-it-to-black-sea], were configured to fire from the deck of the Kirov-class battlecruisers. Integrating S-300s at sea certainly places attacking aircraft at great risk and, at the very least, complicates efforts to destroy the ship from the air. Along with the S-300s, the Kirov-class battleships integrate 9K33 short-range tactical air defenses [https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2021/04/13/russia-is-trying-to-restore-a-giant-nuclear-battlecruiser-its-not-working-out/?sh=61ec4a761d1a] into the warship. A Russian media report from Sputnik details the S-300s on the Kirov-class ship, claiming its radar can track multiple aerial targets at altitudes of 30km and ranges out to 300 km. “Pyotr Veliky is armed with 48 S-300F Fort and 46 S-300FM Fort-M (SA-N-20 Gargoyle) medium-range surface-to-air missiles (with effective range of up to 200 kilometers), 128 3K95 Kinzhal (SA-N-9 Gauntlet) short-range SAMs, and six CADS-N-1 Kashtan gun/missile systems,” as explained by Russian state media. RUSSIAN AND U.S. NAVIES COMPETE ON TECHNOLOGIES The question of greatest relevance related to the Kirov-class, however, may exist when it comes to comparing the Kirov-class ballistic missile defense to the U.S. Navy’s Aegis Combat System [https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/04/the-u-s-navys-aegis-combat-system-an-essential-defense-tool/]. The operative factor here is the extent to which Russia’s ship-integrated S-300s can truly rival the integrated, software-enabled fire control, interceptor launch, and radar target tracking [https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/09/russias-upgraded-kirov-class-cruiser-admiral-nakhimov-to-start-sea-trials-in-2023/] abilities of the Aegis system. Aegis Baseline 10, now on U.S. Navy destroyers and cruisers, incorporates an ability to perform ballistic missile defense and air and cruise missile defense on a single system. Army Delivers New High-Speed Attack Networking Technology to Active Units This increases efficiency, operational speed, and target-sharing data across otherwise disconnected threat areas. Given the ability of Aegis-capable U.S. Navy ships to combine these missions into a single system, it remains unclear if Russia’s 9K33 shorter-range air defenses were networked with the S-300s as an integrated system. The ability to do this would be a key benchmark for Russian innovators and shipbuilders to attempt to match U.S. Navy technological advances. For instance, are Russia’s ship-integrated S-300s connected to the more tactical 9K33 weapons for closer defenses? Should they be unable to share target tracking data in real-time with one another, they would likely present a much less significant threat to U.S. Navy air assets attacking from the air. In end, however, Russia may be doing away with these so-called battlecruisers due to cost [https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2023/04/scrapping-could-be-next-russias-nuclear-powered-battle-cruiser]. Kris Osborn [https://warriormaven.com/author/krisosborn] is the Military Affairs Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University. Image [https://warriormaven.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk2NTA5NzE0MjM2ODQzNTA2/1674709250761-1.jpg]
