Category
Latest news

11 Years Later, This Russian Warship Is Still Docked—and Still Missing Its Missiles

11 Years Later, This Russian Warship Is Still Docked—and Still Missing Its Missiles

Russia is once again facing delays in its naval modernization efforts—this time with a warship intended to carry some of its most advanced missile systems.

3 min read
Authors
Photo of Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
Author

The Admiral Chabanenko, a Project 1155.1 Udaloy-class large anti-submarine ship, has now spent over 11 years undergoing what was meant to be a mid-life upgrade, Ukrainian defense outlet Defense Express reported on May 19.

Despite plans for the vessel to rejoin active service by 2025, newly released photos suggest it hasn’t even completed basic repair work—and appears to be completely unarmed.

Admiral Chabanenko, a Project 1155.1 Udaloy-class large anti-submarine ship undergoing repairs in 2025. (Source: Defense Express)
Admiral Chabanenko, a Project 1155.1 Udaloy-class large anti-submarine ship undergoing repairs in 2025. (Source: Defense Express)

This latest delay underscores a broader pattern of dysfunction in Russia’s surface fleet modernization. The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier has been docked for repairs since 2017 with no clear timeline for return.

The Admiral Nakhimov, a nuclear-powered Kirov-class battlecruiser, has been under overhaul since 1997, with over $5 billion reportedly spent on its incomplete refit.

In addition, a recently released satellite image from March 11, 2025, revealed the current state of Russia’s nuclear-powered battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy (Project 1144 “Orlan”), which remains moored at the naval base in Severomorsk.

Cuban military salute Russia’s anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, as it enters the harbor of Havana, arriving in Cuba for a five-day visit on December 19, 2008, in Havana, Cuba. (Source: Getty Images)
Cuban military salute Russia’s anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, as it enters the harbor of Havana, arriving in Cuba for a five-day visit on December 19, 2008, in Havana, Cuba. (Source: Getty Images)

In the case of the Chabanenko, the vessel was formally taken in for a mid-life refit in 2014 and was later slated for an upgrade to enhance its strike capabilities.

Before its overhaul, the ship was equipped with eight P-270 Moskit  anti-ship missiles. The modernization plan envisioned replacing these with four launchers for a total of 16 Kh-35  anti-ship missiles, along with a universal vertical launch system capable of carrying 16 Kalibr  or Zircon  missiles.

The aim was to elevate the ship’s classification to that of a guided missile frigate and return it to the Northern Fleet in 2025.

But recent imagery shows the vessel still sitting idle, incomplete, and without any visible weapons systems—casting serious doubt on that timeline.

It’s unclear how the Russian naval command plans to respond to the delays. However, the situation reflects deep structural issues in Russia’s naval-industrial complex, especially under the pressure of ongoing full-scale war against Ukraine and intensifying military demands.

Before entering long-term repairs, Admiral Chabanenko had a full displacement of 8,320 tons, a hull length of 163.5 meters, and a beam of 19 meters.

The ship was launched in December 1992 and commissioned in 1999, serving for 15 years before being sidelined for what has now become an 11-year repair.

Earlier, reports emerged that Russia’s Baltic Fleet conducted a series of naval exercises involving 11 vessels between April 16 and April 23, following recent European efforts to disrupt the country’s shadow oil trade.

While the maneuvers do not appear to be a direct military response, the timing and scale suggest a calculated display of force.

The drills were carried out in three phases and involved a range of surface combatants, including three Project 20380 corvettes (Boykiy, Steregushchiy, and Soobrazitelnyy), one Buyan-M-class corvette armed with Kalibr missiles, four anti-submarine corvettes, four mine countermeasure vessels, one missile boat, and one diesel-electric submarine.

See all

The P-270 Moskit is a Soviet supersonic ramjet powered anti-ship cruise missile. Its GRAU designation is 3M80, air launched variant is the Kh-41 and its NATO reporting name is SS-N-22 Sunburn (one of two missiles with that designation). The missile system was designed by the Raduga Design Bureau during the 1970s as a follow-up to the P-120 Malakhit (NATO reporting name “SS-N-9 Siren”). The Moskit was originally designed to be ship-launched, but variants have been adapted to be launched from land (modified trucks), underwater (submarines) and air (reportedly the Sukhoi Su-33, a naval variant of the Sukhoi Su-27), as well as on the Lun-class ekranoplan. The missile can carry conventional and nuclear warheads. The exact classification of the missile is unknown, with varying types reported.

The Zvezda Kh-35 (Russian: Х-35, NATO reporting name AS-20 'Kayak') is a Soviet turbojet subsonic cruise anti-ship missile. The missile can be launched from helicopters, surface ships and coastal defence batteries with the help of a rocket booster, in which case it is known as Uran ('Uranus', NATO reporting name SS-N-25 'Switchblade', GRAU 3M24) or Bal (NATO reporting name SSC-6 'Sennight', GRAU 3K60). It is designed to attack vessels up to 5,000 tonnes.

The Novator Kalibr, also referred to as 3M54-1 Kalibr, 3M14 Biryuza (Бирюза, turquoise), (NATO reporting name SS-N-27 Sizzler and SS-N-30A) is a family of Russian cruise missiles developed by NPO Novator (OKB-8). It first saw service in 1994. There are ship-launched, submarine-launched and air-launched versions of the missile, and variants for anti-ship, and land attack use. Some versions have a second propulsion stage that initiates a supersonic sprint in the terminal approach to the target, reducing the time that air defense systems have to react, while subsonic versions have greater range than the supersonic variants. The missile can carry a warhead weighing up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb).

The 3M22 Zircon, (NATO reporting name: SS-N-33), is a Russian scramjet-powered, nuclear-capable hypersonic cruise missile. Produced by NPO Mashinostroyeniya for the Russian Navy, the missile utilizes the 3S-14 launch platforms on frigates and submarines. The missile has a reported top speed of Mach 9. The weapon was first used during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.