Chapayev-class guided missile cruiser

The Chapayev-class guided missile cruisers, known by their internal designation Project 1293 Olusha, are a series of large cruisers operated by the Soviet Navy. They are the largest class of surface combatant currently in service following the decommissioning of the older Kirov-class guided missile cruisers.

Procurement
At the time of the arrival of the Project 1144 Orlan (Kirov-class) cruisers in the mid-1970s, the Soviet Navy was already beginning to recognize the expense of operating such massive vessels. The class was already envisioned to have a limited run, particularly with the Sevastopol-class carriers anticipated to come online and already under construction in time for the 1980s. The expense of operating large aviation cruisers was deemed prohibitive to the ability to field large numbers of Kirovs. Soviet planners drawing-boarded a plan to reduce the cost of the cruisers by 20% by splitting the design into two vessels built on the same basic hull. The two designs that emerged were the air and surface defense-focused Project 1293 and the anti-submarine-focused Project 1199.

The Project 1293 vessels were laid down first, the keel of Chapayev being laid in Leningrad in 1990. However, changing military priorities following the Caucasus Crisis and an ensuing budget reduction associated with the loss of the South Caucasus and the war in Ichkeria resulted in the Project 1199 ships being delayed and eventually cancelled in favour of ASW frigate and destroyer escorts, leaving only the Project 1293 vessels to continue along their path to construction. Despite crisis-related delays, new urgency was breathed into the Project 1293 construction following reactor issues that put Kirov in mothballs well before her projected end of life.

While the new ships would still be among the largest surface vessels in the world, Chapayev was commissioned in 2000 to positive results. More efficient reactor designs allowed the Soviet Navy to realize greater cost savings than anticipated, slashing costs by 31% over the more expensive Kirovs while still providing a significant deterrent against NATO surface ships and aircraft. The development of new computer systems in the 1990s, incorporated into the Project 1293 development process, allowed for a reduction in the ship's complement, further reducing budget requirements for the ships.

With slipways at Severnoye largely dedicated to pushing out Chapayevs, the ships entered service at a rate of one per year.

Modernization program
Within a few years of the Chapayev-class ships' launch, projects were already tabled as proposed replacements. By 2010 the proposed Project 2356.0 Shkval design had emerged, proposing to phase out the Chapayevs beginning in 2025 in favour of a large cruiser of 230 metres. However, this design was ultimately rejected by Soviet naval planners, both due to budgetary and engineering issues, particularly an extraordinary tall pagoda-style superstructure that unbalanced the ship in project modeling.

Ultimately the Soviet Navy resolved to begin a modernization program for the Chapayevs, aimed at integrating new weapons and radars and installing modern data systems to keep the vessels current. The Project 1293.5 modernization program began in 2015 with the refit of VMS Chapayev. Upgrades included:


 * Replacement of existing P-700 Granit and P-800 Oniks with modernized P-800 Oniks-M ASW missiles.
 * Replacement of the existing CIWS with the new Pantsir-M missile/gun system.
 * Replacement of most of the S-300FM system with newly-developed S-500F Promotey surface-to-air missiles, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.
 * Integration of a 12-cell Redut medium-range air-defense system.
 * Reduction of the main gun armament to a single-barreled A-192M Armat gun.
 * Incorporation of the 5P-20K Poliment four-faced active phased array, among numerous other modern radars.
 * Integration of the SIGMA-E next-generation Combat Management System.

The modifications to Chapayev required a noticeable rebuild of the primary superstructure to house the complex new radars, resulting in a more angular appearance. The modifications allow for further reductions in the ship's complement to about 35 officers and 300 enlisted men, comparable to the smaller Ticonderoga-class cruisers of the United States Navy, reductions made possible by significant computerization.