Moskva (Project 1164 Atlant)

Guided-Missile Cruiser Warship [ 1983 ]

A late Cold War-era entry, the guided-missile cruiser Moskva was sunk by Ukrainian cruise missiles during the Ukrainian-Russian War of 2022.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 01/30/2023 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image released to the public domain by Wikipedia user George C.

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The Slava-class (Project 1164 Atlant) was a Soviet Cold War-era initiative intended to field some 10 guided missile cruisers for the Soviet Navy during the 1970s. Design work began in the 1960s and the types were scheduled to be outfitted with conventional propulsion, an array of sensors and processing systems and a plethora of missile armament to contend with the threat posed by Western aircraft and waterborne threats against Soviet territory and interests. In the end, only three of the planned vessels were ever completed due to the end of the Soviet Empire in 1991, leaving one incomplete hulk and six vessels to cancellation. The Moskva - originally commissioned as the Slava (meaning "Glory") - became the lead ship of the class and her keel was laid down in 1976 by 61 Kommunara Shipbuilding Plant. She was launched in 1979 and officially commissioned for Soviet Navy service on January 30th, 1983. Her name was changed in 1995 to honor the Russian capital city of Moscow and her primary station is as part of the Black Sea Fleet. "Project 1164 Atlant" is the Soviet Navy designation for the Slava-class.

The Moskva missile cruiser exhibits a wholly conventional design profile made up by an upward-sloping bow, centralized superstructure and stern helicopter landing deck. The Moskva features a singular deck gun along the forecastle, large missile launchers along the port and starboard sides and an enclosed forward mast containing radar, communications and sensitive processing systems. The bridge is fitted high atop the superstructure for a commanding view of the field ahead. An aft superstructure contains the aft mast and a pair of low-profile, enclosed smoke funnels. A small helicopter landing deck can manage a single twin-rotor Kamov Ka-25 or Ka-27 navalized helicopter or similar - anti-submarine warfare helicopters designed to specifically search, track and engage enemy submarines. The full crew complement consists of 480 personnel including the small air detachment. The vessel displaces at 11,500 tons and armor consists of splinter plating protection.

The Moskva is a conventionally-powered "blue water" vessel designed for operations far from shore, either independent or as part of the main Russian fleet. Propulsion is provided for by 4 x gas turbines arranged in a COGOG (COmbined Gas Or Gas) configuration developed for ultimate efficiency. COGOG allows for both low and high engine output for both general cruising and high-speed darting respectively. The configuration allows for better management of limited fuel stores and more flexibility in travel modes over older engine arrangements. A clutch system manages each turbines and total output produced is approximately 121,000 shaft horsepower delivering to 2 x shafts. Range is listed at 10,000 miles when maintaining a cruising speed of 16 knots.

The Moskva is outfitted with an array of sensors and processing systems led by its powerful Voskhod/Top Pair MR-800 series 3D long-range search radar providing a modern "all-seeing" digital suite. This is coupled with a Fregat MR-710 3D air search radar to counter incoming aerial threats. Navigation is assisted by the "Palm Frond" suite and fire control consists of several radar installations and applicable systems - the Bass Tilt AK-360 series handling short-ranged aerial threats (including cruise missiles), the MPZ-301 Baza SAM (Surface-to-Air Missile) control, the Door-C SSM (Surface-to-Surface Missile) control, the MG-332 Tigan-2T sonar array integrated into the bow and a Platina "Horse Tail" MF VDS (Variable Depth Sonar) fitted aft. Intercept and jamming antennas (the "Kol'cho" suite) help manage the onboard electronic warfare suite and 2 x 140mm PK-2 DL series chaff-flare dispensers are fitted to thwart incoming radar and missile threats.©MilitaryFactory.com

At the heart of the Moskva, and her class, is a battery of missile-launching systems intended to counter both aerial and surface threats while additional measures are enacted against undersea threats as required. The primary weapon system is 16 x P-500 "Bazalt" (SS-N-12 "Sandbox") anti-ship missiles fitted (as pairs) in two banks of four launchers each - four paired launchers to a superstructure hull side. The launchers can be easily identified and sit angled upwards in a ready-to-fire posture. This arrangement is supplemented by 8 x 8 S-300PMU "Fort" (SA-N-6 "Grumble") surface-to-air missile launchers totaling 64 missiles in all and additional anti-aircraft support is through 2 x 20 OSA-MA (SA-N-4 "Gecko") short-range surface-to-air missile launchers numbering 40 missiles total. Conventional short-range work is managed through a network of digitally-controlled 6 x 30mm AK-630 Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWSs). Another conventional weapon fitted is the 130mm/L70 AK-130 series "dual-purpose" deck gun fitted to a double-barreled turret at the forecastle. Anti-submarine measures include 10 x 533mm torpedo tubes and 2 x RBU-6000 series anti-submarine mortars.

