Russian Cruiser Marshal Ustinov
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The Russian cruiser ''Marshal Ustinov'' (), is a (Project 1164) of the
Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...
. The Russian name for the ship type is ''Raketnyy Kreyser'' (RKR), meaning "Missile Cruiser". The ship is named after
Dmitriy Ustinov Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov (; 30 October 1908 – 20 December 1984) was a Soviet politician and a Marshal of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. He served as a Central Committee secretary in charge of the Soviet military–industrial comple ...
, a former Soviet Minister of Defence. ''Marshal Ustinov'' was assigned to the 43rd Missile Ship Division of the
Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the terri ...
, whose homeport is in
Severomorsk Severomorsk (), known as Vayenga () until 18 April 1951, is a closed city, closed types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. The town is sit ...
. From 2012 to 2016, the cruiser underwent a major overhaul. The vessel returned to service in 2017 and has since been deployed to the Mediterranean Sea.


Description

''Marshal Ustinov'' is a designed during the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
as a ''Raketnyy Kreyser'' or "anti-ship
rocket cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...
(RKR)." As originally constructed the vessel had a
standard displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
of and at full load. By 2009, this had decreased to standard and at full load. The cruiser measures long with a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...
of and a draught of . The vessel is powered by a combined gas or gas (COGOG) system comprising four boost
gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...
s and two cruise gas turbines driving two
shafts ''Shafts'' was an English feminist magazine produced by Margaret Sibthorp from 1892 until 1899. Initially published weekly and priced at one penny, its themes included votes for women, women's education, and radical attitudes towards vivisection ...
for a combined . This gives the cruiser a maximum speed of and a range of at . As built the cruiser had a complement of 505. This was later reduced to 476 including 62 officers. ''Marshal Ustinov'' when constructed was armed with sixteen
P-500 Bazalt The P-500 ''Bazalt'' (; ) is a turbojet-powered, supersonic cruise missile used by the Soviet Navy, Soviet and Russian Navy, Russian navies. Its GRAU designation is 4K80 and its NATO reporting name is SS-N-12 ''Sandbox'', its upgraded version bei ...
(SS-N-12 Sandbox)
anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM or ASM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. ...
s (SSM) in two eight-missile launchers located amidships to either side of the
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
. The cruiser is also equipped with 64 S-300F ''Fort'' (SA-N-6 Grumble) long-range
surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...
s (SAM) in eight eight-missile launchers located aft of the funnel and four
OSA-M The 9K33 ''Osa'' (; English: "wasp"; NATO reporting name SA-8 ''Gecko'') is a highly mobile, low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and fielded in 1972. Its export version nam ...
(SA-N-4 Gecko) SR SAMs in two twenty-round launchers located aft, to either side of the
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
. ''Marshal Ustinov'' is also armed with twin-mounted
AK-130 The AK-130 is a Russian designed automatic dual barrel naval cannon with a caliber of , capable of firing 10-40 rounds per minute (per gun barrel). History The design of the cannon began in June 1976 in KB Arsenal. A first single-barrel canno ...
/L70
dual purpose gun A dual-purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets. Description Second World War-era capital ships had four classes of artillery: the heavy main battery, intended to engage opposing battleships and ...
s located forward and six
AK-630 The AK-630 is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian fully automatic naval, rotary cannon, close-in weapon system. The "630" designation refers to the weapon's six gun barrels and their 30 mm caliber. The system is mounted in an enclosed automatic ...
close-in weapons system A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of l ...
s with two located forward atop the superstructure and four located amidships to either side of the superstructure. For
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...
(ASW), the cruiser mounts two
RBU-6000 The RBU-6000 Smerch-2 (Реактивно-Бомбовая Установка, ''Reaktivno-Bombovaja Ustanovka''; rocket-bomb installation & Смерч; waterspout) is a 213 mm caliber Soviet anti-submarine rocket launcher. The system enter ...
anti-submarine mortar Anti-submarine mortars are artillery pieces deployed on ships for the purpose of sinking submarines by a direct hit with a small explosive charge. They are often larger versions of the Mortar (weapon), mortar used by infantry and fire a projecti ...
s, each with six barrels and ten
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s two quintuple launchers behind shutters near the stern. The ship was equipped with MR-800 Voskhod/Top Pair 3-D long range air search and MR-700 Fregat/Top Steer air/surface search radar. For ASW, the cruiser is equipped with MG-332 Tigan-2T/Bull Nose hull-mounted LF and Platina/Horse Tail MF VDS
sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...
. ''Marshal Ustinov'' mounts MR-184/Kite Screech fire control radar for the 130 mm guns, 3R41 Volna/Top Dome radar for SA-N-6 SAM control, MPZ-301 Baza/Pop Group radar for SA-N-4 SAM control and Argument/Front Door-C radar for SSM control and 3 Bass Tilt radars for the AK-630s. The cruiser also utilises the Punch Bowl satellite link for its weapon targeting systems. For electronic warfare, the ship is supplied with the Kol'cho suite with Gurzhor-A&B/Side Globe intercept and MR-404/Rum Tub jammers. The vessel mounts two PK2 chaff launchers. The single Top Dome radar only has a 180° arc and presents a blind spot forward for the SA-N-6 missiles. The cruiser has a
flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface on which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...
over the stern and a hangar. The cruiser can utilise either one
Kamov Ka-25 The Kamov Ka-25 (NATO reporting name "Hormone") is a naval helicopter, developed for the Soviet Navy in the USSR from 1958. Design and development In the late 1950s there was an urgent demand for anti-submarine helicopters for deployment on n ...
or
Kamov Ka-27 The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and as of 2024 is in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-2 ...
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
. The hangar is one-half deck below the flight deck and is reached via an inclined ramp. The helicopter is maneuvered using a chain-haul system. The helicopter can provide over-the-horizon targeting for ''Marshal Ustinov''s weapon systems.


