Slava Class Guided Missile Cruiser "Moskva"

	Initially known in western naval circles as BLACKCOM 1 (BLACK Sea COMbatant 1) the Slava (Glory) class guided missile cruisers are powerful units clearly intended for actions against surface fleets. Generally thought to have been constructed as a backup against the failure of the Kirov class battle cruiser, they are nonetheless impressive warships. Constructed during the late seventies through to the eighties this class follows the Soviet naval practice of what western naval critics have termed, putting all the ship’s armament “in the shop window”.

The Slava Class / Project 1164 cruiser is a conventionally powered surface warship of 11,280 tons fully loaded which has been designed primarily for the anti-ship role, Soviet naval doctrine has been focused on combatting American carrier battle groups, and warships such as the Slava class are a part of their solution. The ship’s unique battery of sixteen SS-N-12 Sandbox surface-to-surface missiles sited in two rows along either side of the bridge superstructure gives her formidable firepower and also makes this class easily recognizable.

Anti-aircraft weapons include eight SA-N-6 surface-to-air missile silos (eight missiles per silo) located between the funnels and the after end of the hangar. Contained in vertical launch tubes, these missiles are intended to provide a Soviet battle group with defense against carrier or land-based aircraft firing contemporary stand-off munitions such as anti-ship missiles. There are also twin SA-N-4 silos located on either side of the hanger doors.

	Anti-submarine weapons comprise fixed 533mm torpedo tubes mounted behind shutters on either side of the hull near the hangar and two twelve barreled RBU-6000 launchers just forward of the bridge. The raised flight deck on the stern allows the operation of a Ka-27 helicopter. Gun armament includes six CIWS 30mm Gatlings, two forward of the bridge and two on either side of the superstructure just forward of the funnels. The main gun consists of a twin 130mm located on the after end of the forecastle. A full range of sensors is carried and the four ships of this class are fitted out as flagships.

The Slava is not as impressively armed or as large as the other contemporary Soviet cruiser class - the mighty Project 1144 Orion (Kirov class), but it is still a formidible warship in its own right.

Guided missile cruiser Moskva, (ex-Slava) of the Russian Federation Navy. Launched in 1979 she entered service in 1983. In 2000 she underwent a modernization refit and was re-commissioned as Moskva, hull number 121. She is also the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.