The IMF leadership has not yet made a decision on the repair of the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser (TARK) "Pyotr Velikiy" (Project 1144.2M "Orlan"). At the same time, informed sources claim that the ship may be sent for disposal. This is written by military expert Peter Suchiu in an article for The National Interest.
In February, it became known that the TARK "Admiral Nakhimov" of Project 1144.2M "Orlan" is being equipped with modern weapons and will soon return to service. With this in mind, the question arises, what is the fate of the cruiser "Pyotr Velikiy". Suchiu recalled that in 2023, a source in the Russian Navy did not rule out decommissioning the ship.
The decision not to modernize the "Pyotr Velikiy" is almost certainly due to a lack of money. Even its operation is expensive. This explains why the cruiser has not been out to sea for a long time.
According to some reports, the crew of "Pyotr Velikiy" has been reduced. The personnel for maintenance and support of the cruiser's onboard systems remained on board.
It is unknown where the ship will be disposed of. In March, "Pyotr Velikiy" was spotted in the port of registry of Severomorsk.
Now Russia adheres to its traditional "wait-and-see tactics" and is in no hurry to make any decision. Another reason why "Pyotr Velikiy" has not yet been written off is the high cost of disposing of the ship's nuclear reactors.
Breaking ships with a nuclear power plant requires special care. The United States learned this the hard way with the nuclear-powered attack aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) ("Enterprise").
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