The modernization upgrade is difficult and costly, Russia's "strongest cruiser" will soon be handed over.

[Global Times Comprehensive Report] According to the French website "Naval News," on November 2, the modernization plan for the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet flagship, the nuclear-powered cruiser "Peter the Great," has been canceled, meaning that this largest surface combat vessel in the world (excluding aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships) will soon exit the historical stage.

Reports indicate that a special committee in Russia has officially decided to cancel the modernization plan for the cruiser "Peter the Great." This decision was made after its sister ship, the "Admiral Nakhimov," completed its modernization. According to TASS, the modernization of the "Admiral Nakhimov" has been intermittent for over a decade. The West estimates that its renovation costs could reach $5 billion, severely squeezing the limited budget of the Russian Navy. Due to the poor condition of the "Peter the Great," upgrading it to a similar extent has become prohibitively expensive. The Russian Navy has determined that the service life of this cruiser has been completely exhausted, with no possibility of repair.

The "Peter the Great" is the only active "Kirov" class nuclear-powered cruiser in the Russian Navy, having served for 28 years. Compared to the other three ships of its class built during the Cold War, the "Peter the Great" has a higher level of modernization, and thus, while other ships of the same class have been decommissioned or are docked and unable to set sail, it has consistently served as a core force of the Russian Navy, participating in multiple major exercises and operations related to the Syrian civil war. At the end of 2022, the "Peter the Great" last docked in Severomorsk, awaiting a decision on modernization. According to the original plan, it was to have its outdated S-300FM long-range air defense missiles, "Granite" heavy supersonic anti-ship missiles, and other major weapons removed, along with all aging radar equipment, failed electronic systems, and components, replaced with 96 units of S-400 long-range air defense missiles and 80 units of a universal vertical launch system, which could launch new weapons such as the "Zircon" hypersonic missile and "Onyx" supersonic anti-ship missile. However, based on the lengthy modernization experience of the "Admiral Nakhimov," the Russian Navy underestimated the difficulty and cost of the upgrade, and is now unable to afford the modernization expenses for the "Peter the Great." According to previous reports from TASS, the Russian Navy planned to announce the retirement of the "Peter the Great" after the "Admiral Nakhimov" re-enters service, with the name of the latter being inherited by the "Borey-A" class strategic nuclear submarine.

The "Naval News" website states that the retirement of the "Peter the Great" represents the gradual aging of a large number of medium and large surface combat vessels manufactured during the Soviet era, making it difficult for them to continue serving; currently, the new surface vessels being added to the Russian Navy are all medium and small-sized ships. However, reports indicate that the Russian Navy's focus on developing its fleet of underwater nuclear submarines still maintains considerable combat capability. (Xie Zhao)