Destroyers

Kashin class

The world's first major warship class with gas turbine propulsion, the 20-ship Kashin class was produced from 1963 at the Zhdanov Shipyard, Leningrad (five units 1964-66 and at the 61 Kommuna (North) Shipyard, Nikolayev (15 units 1963-73). The last unit of what was known to the Soviets as Project 61 was the Sderzhanny completed to a revised Project 61M design designated as the Kashin (Mod) class by NATO. This involved lengthening the hull, updating the electronics, and installing four P-15M Termit surface-to-surface missiles, later replaced by eight Uran missiles, AK-630 CIWS mountings and a variable-depth sonar. Five other ships (Ognevoy, Obraztsovy, Odarenny, Slavny and Steregushchiy) were thus modified between 1973-80.In 1974 the Orel (ex-Otvazhny) of the standard type foundered in the Black Sea following a catastrophic explosion. In 1981 the Provorny re-entered service with the Black Sea Fleet following conversion to the trials ship for the Uragan surface-to-air missile system. The other units of this 'bolshoy protivolodochny korabl' (large ASW ship) type were the Komsomolets Ukrainy, Krasny Kavkaz, Krasny Krim, Reshitelny, Skory, Smetlivy, Smely (transferred to Poland in 1988 as the Warszawa), Smyshlenny, Soobrazitelny, Sposobny, Stroigiy and Stroyny. All but two of the ships had been stricken by the end of the 20th century.Five Kashin II class ships were built at Nikolayev and delivered to India in batches of three and two ships (1980-83 and 1986-87) as the Rajput class. These are considerably different from the Soviet ships, having only a single 76-mm gun, four Termit-R (SS-N-2d Styx) SSM launchers in pairs on each side of the bridge, and a helicopter flight deck and hangar aft for one Ka-28 Helix ASW helicopter.  The Kashin class destroyers were a group of guided missile destroyers built for the Soviet Navy in the 1960s and early 1970s. Their Soviet designation was Project 61. As of 2007, one ship is in service with the Russian Navy, and five modified ships are in service with the Indian Navy as Rajput-class destroyers.In the USSR they were officially classified as "guard ships" (storozhevoi korabl - SKR), then "large ASW ships" (BPK) or "large missile ships" (BRK), but in the rest of world they are commonly regarded as missile destroyers due to their size and armament. They were the first Soviet purpose-built anti-air warfare ships and the first to carry an ASW helicopter.

Sovremenny class

The Sovremenny class (Project 956 Sarych) was derived from the hull of the previous Kresta II cruisers, and was intended to offer a surface-strike capability and to provide other warships with protection against air and ship attack. As such, the class was seen as a specialist anti-shipping complement to the Udaloy class ASW destroyers.A total of 20 vessels were constructed at Zhdanov (later North Yard), with another three cancelled or aborted (up to 28 ships may have been planned). The first, Sovremenny, was laid down in 1977 and commissioned in December 1980. From Bespokoiny (commissioned February 1992) onwards, the class was known as the Project 956A, which features improved weapons and electronic warfare systems. Currently, there are only four units in active Russian service (three of Project 956A type), reduced from a total of 17, with a single vessel (Bulny) awaiting completion.Designated by the Soviets as eskadrenny minonosets (destroyer), the class was initially armed with the rocket/ramjet-powered P-80 Zubr missile, replaced on the Project 956A by the longer-range P-270 Moskit. The P-80 is a sea-skimming weapon, with a low-altitude speed of Mach 2.2 (three times that of Harpoon) and a 320-kg or 200-kt nuclear warhead. Both weapons carry the NATO designation SS-N-22 Sunburn. Air defence requirements are handeld by the Mach-3 Uragan (SA-N-7 Gadfly) missile system, which has a range of 44 km and a maximum altitude of 15 000 m. A total of 44 missiles are carried for launchers mounted on the raised decks fore and aft of the two islands. Project 956A ships introduced the Yozh (SA-N-12 Grizzly) using the same launcher.In 2000-1, the Chinese navy received two Project 956A vessels (hulls 18 and 19), Hangzhou (ex-Yekaterinburg) and Fuzhou (ex-Alexandr Nevsky). Later China received two more warships of the improved Sovremenny class (Project 956EM) - the Taizhou and Ningbo.It seems that Sovremenny class destroyers are being sacrificed by Russian navy in favour of mf the Udaloy class, which has more reliable propulsion system. The Sovremenny class destroyer is the principal anti-surface warship of the Russian Navy. Soviet designation for the class was Project 956 Sarych (Buzzard).Its primary role is to attack enemy warships while also providing sea and air defense for warships and transports under escort. It complements the Udaloy-class destroyers in anti-submarine operations.

