Russian shipbuilder Sevmash intends to return the Kirov-class nuclear-powered, guided-missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov to the Russian Navy by the end of this year, state-owned news agency TASS reported recently.
The outlet quoted Sevmash General Director Mikhail Budnichenko as saying that the cruiser will undergo further testing for two months. The conclusion of the testing period will determine whether the ship can be handed over to the navy or if additional improvements will be necessary.
According to TASS, if Nakhimov is cleared for hand-over, she will be transferred to the navy at around the same time as the newbuild Project 885M nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine Perm, which is undergoing final testing.
Nakhimov is the third cruiser in the Russian Navy's four-strong Kirov-class. Only three ships of the class remain in service following Admiral Lazarev's scrapping in 2021.
Commissioned in 1988, Nakhimov saw service with the Soviet and then Russian Navies in the decade that followed until she was docked at Sevmash in 1999, remaining there ever since with occasional repairs being undertaken.
In 2006, the Russian Government decided to modernise the cruiser with upgraded weaponry and other equipment and return her to operational status. However, the actual works commenced only in 2013 and have been continuously delayed.