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BV Norm,
an Polmar, Editor, Guide to the Soviet Navy
*uui niajui ouiiuvv win
c asses under construction: Kirov- a_ | eaNpropelled ‘ ‘battlecruisers, ’ ’ fernerf &SS antlsbip missile cruisers, Severs, and? C'aSS antlsb>P missile destroy- farg ^. b'dn/oy-class antisubmarine war-
c|Jrrem°Q more unusua' aspects of the face ">OV'et fhtust to the sea is the sur- armsC°fm^atant program.1 The principal aviati° t'le ^0viet Navy are land-based ti0n °n ant^ submarines. Sea-based avia- 43 0qq malcing rapid strides: the four takeoff °n’ Kiev-class vertical/short
lowed lan<iing carriers will be fol- clear _ ^ at *east two 70,000-ton, nu- Pr0Pelled, fixed-wing carriers, naval Slderin8 these and other major Union^r°iframs unc*er way in the Soviet combat l”e SC0Pe of the large surface rend n?* Pro8rams is significant. Cur-
batant’ i6 are four major surface comm classes v:
- Kirov: The largest surface warship design built since World War II except aviation ships, the Kirovs have combination oil-burning and nuclear-propulsion plants. With their heavy, versatile armament, they can operate independently, in surface action groups, or in carrier battle groups. The Kirovs are more than twice the size of the last U. S. class of guided missile cruisers to be built.
The Kirov and Frunze are at sea, a third ship is expected to be launched this year, and construction of a fourth ship will begin shortly.
- Slava: Oriented for antiship and antiair operations, these cruisers have gas turbine propulsion and, in some respects, are the successors to the Kara-class ASW cruisers. The lead ship is operational, two others are nearing completion, and a fourth is under construction.
- Sovremennyy: Also oriented primarily for antiship and antiair operations, the Sovremennyy-class destroyers are about the size of the Kresta-I/-II ships, which were classified as cruisers by Western intelligence agencies. Although the Sovremennyy and the two cruiser classes all have antiship missiles, these are different systems—which attests to the breadth of Soviet weapon development efforts. The Kirov has the SS-N-19 (also carried in Oscar-class submarines), the Slava has the SS-N-12 (also in Kiev-class carriers and some Echo-II subs), and the Sovremennyy has the SS-N-22 (also in the Tarantul-II-class missile corvettes).
Six of the steam turbine Sovremennyys are believed to have been completed, with construction continuing at the rate of at least one ship per year.
- Udaloy: This ASW ship is slightly
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128
Table 1 Major Soviet Surface Combatants
First Full-load Weapon
Class Comm. Displacement Length Propulsion Emphasis
Kirov | 1980 | 28,000 tons | 7541/2' | nuclear-steam | AAW-ASW-ASUW |
Slava | 1984 | 12,500 tons | 610' | gas turbine | AAW-ASUW |
Sovremennyy | 1981 | 7,900 tons | 511%' | steam turbine | AAW-ASUW |
Udaloy | 1981 | 8,200 tons | 53P/4' | gas turbine | ASW |
Krivak-III | 1984 | 3,900 tons | 405' | gas turbine | coastal patrol |
Source: Guide to the Soviet Navy, 4th edition (Annapolis, MD.: Naval Institute Press, 1986).
larger than the Sovremennyys and similar in size (and role) to the U. S. Spruance (DD-963)-class destroyers. The Udaloy, however, has a more impressive antiair capability than the Spruances: the new vertical-launch SA-N-9 system.
Eight of these gas turbine ships are reported to have been completed, with construction continuing at two shipyards.
A frigate construction program—the 3,900-ton Krivak-III class and the 1,200-ton Grisha-V class—is also under way. The Soviets also construct smaller ASW and antiship missile corvettes— ship types not found in the U. S. Navy. Thirty-two ASW Krivak I/IIs were built for the Soviet Navy between 1970 and 1982. Since then, only heavily modified Krivak-IIIs have been built. These ships, in use by KGB Maritime Border Troops, sacrifice some ASW/antiair armament for a helicopter flight deck and hangar, which are lacking in the navy units.
While the Krivak-III is a KGB ship, the production line is kept open and naval variants could be easily restarted.
The Soviet cruiser/destroyer programs have produced 17 ships—displacing some 180,000 tons full load—since 1980. During the same period, the U. S. Navy has completed five Ticonderoga (CG-47)-class Aegis cruisers, four Kidd (DDG-993)-class guided missile destroyers, and one Spruance—ten cruisers and destroyers displacing about 88,000 tons.2 (Significantly, since 1980, the U. S. Navy has built 46 3,650-ton Oliver Hazard Perry [FFG-7]-class frigates.)
Since 1980, the U. S. Navy has modernized and recommissioned three of the Iowa (BB-61)-class battleships, with a fourth dreadnought now in the yard. These ships are oriented primarily toward the strike mission—with 16-inch guns and Tomahawk missiles—and demonstrate the difficulty of comparing ship types between the U. S. and Soviet navies.
If U. S. Navy plans are funded, additional Ticonderoga-class ships will be built and the new Arleigh Burke (DDG- 51)-class destroyers will be produced in numbers comparable to current Soviet programs. Still, while the Navy, the De
partment of Defense, various °versl®e(j agencies, and Congress have d*scUS,j,e and debated these U. S. programs. Soviets have developed and construe an impressive array of large surface c batants. This effort has been un<^tjta y’s without reductions in the Soviet significant aviation, carrier, and sU^K_ rine programs. Indeed, only in the . gories of large amphibious ships large auxiliary ships has there been dence of reductions in Soviet bui “ programs. 0f
Can the Soviets sustain this ra , construction for cruisers and destroy^ The other four Soviet services are
rently undergoing significant m°'
idemiza:
tions. The costs—in rubles, in'
dusto
ef*
nan*
capacity, and manpower—of these forts, coupled with the almost-sta8^ Soviet economic rate of growth, (0 term manpower difficulties, and desi increase consumer goods (if only , centives for more efficient produc all indicate problems for a contin ^ across-the-board upgrading of all 0 y Soviet armed forces. The Soviet ^ may be particularly vulnerable. retirement of Admiral of the Fleet ° Soviet Union S. G. Gorshkov in -cll. ber 1985, the Soviet Navy lost an a ^ late and politically powerful leader- s the new Soviet political leadership^^j not have the personal interest m V) matters that was evidenced by Brez Khrushchev, and Stalin during the,r tenures. . jn
Nevertheless, the huge investme ^ specialized shipbuilding facility® ^ 0f supporting industries,
the momenta11
the naval shipbuilding programs, a
f nava
significant political-military uses0 a]
forces argue for continued S°v'etgoViet construction. But if any part of the .<
naval buildup can be considered -v6
it is probably the large and impre- surface warships program.
‘Also see “The Soviet Navy: The Subrn ^j29- mas,” Proceedings, January 1986, pp- jran 2The four AT/tW-class ships were ordered 0f the
taken over for the U Shah.
S. Navy after the I
Proceedings
/ Septen|ber