In September 2009 Deputy Minister of Defense Vladimir Popovkin said in an interview that Russia needs a renovated fleet of surface vessels, and that the nuclear powered cruisers were subject to reconstruction programs that were being developed.
Now a decision on this issue has been made, and the two nuclear cruisers “Admiral Ushakov” of the Northern Fleet and “Admiral Nakhimov” of the Pacific Fleet will be kept in service after modernization, a source in the military industrial complex told Interfax, TV29 reports. Both the vessels are currently moored in Severodvinsk.
According to the navy source, 500-600 million RUB have already been allocated to modernization of “Admiral Nakhimov”. Modernization should be finished by 2011, but the time table will most probably be changed, TV29 writes. So far, no money has been allocated for repairs of the Northern Fleet cruiser.
