The Udaloy class, Russian designations Project 1155 Fregat and Project 11551 Fregat-M, are series of anti-submarineguided missile destroyers built for the Soviet Navy, seven of which are currently in service with the Russian Navy. Twelve ships were built between 1980 and 1991, while the thirteenth ship built to a modified design, known as Udaloy II class, followed in 1999. They complement the Sovremennyy-class destroyers in anti-aircraft and anti-surface warfare operations.
History
The Project 1155 dates to the 1970s when it was concluded that it was too costly to build large-displacement, multi-role combatants. The concept of a specialized surface ship was developed by Soviet designers. Two different types of warships were laid down which were designed by the Severnoye Design Bureau: Project 956 destroyer and Project 1155 large anti-submarine ship. The Udaloy class are generally considered the Soviet equivalent of the American s. There are variations in SAM and air search radar among units of the class. Based on the, the emphasis on anti-submarine warfare left these ships with limited anti-surface and anti-air capabilities. In 2015, the Russian Navy announced that five out of the eight Project 1155 ships will be refurbished and upgraded as part of the Navy modernization program by 2022. In addition to overhauling their radio-electronic warfare and life support systems, they will receive modern missile complexes to fire P-800 Oniks and Kalibrcruise missiles. The ships are to have their service life extended by 30 years until sufficient numbers of s are commissioned. Upgrades will include replacing the Rastrub-B Silex missiles with 3S-24 angling launchers fitted with four 3S-34 containers using the 3M-24/SS-N-25 Switchbladeanti-ship missile, and two 3S-14-1155 universal VLS with 16 cells for Kalibr land attack, anti-ship, and anti-submarine cruise missiles in place of one of the AK-100 guns.
Udaloy II
Following Udaloys commissioning, designers began developing an upgrade package in 1982 to provide more balanced capabilities with a greater emphasis on anti-shipping. The Project 1155.1 Fregat II Class Large ASW Ship is roughly the counterpart of the Improved Spruance class; only one was originally completed, but in 2006 Admiral Kharlamov was reported to have been upgraded to a similar standard. In April 2010Severnaya Verf shipyard announced that the destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov, which had been retired in 1990, was being upgraded to Udaloy II standard and has since resumed patrolling in 2013. Similar to Udaloy externally, it was a new configuration replacing the SS-N-14 with SS-N-22 "Sunburn" anti-ship missiles, a twin 130 mm gun, UDAV-1 anti-torpedo rockets, and gun/SAM CIWS systems. A standoff ASW capability is retained by firing SS-N-15 missiles from the torpedo tubes. Powered by a modern gas turbine engine, the Udaloy II is equipped with more capable sonars, an integrated air defense fire control system, and a number of digital electronic systems based on state-of-the-art circuitry. The original MGK-355 Polinom integrated sonar system on Udaloy-I ships is replaced by its successor, a newly designed Zvezda M-2 sonar system that has a range in excess of in the 2ndconvergence zone. The Zvezda sonar system is considered by its designers to be the equivalent in terms of overall performance of the AN/SQS-53 on US destroyers, though much bulkier and heavier than its American counterpart: the length of the hull mounted portion is nearly 30 meters. The torpedo approaching warning function of the Polinom sonar system is retained and further improved by its successor.