Born as the Slava in 1983, the vessel underwent its first major (and rather lengthy) overhaul between 1991 and 1998 and did not reenter fleet service until 2000. By this time, her name had been changed to "Moskva" to coincide with the new emerging Russia born from the ashes of the old Soviet Union. The Moskva was given flagship status of the Black Sea Fleet, replacing the Admiral Golovko in the same role. In 2003, the Moskva took part in joint exercises with the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean, India a growing military export customer for the Asian global power. When tensions erupted to full war with neighboring Georgia in 2008, the Moskva operated in the Black Sea in support of Abkhazian independence during the 2008 South Ossetia War. She returned to Russia for an overhaul in late 2009 and was set upon a floating dock while her work was completed. In April of 2010, the vessel undertook another exercise in Indian waters and then participated in the Vostok military drills on the Sea of Okhotsk. August of 2013 saw her undertake a goodwill stop in Cuba, a long-time communist ally miles from American shores.

Due to growing tensions between Russia and the West centered around the years-long Syrian Civil War - Syria a long-time military and political partner to the Soviet Union, and recently accused of using chemical weapons on rebel forces - the Russian Navy has dispatched its Moskva missile cruiser in late August 2013 from Atlantic waters to the Mediterranean Sea in response to a growing Western threat of military intervention, primarily directed by the United States and supported by European powers. For the moment, the Moskva will serve as a deterrent to Western involvement and (it is said) will assist in evacuating Russian citizens from Syria proper. Russia remains the Syrian government's most powerful ally in the region (as well as Syria's largest military supplier). An anti-submarine vessel has also been dispatched by the Russian Navy to the theater. The Russian government has stated that the show of force is intended to protect its "interests" in the region and not to raise already heightened tensions between world powers. Russia (as well as communist ally China) publically has opposed any western military intervention in the civil war.

Russia maintains over a dozen vessels in the Mediterranean Sea.©MilitaryFactory.com

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February 2022 - Moskva, alongside Vasily Bykov, was used by Russian forces in its apparent takeover of Snake Island during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

April 2022 - Russian media confirmed Ukrainian claims that the Moskva, flagship of its Black Fleet, has suffered serious damage in a Neptune cruise missile strike on the vessel. Latest reports suggest the ship rolled over after being hit.

Specifications

Service Year

1983

Origin

Soviet Union

Status

LOST-IN-ACTION
No Longer in Service.

Complement

480
PERSONNEL

Class

Slava-class

Number-in-Class

4
VESSELS

Ships-in-Class

Moskva; Marshal Ustinov; Varyag

Russia; Soviet Union (former)

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Offshore Bombardment
Offshore bombardment / attack of surface targets / areas primarily through onboard ballistic weaponry.

✓ Land-Attack
Offshore strike of surface targets primarily through onboard missile / rocket weaponry.

✓ Maritime Patrol
Active patroling of vital waterways and maritime areas; can also serve as local deterrence against airborne and seaborne threats.

✓ Airspace Denial / Deterrence
Neutralization or deterrence of airborne elements through onboard ballistic of missile weaponry.

✓ Fleet Support
Serving in support (either firepower or material) of the main surface fleet in Blue Water environments.

Length

611.5 ft
186.39 m

Beam

68.2 ft
20.79 m

Draught

27.6 ft
8.41 m

Displacement

11,500
tons

Installed Power: 4 x Gas turbines in COGOG configuration developing 121,000 shaft horsepower to 2 x shafts.

Surface Speed

32.0 kts
(36.8 mph)

Range

8,690 nm
(10,000 mi | 16,093 km)

16 x SS-N-12 "SANDBOX" anti-ship missiles.

8 x 8 S-300PMU "Favorit" (SA-N-6 "Grumble") anti-aircraft missile launchers (64 missiles).

2 x 20 OSA-MA (SA-N-4 "Gecko") short-range anti-aircraft missile (40 missiles).

1 x 130mm/L70 AK-130 twin-barreled dual-purpose (DP) deck gun.

6 x 30mm AK-630 Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWSs)

2 x RBU-6000 anti-submarine mortars.

10 x 533mm Torpedo Tubes.

Supported Types

Graphical image of a modern warship turreted deck gun armament

Graphical image of an aircraft Gatling-style rotating gun

Graphical image of an aircraft aerial torpedo

Graphical image of an aircraft anti-ship missile

(Not all weapon types may be represented in the showcase above)

1 x Kamov Ka-25 OR Kamov Ka-27 Anti-Submarine Warfare navy helicopter.

Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War period

Military lapel ribbon for early warship designs

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective naval campaigns / operations / periods.

Images Gallery

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Image of the Moskva (Project 1164 Atlant)

Image released to the public domain by Wikipedia user George C.

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