Neustrashimyy-class frigate

Frigate Neustrashimy (FF 712) 188
Class overview
Name: Project 11540 Yastreb
Builders: Yantar yard , Kaliningrad
Operators:  Soviet Navy,  Russian Navy
Preceded by: Burevestnik class
Succeeded by: Admiral Gorshkov class
Planned: 7
Completed: 2
Cancelled: 4
Active: 2
Laid up: 1
General characteristics
Type:Frigate
Displacement:3,800 tons (standard), 4,400 tons (full load)
Length:129 m
Beam:15.6 m
Draught:5.6 m
Installed power:110,000 hp
Propulsion:2 shaft COGAG (gas turbines)
Speed:30 knots
Complement:210
Sensors and
processing systems:		Radar: 1 Top Plate, 2 Palm Frond, Cross Sword, 1 Kite Screech
Sonar: LF bow monted sonar and VDS
Armament:Anti-ship missiles: (installed only in the Yaroslav Mudry) 8 × Kh-35 Uran/SS-N-25 Switchblade (two quad)
SAM: 4 × 8 VLS for SA-N-9
ASW: 1 × 12-tube RBU-6000 launcher
Guns: 1 × 100mm gun, 2 Kashtan CIWS
Torpedoes: six 533mm tubes mounted in the superstructure for ASW missiles (RPK-2 Viyuga/SS-N-15 Starfish) or Type 53 ASW/ASuW torpedoes
Aircraft carried:1 Ka-27 Helicopter
Aviation facilities:pad and hangar

Neustrashimy class frigates (Russian: Неустрашимый, alternate English spelling Neustrashimyy) are the most modern large frigates in the Russian Navy. The Soviet designation is Project 11540 Yastreb ("Hawk").

Design

The class was designed as a general purpose anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigate to follow on from the Krivak-class frigates. This new class of frigates incorporates some stealth technology. The ship is equipped with a newly designed Zvezda-1 integrated sonar system (with NATO reporting name Ox Tail) as its primary ASW sensor.

The program started in 1986 and seven ships were originally planned. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the project was frozen and only one ship, the Neustrashimy (Неустрашимый - "Fearless"), was in active service with the Russian Baltic Fleet by the mid 1990s. On February 24, 2009 the second ship in the class, the Yaroslav Mudry, left the Yantar shipyard in Russia's Kaliningrad for its first sea-trials.[1] As of 2010, both the Neustrashimyy and the Yaroslav Mudry are operational with the Baltic Fleet.

Program

The ships were built by Yantar Yard, Kaliningrad. Only the Neustrashimy was completed by the time the Soviet Union collapsed. Two further ships were incomplete. Yaroslav Mudry (named after the great ruler of the Kievan Rus, Yaroslav the Wise) and Tuman ("Fog", named after a World War II era Soviet patrol boat whose crew exhibited great valour in combat with three German destroyers). As of 2009, the frigate Yaroslav Mudry has begun sea trials and entered service.[2]

2008-09 deployment to Somalia

In late September 2008, the Neustrashimy left the Baltic Fleet and was sent to the Gulf of Aden waters off the Somali coast to fight piracy in the region.[3] Russian navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo told the Associated Press that the missile frigate Neustrashimy had left the Baltic Sea port of Baltiisk a day before the hijacking to cooperate with other unspecified countries in anti-piracy efforts.[4] As of October 27, it was operating independently in the vicinity of a group of NATO warships near the Somali coast.[5] On November 11, it helped capture suspected pirates along with the Royal Marines of HMS Cumberland; the suspected pirates had been attempting to board the MV Powerful. On November 16, 2008, it prevented pirates from capturing Saudi Arabian ship MV Rabih.

Ships in service

Building

See also

References

External links

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