Granite "Peter"

"Peter the Great" - the most powerful non-aircraft carrier ship of not only domestic but also world military fleet

Twenty years ago, the Yury Andropov launch of the 11442 project, the fourth type of Kirov, took place at the Baltiysky Zavod of the heavy nuclear missile cruiser (TARKR) "Yuri Andropov". It was founded three years earlier under the name "Kuibyshev". But the completion of the ship stretched for seven years. Only in 1996, in the presence of the first President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, did the cruiser, which received the new name Peter the Great, be handed over to seamen for testing.

It must be admitted that not least due to the name, this TARKR managed to survive. Perhaps, he would have been allowed on needles, as in those days mercilessly cut many other unfinished and undeserving deadlines for ships and submarines of the Navy. But the 300 anniversary of the domestic regular Navy was approaching and on the threshold of this holiday, “execution” of “Peter” was an obvious blasphemy. Therefore, the cruiser survived.

True, he was also somewhat "sequestrated." For example, because of insufficient funding, only the aft dagger was placed on it, although a place was reserved for the bow. But this TARKR did not receive the newest Fort-M zone air defense system (C-300FM), which was not foreseen by the original project, which can immediately hit 6 highly maneuverable and hardly noticeable aerodynamic targets at a distance of 120 km at low and high altitudes.

In general, "Peter the Great" is the most powerful non-navigating warship of not only the domestic, but also the world military fleet. Its length is a quarter of km, the total displacement exceeds 24800 T. The range of navigation is unlimited, autonomy for reserves of provisions is 60 days. The crew - more than 740 people, of which 101 - officers. Main shock weapon - the Granit anti-ship complex, whose P-700 (3М-45) missiles can be equipped with 500 CT nuclear warheads and conventional 750 kg combat units, which, if hit at the target, guarantee its destruction or, at a minimum, decommissioning. "Granite", in fact, is a reconnaissance-strike system. When firing a volley, the first rocket flies higher and gives target designation to other missiles. In the arsenal of "Peter the Great" is 20 P-700. Very impressive arsenal!

Diverse and defensive armament of the ship. The missile defense and air defense systems at the near frontier provide 6 combat modules of the Dirk Dirk, anti-submarine and anti-torpedoes - VLV-NK, RSU-6000 and Udav-1. Three Ka-27 helicopters perform a variety of missions: from anti-submarine to search and rescue. The twinned universal 130-mm artillery mount is capable of hitting targets at a distance over 22 km.

"Peter the Great" is considered to be the flagship of not only the Northern Fleet, but also the entire Russian Navy. And the crew of the ship does not get tired to confirm the high rank. 10 March this year, the cruiser returned from a distant six-month voyage, during which he set a sailing record, along and across the ridge of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. In a word, “Peter”, as sailors affectionately call this ship, proved to be a fine fellow.