The Kirov class displaced about 24,300 tons standard and 28,000 tons fully loaded, making it one of the world's largest operational surface combatants. Two KN-3 marine reactors and two GT3A-688 steam turbines drove a two-shaft plant rated at roughly 140,000 shaft horsepower. Nuclear power alone supported effectively unlimited endurance at about twenty knots, while the combined plant allowed roughly thirty-two knots and a limited high-speed range. Nuclear propulsion solved sustained cruising, but it did not eliminate every speed-and-endurance tradeoff.
Chapter · 14:42-16:10
Project 1144 size and combined propulsion
Project 1144 combined two reactors with steam turbines to give a 28,000-ton cruiser nuclear cruising endurance and a faster limited-duration sprint.