The Space Review – In early 1974, American reconnaissance satellites spotted something unusual on a large shipway at a Leningrad shipyard—the first signs of a new major surface warship. Over the next several years they photographed the ship as it took shape, noting that it would be the Soviet Union’s first nuclear-powered warship. The ship launched in late 1977, sliding down the ramp into the Neva River, where it was moored for additional work. The US intelligence community designated it BALCOM-1, for Baltic Combatant, and it was the largest surface combatant in the world at that time, bigger than any American cruiser. High-resolution reconnaissance images showed that it had large hatches on its bow covering what were obviously big missiles, and intelligence analysts determined that it was intended to attack American aircraft carriers. Other hatches concealed anti-aircraft missiles. The ship’s pagoda-like superstructure was covered with numerous radar and communications antennas. Eventually, the US intelligence community determined that the ship was named Kirov.