Russian destroyer model that once made Western submarines afraid

Russian Udaloy-class destroyers are equipped with modern weapons systems that can threaten US and NATO submarines.

Russian anti-submarine destroyer worries Western submarines

Udaloy I-class destroyer Severomorsk

Since the 1980s, the Soviet Union has developed a series of Udaloy-class destroyers with features that make the US and NATO submarine fleets fear, in order to protect Moscow's aircraft carrier and heavy cruiser fleets when operating far from shore, according to WATM.

In the 1970s, the Soviet Navy decided that building multi-purpose warships with large displacements was too costly. Instead, Moscow decided to build specialized warships for each mission. The result was the Project 956 "Sovremenny" anti-ship and anti-aircraft destroyer and the Project 1155 "Fregat" large anti-submarine destroyer.

Project 1155 "Fregat" (Udaloy I) and Project 1155.1 "Fregat II" (Udaloy II) were built for the Soviet and Russian navies between 1980 and 1999. Both models were designed by the Severnoye State Design Bureau, with Udaloy II being an upgraded version equipped with modern sonar and air defense systems, and gas turbine engines.

The Udaloy class was developed from the Project 1356 "Burevestnik" anti-submarine frigate design. Because they were designed specifically for anti-submarine warfare, the Udaloy destroyers have limited anti-ship and anti-aircraft capabilities. Each Udaloy has a standard displacement of 6,930 tons, is 163 m long, 19 m wide, has a maximum speed of 53 km/h, and a range of 19,400 km at a cruising speed of 30 km/h.

The main weapons of the Udaloy I-class destroyer are two missile launchers, equipped with 8 anti-submarine missiles of the Metel complex. This weapon is developed from the P-120 "Malakhit" anti-ship missile, using a solid-fuel engine and guided by radio control commands from the mother ship.

Udaloy I-class anti-submarine destroyer. Photo: Military Today.

The later developed "Rastrub" version carries the UGMT-1 multi-purpose anti-submarine torpedo and a 185 kg warhead to destroy surface ships. In anti-submarine mode, the missile has a range of 50 km, usually launching at a target altitude of 400 m, then releasing torpedoes or small depth charges into the area where the submarine is operating. When destroying surface ships, the Metel has a range of 90 km and flies about 15 m above the sea surface to avoid detection.

The Metel and Rastrub missiles both have a range beyond the counter-attack capabilities of NATO submarine torpedoes. The Udaloy I class is also equipped with eight 553 mm torpedo tubes and two RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers, specialized for intercepting torpedoes or destroying submarines at close range.

Despite the lack of fleet air defense capabilities, the Udaloy ships still have relatively good self-defense against enemy aircraft and missiles, thanks to 64 shells in the 3K95 Kinzhal complex, which has a range of about 12 km and is capable of attacking 4 targets at the same time. Close-range combat is assigned to two 100 mm AK-100 multi-purpose naval guns and four 30 mm AK-630 close-in defense guns.

The Udaloy II variant was developed from 1982, with the goal of developing a more balanced destroyer model, enhancing anti-ship capabilities compared to the Udaloy I model. The new version replaced the Metel anti-submarine missile complex with 8 P-270 Moskit supersonic anti-ship missiles, while the RBU-6000 cluster was replaced by the UDAV-1 anti-torpedo and frogman rocket complex.

Udaloy II-class destroyer Admiral Chabanenko. Photo: Wikipedia.

The Udaloy II's long-range anti-submarine capability is maintained by the RPK-2 Vyuga missile complex, fired through 533 mm torpedo tubes. This class of ships is also equipped with a more powerful artillery system, including a 130 mm AK-130 twin-barreled naval gun and two Kashtan anti-aircraft gun-missile clusters.

The Soviet Union originally planned to build 15 Udaloy-class destroyers, but only 12 Udaloy I and one Udaloy II were built. In 2006, the Admiral Karlamov was reported to have been upgraded to Udaloy II standard. In April 2010, the Severnaya Verf shipyard announced that the Vice Admiral Kulakov, which had been decommissioned in 1990, had been modernized to Udaloy II standard. The ship began patrolling the seas in 2013.

In 2015, the Russian Navy announced that five of the eight Udaloy I-class ships would be upgraded under a program to modernize the force until 2022. In addition to overhauling their electronic warfare and life support systems, they will be equipped with long-range P-800 Oniks and Kalibr cruise missiles. The operational life of the five ships will be extended by 30 years, until Russia has commissioned enough heavy frigates of Project 22350 "Admiral Gorshkov".

Currently, Russia often deploys Udaloy destroyers in the escort formation of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, or independently patrolling the world's oceans. Although there are only 9 ships, the Udaloy class is still a formidable anti-submarine force that the US Navy and NATO cannot ignore, military expert Harold Hutchison emphasized.

According to VNE