RFS Marshal Ustinov

## USSRS/RFS Marshal Ustinov

Marshal Ustinov at sea

The **Russian cruiser *Marshal Ustinov*** (Russian: *Маршал Устинов*), is a *Slava*-class cruiser (Project 1164) of the Russian Navy. The Russian name for the ship type is *Raketnyy Kreyser* (RKR), meaning "Missile Cruiser". The ship is named after Dmitriy Ustinov, a former Soviet Minister of Defence. *Marshal Ustinov* was assigned to the 43rd Missile Ship Division of the Russian Northern Fleet, whose homeport is in Severomorsk. From 2012 to 2016, the cruiser underwent a major overhaul. The vessel returned to service in 2017 and has since been deployed to the Mediterranean Sea.

### History

Hull number 070 was laid down at the 61 Kommuna#445 Yard, Mykolaiv on 5 October 1978 as the second *Slava*-class ship initially named *Admiral Lobov*. The cruiser was launched on 25 February 1982 and commissioned in the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet as the renamed *Marshal Ustinov* on 15 September 1986. Beginning in March 1987, the cruiser began operations with the fleet. *Marshal Ustinov* has been known to carry two other hull numbers than her original (070); 088 and 055. From December 1987 to June 1988, she performed the tasks of military service in the Mediterranean Sea.

In 1989 *Marshal Ustinov* was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea again. Between 22 and 26 July 1989 the cruiser, along with the oiler *Genrik Gasanov* and the destroyer *Otlichnyy*, paid an official visit to the naval base of Norfolk, Virginia, United States. This marked only the second time Soviet warships had made a visit to the United States since World War II. On 4 January 1991 *Marshal Ustinov* started a patrol duty in the Mediterranean Sea. Between 16 and 20 July 1991 the cruiser paid a visit to the naval base of Mayport, Florida, United States. *Marshal Ustinov* was accompanied by the oiler *Dnestr* and the destroyer *Simferopol*. This marked the third time Soviet warships had visited the United States since the end of the Cold War. Between 30 June and 5 July 1993 she paid a visit to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada alongside the destroyer *Admiral Kharlamov*.

In 1994, then commissioned in the Russian Northern Fleet, *Marshal Ustinov* was laid up at the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg awaiting extensive repairs. The refit was completed in May 1995. In December 1996, the People's Republic of China purchased two *Sovremenny*-class destroyers and the income from this sale made it possible to pay for the $US169 million repairs to *Marshal Ustinov*. *Marshal Ustinov* remained in St. Petersburg until 1998 when the cruiser returned to the Northern Fleet.

From 21 September to 22 October 2004 *Marshal Ustinov* took part in a long voyage of the carrier strike group of the Northern Fleet to the north-eastern part of the Atlantic. Beginning on 17 July 2008 the cruiser patrolled the waters of the Arctic Ocean around Spitsbergen, replacing the destroyer *Severomorsk*.

In March 2011 it was reported that *Marshal Ustinov* could be transferred to the Russian Pacific Fleet. In 2011, it was decided to give the cruiser a moderate overhaul. However, in 2012, the navy decided to completely rework the cruiser. In 2012 the cruiser was laid up for repairs and upgrades at the Zvyozdochka Shipyard. The refit comprised repairs to ship's hull structures, propeller-steering group mechanisms, main power plant, and general systems. The electronic weapons systems were upgraded with digital devices. It was during this refit that the P-500 Bazalt missiles were upgraded to the modernized P-1000 Vulkan missiles. The ship rejoined the navy in 2016, and returned to active service in April 2017.

On 12 May 2017, *Marshal Ustinov*, with cruise missiles on board, went on exercises in the Barents Sea. On 4 July 2017, together with the destroyer *Vice-Admiral Kulakov*, *Marshal Ustinov* sailed from Severomorsk to the Baltic Sea and on 29 July she took part in the Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg in honor of the Navy Day. On 5 December 2017, the cruiser completed combat training missions in training ranges in the Barents Sea to repulse conventional air attacks of Sukhoi Su-33 fighters.

Between 11 August and 12 November 2018, *Marshal Ustinov* was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea for the fourth time after 1988, 1989 and 1991 deployments.

On 3 July 2019, *Marshal Ustinov* left Severomorsk to participate in the Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg before joining the Russian Navy exercise "Ocean Shield-2019" in the Baltic Sea and on 22 August, entered the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. There, she visited ports in Algeria, Egypt, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. *Marshal Ustinov* afterwards transited Gibraltar again and sailed into the Atlantic. On its way to South Africa, the cruiser paid a port visit to Equatorial Guinea. This was only a third time after the Cold War that a Russian cruiser entered the South Atlantic, the first two being *Pyotr Veliky* in 2008/2009 and *Moskva* in 2015. Between 25 and 30 November *Marshal Ustinov* participated in joint naval drills with South Africa and China. After the drills she transited Gibraltar. On 6 January 2020 it was reported that the cruiser will be deployed off Syria due to the danger of an Iran-US war in order to provide protection for the Russian troops in Syria and to ensure stability in the region. She returned to the homeport Severomorsk in February 2020, ending the 7-month deployment. Afterwards, she held drills in the Barents Sea in May, June and July 2020.

In February 2021, *Marshal Ustinov* took part in the large-scale exercises in the Barents Sea. She entered the Barents Sea two times under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Andrey Krivoguzov. Other ships active in the area in January - February include destroyer *Severomorsk*, frigate *Admiral Gorshkov* with the tug *Altay*, nuclear submarine *Severodvinsk*, that launched a Kalibr missile, corvettes *Aysberg*, *Snezhnogorsk*, *Yunga* and *Brest* and salvage vessel *Georgiy Titov* with deep-submergence rescue vehicle *AS-34*. On 22 February, the same day as US bombers landed in Norway for the first time, *Marshal Ustinov* sailed in Varanger fjord in the area of Russia-Norway maritime border, becoming the first Russian warship to do so in the post-Cold War era. She entered the Barents Sea again on 4 March.

On 1 June, the ship participated in drills in the Barents Sea along with *Pyotr Velikiy*. Afterwards, the ship embarked on a journey towards the Baltic Sea in order to participate in the Naval Parade in St. Petersburg, along with destroyer *Vice-Admiral Kulakov*, landing ship *Pyotr Morgunov*, tug *Altay* and nuclear submarines *Orel*, *Knyaz Vladimir* and *Vepr*.

On 7 February 2022, the cruiser deployed to the Mediterranean along with destroyer *Vice-Admiral Kulakov*, frigate *Admiral Kasatonov* and tanker *Vyazma*. Her battle group linked-up with *Varyag's* deploying to the Mediterranean on 2 February 2022 from the Pacific along with destroyer *Admiral Tributs* and tanker *Boris Butoma*. The battle group left the Mediterranean on 24 August 2022, returning to her homeport Severomorsk, while *Admiral Kasatonov* stayed in the Mediterranean. Both battle groups have conducted exercises with naval bombers Tu-22M3 and MiG-31K, operating from airbase Khmeymim in Syria. *Marshal Ustinov*, *Vice-Admiral Kulakov* and *Vyazma* returned to Severomorsk on 15 September, after 236 days and 36.000 nautical miles travelled. They were accepted by the commander of the Northern Fleet admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev, who claimed that the presence of such ships in the distant sea zone is one of the deterrents, preventing the escalation of the situation, which is now critical.