Construction and career

Hull number 070 was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...
at the 61 Kommuna#445 Yard,
Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...
on 5 October 1978 as the second ''Slava''-class ship initially named ''Admiral Lobov''. The cruiser was launched on 25 February 1982 and commissioned in the
Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the terri ...
as the renamed ''Marshal Ustinov'' on 15 September 1986. Beginning in March 1987, the cruiser began operations with the fleet. ''Marshal Ustinov'' has been known to carry two other
hull number A hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. For the military, a lower number implies an older vessel. For civilian use, the Hull Identification Number (HIN) is used to trace the boat's history. The precise usage varie ...
s than her original (070); 088 and 055. From December 1987 to June 1988, she performed the tasks of military service in the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
. In 1989 ''Marshal Ustinov'' was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea again. Between 22 and 26 July 1989 the cruiser, along with the oiler and the
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
, paid an official visit to the naval base of
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
, United States. This marked only the second time Soviet warships had made a visit to the United States since World War II. On 4 January 1991 ''Marshal Ustinov'' started a patrol duty in the Mediterranean Sea. Between 16 and 20 July 1991 the cruiser paid a visit to the naval base of
Mayport, Florida Mayport is a small community located between Naval Station Mayport and the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the Jacksonville Beaches communities on San Pablo Island. The only public road to Mayport is State Road A1A, wh ...
, United States. ''Marshal Ustinov'' was accompanied by the oiler and the destroyer ''Simferopol''. This marked the third time Soviet warships had visited the United States since the end of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. Between 30 June and 5 July 1993 she paid a visit to
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
, Canada alongside the destroyer . In 1994, then commissioned in the Northern Fleet, ''Marshal Ustinov'' was laid up at the
Severnaya Verf Severnaya Verf () is a major shipyard on in Saint Petersburg, Russia, producing naval and civilian ships. It was founded as a branch of the Putilov Plant in the late 1800s. Under the Soviets, the shipyard was generally known as Shipyard No. 19 ...
shipyard in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
awaiting extensive repairs. The refit was completed in May 1995. In December 1996, the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
purchased two s and the income from this sale made it possible to pay for the
$US The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
169 million repairs to ''Marshal Ustinov''. ''Marshal Ustinov'' remained in St. Petersburg until 1998 when the cruiser returned to the Northern Fleet. From 21 September to 22 October 2004 ''Marshal Ustinov'' took part in a long voyage of the
carrier strike group A carrier strike group (CSG) is a type of carrier battle group of the United States Navy. It is an operational formation composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, usually an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer Squadron (naval), squad ...
of the Northern Fleet to the north-eastern part of the Atlantic. Beginning on 17 July 2008 the cruiser patrolled the waters of the Arctic Ocean around
Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipel ...
, replacing the destroyer . In March 2011 it was reported that ''Marshal Ustinov'' could be transferred to the Russian Pacific Fleet. In 2011, it was decided to give the cruiser a moderate
overhaul Overhaul may refer to: * The process of overhauling, see ** Maintenance, repair, and overhaul ** Refueling and overhaul (eg. nuclear-powered ships) ** Time between overhauls Time between overhauls (abbreviated as TBO or TBOH) is the manufactu ...
. However, in 2012, the navy decided to completely rework the cruiser. In 2012 the cruiser was laid up for repairs and upgrades at the Zvyozdochka Shipyard. The refit comprised repairs to ship's hull structures, propeller-steering group mechanisms, main power plant, and general systems. The electronic weapons systems were upgraded with digital devices. It was during this refit that the P-500 Bazalt missiles were upgraded to the modernized P-1000 Vulkan missiles. The ship rejoined the navy in 2016, and returned to active service in April 2017. On 12 May 2017, ''Marshal Ustinov'', with cruise missiles on board, went on
exercises Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovasc ...
in the
Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...
