Russian Navy is Upgunning its Battle Cruisers with Hypersonic Missiles

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*This story is being republished due to reader interest

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

(Washington, D.C.) The Russian Navy is upgunning, modernizing and revamping some of its massive, yet somewhat antiquated Cold War era battle cruisers by adding advanced interceptor missiles, close-in ship defenses, upgraded, ship-integrated longer range air defenses and even hypersonic weapons.

Modernizing The Admiral Nakhimov Battlecrusier

Arming a battle cruiser with hypersonic missiles would be a substantial step forward when it comes to changing and upgrading the offensive firepower of the 1980s-era Russian battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov. An interesting article in Forbes magazine says the Russian ship is “almost as large as the Iowa-class” battlecruisers and would well become the “most powerful surface combatant in the world.”

What might make it so powerful? Depending upon the scope of the upgrades, and particularly the extent to which they increasingly incorporate high-speed computer processing, long-range sensor networking and new “fire control.” Should these systems be brought into the modern era, then an upgraded heavily armed ship would indeed present a massive threat to U.S. and NATO forces. 

Weapons Upgrades: S-300 Anti-Aircraft Defenses

The Admiral Nakimov is being upgraded with ship-tailored Fort M missiles, an upgrade to Russia’s S-300 type anti-aircraft defenses, land-attack missiles, AK 192 guns, close-in defenses and new anti-submarine weapons.