How would other navies respond if Russia built modern nuclear-powered large surface combatants?
Short answerThe response would depend on numbers, with a large series forcing both military countermeasures and close scrutiny of Russia's revived industrial capacity.
NotesThe international response would scale with the number of ships: one would be interesting, six concerning, and two dozen a major force-planning problem. Russia's domestic nuclear expertise makes the propulsion side more plausible than gas-turbine construction after losing access to Ukrainian suppliers. The larger obstacle is a surface fleet dominated by old Soviet-era submarines, cruisers, destroyers, and amphibious ships with uneven maintenance and delayed replacements. A large nuclear-escort program would signal a surprising recovery of financing, yards, components, and fleet-support capacity as well as the arrival of a new class.