Q&A · 1:15:22-1:15:43

What might a modern battleship resemble?

Pyotr Velikiy and the other Kirov-class battlecruisers provide a real large missile warship against which to test ideas about a modern battleship.

Question

What might a modern battleship armed mainly with missiles look like?

Short answer

The Kirov-class battlecruisers, especially Pyotr Velikiy, provide the closest existing guide to the idea.

Notes

A question about modern battleships turns to the Kirov-class battlecruisers as the closest practical comparison. Pyotr Velikiy and her sisters combine a very large hull with a heavy missile battery and substantial defensive systems. They offer a useful starting point for thinking about how missile armament might replace much of a battleship's traditional gun weight. The comparison is an analogy for scale and weapons density rather than a claim that the class is formally a battleship.