The Russian Navy is retiring! An entire class of Soviet-era weapons is finally being phased out

After the head of the Russian bank VTB and interim manager of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) Andrei Kostin publicly stated that there was no point in further modernization of the aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov“, a key question arose: what is the future of the Russian fleet and what tasks can it actually perform in distant seas and oceans? This is what the publication Oruzhe Online writes.

Kostin caused a storm earlier, saying:

"We believe that there is no point in repairing the ship anymore. It is more than 40 years old and requires huge investments... It will probably be sold or scrapped.“

Thus, the only remaining Russian aircraft carrier was sentenced to conservation. At this stage, the ship will be rendered unseaworthy — its key systems will be removed, its bilges plugged, and it will be put on “pause.” This shifts responsibility to the Defense Ministry, which should decide its fate.

At the same time, Kostin presented President Putin with positive news: the heavy nuclear cruiser, the world’s largest warship, the "Admiral Nakhimov", is finally coming out of modernization. This "Orlan" class ship has been officially repaired since 1999, but real work began only in 2013. After the modernization is completed, it will become the world's most powerful non-aircraft nuclear-powered warship.

However, the cost of the undertaking is a serious burden on the budget: according to data from 2023, the cost of the modernization has already exceeded 200 billion rubles - and this is not the final figure. That is why the fate of its “twin”, the cruiser “Peter the Great”, is in question.

After the public outcry, RIA Novosti reported a more moderate version:

“Peter the Great“ will not be withdrawn from the fleet for the time being. It is possible that it will be transferred to the reserve with a later overhaul and modernization.“

However, everything indicates that “Peter the Great“ will end up like Kuznetsov — not as the mainstay of a powerful fleet, but as a problem to be solved later. In practice, the Northern Fleet will rely on one modernized cruiser that will serve until the exhaustion of its technical resource.

What the war in Ukraine really changed

The war in Ukraine revealed a number of systemic weaknesses in the legacy of the Soviet military industry. For years, ships and bombers from the Cold War were considered “indispensable“, but the SVO is rapidly pushing them towards retirement.

The biggest shock was the loss of Russian strategic bombers during the Ukrainian operation “Cobweb”, when drones struck bases deep in the rear of Russia. Then three key weaknesses emerged:

These bombers are no longer in production. BUT "YES" is still on paper.

There is no effective protection even for the rear airfields of the Aerospace Forces against drone attacks.

The usability of the air component of the nuclear triad is debatable - the reality of the 21st century does not resemble the Cold War.

The same applies to the naval forces: designed for ocean battles with the NATO fleet, today they are faced with a completely different kind of war - drones, sabotage and sanctions.

In fact, the economy is also suffering: the prolonged conflict is draining resources, the social climate is tense, and some of the most expensive military platforms do not offer commensurate value for their price.

In these circumstances, neither the Tu-95MS, nor the "Admiral Nakhimov", nor the "Admiral Kuznetsov" can decide the outcome of the war, but in return they "swallow“ billions of rubles. The reality is clear: the war is pushing Russia to redefine its priorities, because maintaining the legacy of the Cold War is no longer sustainable.

A new fleet for a new era

The war in Ukraine hastened the end of an era of Russian military power - an era when Soviet mastodons dominated the seas and skies. Today, Russia must think about a new type of war and new priorities: fast, modular, deadly and economically viable systems.