. On 4 July 2017, together with the destroyer , ''Marshal Ustinov'' sailed from Severomorsk to the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
and on 29 July she took part in the Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg in honor of the Navy Day. On 5 December 2017, the cruiser completed combat training missions in training ranges in the Barents Sea to repulse conventional air attacks of
Sukhoi Su-33 The Sukhoi Su-33 (-33; NATO reporting name: Flanker-D) is a Soviet/Russian all-weather carrier-based twin-engine air superiority fighter designed by Sukhoi and manufactured by Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, derived f ...
fighters. Between 11 August and 12 November 2018, ''Marshal Ustinov'' was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea for the fourth time after 1988, 1989 and 1991 deployments. On 3 July 2019, ''Marshal Ustinov'' left Severomorsk to participate in the Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg before joining the Russian Navy exercise "Ocean Shield-2019" in the Baltic Sea and on 22 August, entered the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. There, she visited ports in Algeria, Egypt, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. ''Marshal Ustinov'' afterwards transited
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
again and sailed into the Atlantic. On its way to South Africa, the cruiser paid a port visit to
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...
. This was only a third time after the Cold War that a Russian cruiser entered the South Atlantic, the first two being in 2008/2009 and in 2015. Between 25 and 30 November ''Marshal Ustinov'' participated in joint naval drills with South Africa and China. After the drills she transited Gibraltar. On 6 January 2020 it was reported that the cruiser will be deployed off Syria due to the danger of an Iran-US war in order to provide protection for the Russian troops in Syria and to ensure stability in the region. She returned to the homeport
Severomorsk Severomorsk (), known as Vayenga () until 18 April 1951, is a closed city, closed types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. The town is sit ...
in February 2020, ending the 7-month deployment. Afterwards, she held drills in the
Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...
in May, June and July 2020. In February 2021, ''Marshal Ustinov'' took part in the large-scale exercises in the
Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...
. She entered the Barents Sea two times under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Andrey Krivoguzov. Other ships active in the area in January - February include destroyer ''Severomorsk'', frigate with the tug ''Altay'', nuclear submarine ''Severodvinsk'', that launched a Kalibr missile, corvettes ''Aysberg'', ''Snezhnogorsk'', ''Yunga'' and ''Brest'' and salvage vessel ''Georgiy Titov'' with deep-submergence rescue vehicle '' AS-34''. On 22 February, the same day as US bombers landed in Norway for the first time, ''Marshal Ustinov'' sailed in Varanger fjord in the area of Russia-Norway maritime border, becoming the first Russian warship to do so in the post-Cold War era. She entered the Barents Sea again on 4 March. On 1 June, the ship participated in drills in the Barents Sea along with . Afterwards, the ship embarked on a journey towards the Baltic Sea in order to participate in the Naval Parade in St. Petersburg, along with destroyer ''Vice-Admiral Kulakov'', landing ship ''Pyotr Morgunov'', tug ''Altay'' and nuclear submarines ''Orel'', ''Knyaz Vladimir'' and ''Vepr''. On 7 February 2022, the cruiser deployed to the Mediterranean along with destroyer ''Vice-Admiral Kulakov'', frigate ''Admiral Kasatonov'' and tanker ''Vyazma''. Her battle group linked-up with ''Varyag's'' deploying to the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
on 2 February 2022 from the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
along with destroyer ''Admiral Tributs'' and tanker ''Boris Butoma''. The battle group left the Mediterranean on 24 August 2022, returning to her homeport Severomorsk, while ''Admiral Kasatonov'' stayed in the Mediterranean. Both battle groups have conducted exercises with naval bombers Tu-22M3 and MiG-31K, operating from airbase Khmeymim in Syria. ''Marshal Ustinov'', ''Vice-Admiral Kulakov'' and ''Vyazma'' returned to Severomorsk on 15 September, after 236 days and 36,000 nautical miles travelled. They were accepted by the commander of the Northern Fleet admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev, who claimed that the presence of such ships in the distant sea zone is one of the deterrents, preventing the escalation of the situation, which is now critical.


Citations


References

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External links


FAS.org


{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshal Ustinov Slava-class cruisers Ships built in the Soviet Union 1982 ships Cruisers of Russia Ships of the Russian Northern Fleet