from
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russias-kirov-class-battlecruiser-nightmare-has-just-begun-210587

April 16, 2024 Topic: Security Region: Europe Blog Brand: The Buzz
Tags: RussiaMilitaryRussian NavyBattlecruisersKirov-ClassBattleships

Russia's Kirov-Class Battlecruiser Nightmare Has Just Begun
The Soviet-designed Kirov-class battlecruisers, initially intended to
counter US Navy aircraft carriers and submarines, have largely failed to
meet their strategic expectations.

by Brandon J. Weichert
Summary: The Soviet-designed Kirov-class battlecruisers, initially
intended to counter US Navy aircraft carriers and submarines, have
largely failed to meet their strategic expectations. Despite their
shortcomings and the high maintenance costs, Russia remains interested
in these warships. With the ongoing Ukraine War highlighting Russia's
isolation and resource limitations, there is talk of revitalizing this
fleet by integrating modern hypersonic weapons like the Tsirkon missile.
However, significant vulnerabilities in air defense and satellite
reliance, compounded by potential counterspace attacks, make the
continuation of the Kirov-class a questionable investment, underscoring
its impracticality in modern naval warfare.

Russia's Kirov-Class Battlecruisers: An Impractical Relic or a Future
Threat?
The Kirov-class Battlecruiser was designed by the Soviet Union to do two
things: sink the aircraft carriers of the United States Navy and hunt
American submarines. First designed in 1977 as part of a modernization
wave by the Soviet Navy across their fleet, these giant—and
expensive—warships never quite lived up to their reputations.

Still, the Russians have remained committed to these massive warships.
In fact, rumors persist that the Putinist regime desires to build more
of these overrated monstrosities.

Four Kirov-class ships were built. Two remain in service. One of the two
has been stuck in drydock since 1999 (and you thought the Pentagon’s
acquisition process was slow).

Ukraine War and A2/AD
The Ukraine War has forced a reappraisal of the Russian defensive
posture as well as its overall defense industry. While the Russians are
winning the conflict against Ukraine and their defense industrial base
is doing far better than anyone in the West had assumed it would, given
the imposition of severe sanctions by Russia’s Western trading partners,
there are still limits to what Russia can do. Unlike the 1990s and
2000s, Russia is now truly isolated from the West.

Moscow, therefore, must be innovative in its use of limited resources.
This likely explains why there are some in the Russian military who are
contemplating building more of the Kirov-class battlecruisers.

Of course, as I have written extensively in these pages, the advent of
anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) systems makes it quite difficult for any
surface warship to be as capable as they otherwise would be against
targets defended by the A2/AD systems. Nevertheless, as with the
Americans who insist on building aircraft carriers, Russia cannot seem
to quit its love affair with the Kirov-class battlecruiser.

Even though the Ukrainians in particular have shown how relatively cheap
drones can be used to sink Russian warships—such as the Black Sea Fleet
flagship, the Moskva—there are still some modifications to the
Kirov-class that Russia could make that would ensure the Kirovs pose a
challenge to their Western rivals.

The Kirov-class as a Major Hypersonics Weapon Platform
As per the original intent of the designers of the Kirov-class
Battlecruiser, they could be used to conduct devastating attacks on US
aircraft carriers or other US warships.

For example, the Kirov-class could be outfitted with a Russian
hypersonic missile known as the Tsirkon, which many believe to have a
speed of Mach 9 and a range of around 621 miles. This capability would
be devastating because most defense systems, either in a carrier battle
group or on land, cannot defend against the unpredictable
maneuverability of hypersonic weapons.

Again, though, the problem facing the Kirov-class remains the A2/AD
threat that most modern surface warships are today facing. The Kirov is
a massive target that can easily be tracked by satellites in space. US
submarines as well as surveillance aircraft can also stalk this
particularly large prey.

Kirov-class Vulnerabilities
Then there’s the added problem that the Kirov-class relies extensively
on satellite information to guide it and its weapons when they are
launched. But in a potential war with the United States, the likelihood
that Russian (as well as American) space assets would be destroyed is high.

Basically, US counterspace capabilities directed against Russian
satellite constellations would render the Kirov-class useless.

Interestingly, despite its aggressive posture, the Kirov-class lacks a
comprehensive air defense capability. So, the great ship would be
exposed to all manner of attack by Western forces.

Kirov-Class

As the Kirov-class that has been languishing in drydock since 1999 has
shown: these warships are costly to maintain, highly complex, and take
time to repair.

If the Russians threw more of their limited resources behind the
construction of Kirov-class battlecruisers, they would have to figure
out how to streamline these aspects of the Kirov-class.

A Waste of Russian Resources
To close, the Kirov-class has been a waste of Russian resources since
its inception. The Russian navy does not have enough of them and the
systems it does of this class are underutilized.

That Moscow is even contemplating building more is ridiculous. But even
if Russia were to make the modifications to the Kirov-class as was
discussed above, these changes would likely be insufficient toward
meeting Russian foreign policy goals in the long run.

The Kirov-class was a mistake for Russia to build. They should just give
it up already.

About the Author
Brandon J. Weichert is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical
analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, as well as at
American Greatness and the Asia Times. He is the author of Winning
Space: How America Remains a Superpower (Republic Book Publishers),
Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s
Quest for Supremacy. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

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