Watch Russian Warship Moscow Get Back in the Game with a Terrific Missile Fire

In a recent exercise, the Russian missile cruiser now known as Moscow, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, demonstrated a missile firing for the first time in recent years. Originally developed during the Soviet era, Moscow was the first ship in a new class of Soviet rocket cruisers. Its name was changed several times throughout the years, but it remains a force to be reckoned with to this day.

The 558 ft.- long warship with a top speed of 32.5 knots and a 2,200 nautical mile range (at maximum speed) was first known as Project 1164, with the code name “Atlas”. It would later be given the name of Slava, a traditional Russian name, and was finally renamed Moskva (Moscow) in 1995.

Like all ships in this new class, the Moscow missile cruiser was developed as a carrier destroyer, because carriers were some of the most powerful enemy assets at the time. It was equipped with several weapon systems, the main ones being the P-500 Bazalt anti-ship cruise missiles.

The Vulkan anti-ship cruise missiles eventually replaced the Bazalt ones and represent the current weapon system on the Moscow missile cruiser, which was used in this recent exercise as well.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the crew on the flagship performed several combat training exercises together with other ships of the Black Sea Fleet, as well as with helicopters and aircraft.

During these exercises, the guided missile cruiser Moscow successfully launched a Vulkan missile, demonstrating that it’s ready to operate even after such a long career. The target, in the form of an enemy ship, was hit at an 18 mile (30 km) distance.