The Russian missile cruiser Varyag, a Project 1164 Atlant-class warship, still has the ability to make an impression despite its age, Military Watch Magazine noted in its assessment of the vessel’s role in joint Russian-Chinese naval exercises.

The publication pointed first to the scale of the Atlant-class cruisers. With a displacement of 11,500 tons, ships of this project remain among the heaviest surface combat vessels in the world.

MWM also drew attention to the limits of the Varyag’s design. According to the magazine, the cruiser lags behind newer destroyers and cruisers in the way its combat systems are organized. Modern warships are built around integrated digital complexes and networked operations, while the Russian cruiser’s systems are less closely linked and less suited to high-technology, multidomain warfare.

Still, the magazine stressed that this does not erase the ship’s main advantage. In terms of missile firepower, the Varyag remains a serious combat unit.

The joint Russian-Chinese drills Maritime Interaction 2026 began on Monday, July 6. The opening ceremony was held at the naval base in Qingdao, in China’s eastern Shandong province.

The exercises are scheduled to run from July 6 to July 13. Russia is represented by the Guards cruiser Varyag, the corvette Rezky, the diesel-electric submarine Ufa and the rescue ship Igor Belousov.

China has deployed the destroyers Anshan and Kaifeng, the frigate Wuhu, a Yuan-class diesel-electric submarine, the universal supply ship Kekexilihu and the rescue vessel Yanchenghu.