Slava-class cruiser

The Slava-class cruiser (Soviet designation Project 1164 Atlant) is a type of large, conventionally powered warship, designed and constructed for the Soviet Navy and currently operated by the Russian Navy.

Design

The design started in the late 1960s, based around use of the P-500 Bazalt missile, and was intended as a less expensive conventionally powered alternative to the nuclear-powered Kirov-class battlecruisers. Moskva is armed with P-1000 Vulkan AShM missiles, developed in the late 1970s to late 1980's. Although the missiles are an older variant, they are still considered better than any AShM missile in the world with exception of the Russian P700/800s. It is not known which Slava-class cruisers carry P-1000s other than Moskva. There was a long delay in this programme, while the problems with the Bazalt were resolved. These ships acted as flagships for numerous task forces. All ships were built at the 61 Kommunar yard, in Mykolaiv (Nikolaev), Ukrainian SSR. The class was a follow up to the Kara-class cruiser which the Soviet Navy typed as a Large Anti-submarine Ship (Russ. BPK), constructed at the same shipyard and appears to be built on a stretched version of the Kara-class hull.