Kara class

Built at the 61 Kommuna, Nikolayev North Shipyard between 1971 and 1977, the seven units of the Nikolayev class (known as the Kara class by NATO) were intended to boost the Soviet fleet's blue-water anti-submarine capability. Cruiser-sized ships, they were rated as BPKs (Bolshoy Protivolodochnyy Korabl, or large anti-submarine ship) by the Soviets, and were considered as destroyers by function.The Kara is an enlarged gas turbine-powered refinement of the steam-powered Kresta II design, with improved anti-aircraft and anti-submarine capability. The class was commissioned between 1973 and 1980 for service primarily in the Black Sea, as well as in the Mediterranean and the Pacific. Extensive command and control facilities meant that the Karas often acted as hunter-killer task group leaders.A single gas-turbine exhaust funnel dominated the large superstructure. On the ship's stern was a helicopter landing pad with a hangar partially recessed below the flight deck. To stow the ASW helicopter the hanger roof hatch and doors had to be opened; the helicopter was pushed in and then lowered to the deck via an elevator.The ship's Shtorm (SA-N-3 Goblet) and Rastrub (SS-N-14 Silex) ASW missiles have secondary anti-ship capabilities, the former having a 25-kiloton nuclear warhead available in place of the normal 150-kg HE type. At the height of the Cold War it is believed that all Soviet ships with dual-capable weapon systems had at least 25 per cent of their missiles equipped with nuclear warheads while at sea.Nikolayev was transferred to the Ukraine after the fall of the USSR, and was scrapped in India in 1994. Petropavlovsk, Tashkent and Vladivostok were sold for scrap between 1994 - 1996. Ochakov went into reserve in the Pacific in the late 1990s. Kerch went into refit in the late 1990s, and is the only member of the class still nominally in commission, serving as flagship of the Black Sea Fleet.Azov was the trials ship for the new generation SA-N-6 vertical-launch SAM and its associated 'Top Dome' fire control radar. She remained in the Black Sea after one Shtorm and 'Headlight' fire control radar combination had been replaced by the new systems.The Kara is a class of Cold War era Soviet warships designated guided missile cruisers by NATO.The Soviet designation is Project 1134B Berkut B - Беркут Б (Golden Eagle) and the Soviet mission description is "large anti-submarine warfare ship" (BPK) and not "cruiser".

Udaloy class

The Udaloy I class (Project 1155 Fregat) were considered large ASW ships (bolshoy protivolodochny korabl) by Soviets. The programme was initiated in 1972, and two ships, Udaloy and Vitse-Admiral Kulakov were operational by early 1982. Based upon the Krivak class, the Udaloy I ships were intended as long-range ASW platforms, with an underway replenishment capability, to provide support for surface task forces. The series eventually yielded 12 vessels. Seven ships remain in service, these being maintained partly at the expense of the Sovremenny class destroyers.The Udaloy I class is armed with two quadruple launchers for the Rastrub (SS-N-14 Silex) missiles. A unique twin hangar system with associated helicopter flight deck is located aft for two Ka-27 Helix-A ASW helicopter. Additional ASW equipment comprises a Polinom (Horse Jaw) active/passive search/attack sonar system. For air defence, the Udaloy I ships are fitted with eight six-round vertical launchers for the Klinok (SA-N-9 Gauntlet) missiles, of which 64 are carried. These can engage aerial targets at a range of up to 12 km and at altitudes as low as three meters and up to 12 192 m.A single follow-on vessel of the Udaloy II (Project 1155.1 Fregat) class was commissioned in 1995. This design was intended to provide more balanced capabilities, and as such introduced two quadruple P-270 Moskit (SS-N-22 Sunburn) anti-ship missile launchers in place of the Rastrub. For self-defence, two Kortik (CADS-N-1) combined gun/missile CIWS were added, each incorporating two six-barrel 30-mm guns and eight 9M87/9M88 (SA-N-11 Grison) surface-to-air missiles. A new twin 130-mm dual purpose gun is also fitted, whilst ASW capability is maintained by Viyoga (SS-N-15 Starfish) missiles. Although two more vessels were planned, only Admiral Chabanenko has entered Northern Fleet service.The Udaloy I class are a series of anti-submarine destroyers built for the Soviet Navy, eight of which are currently in service with the Russian Navy. The Russian designation is Project 1155 Fregat (Frigate bird). Twelve ships were built between 1980 and 1991, while a thirteenth ship built to a modified design as the Udaloy II class followed in 1999. It complements the Sovremenny class destroyer in Anti-aircraft warfare and Anti-surface warfare operations.