The Sovremenny Class destroyer has a maximum displacement of 8,480t and is similar in size to the USA Navy’s Aegis-equipped missile cruisers. It is armed with an anti-submarine helicopter, 48 air defence missiles, eight anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, mines, long-range guns and a comprehensive electronic warfare system.
The first-of-class Sovremenny was commissioned in 1985. A total of 18 have been built for the Russian Navy. Five remain in service. All ships were built at the Northern Yard, Severnaya Verf, in Saint Petersburg.
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The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has two modified Sovremenny destroyers, delivered in December 1999 and November 2000. In 2002, PLAN ordered two more. The first of these was launched in April 2004 and delivered in December 2005. The second vessel was launched in July 2004 and delivered in September 2006.
COMMAND AND CONTROL
The ship’s combat systems can use target designation data from the ship’s active and passive sensors, from other ships in the fleet, from surveillance aircraft or via a communications link from the ship’s helicopter. The multi-channel defence suite is capable of engaging several targets simultaneously.
MISSILES
The ship is equipped with the Raduga Moskit anti-ship missile system with two four-cell launchers installed port and starboard of the forward island and set at an angle about 15°. The ship carries a total of eight Moskit 3M80E missiles, NATO designation SS-N-22 Sunburn. The missile is a sea-skimming missile with velocity Mach 2.5 and armed with a 300kg high-explosive warhead or a nuclear 200kt warhead. The range is from 10km to 120km. The launch weight is 4,000kg.
Two Shtil surface-to-air missile systems are installed, each on the raised deck behind the two-barrelled 130mm guns. Shtil is the export name of the SA-N-7, NATO reporting name Gadfly. The system uses the ship’s three-dimensional circular scan radar for target tracking. Up to three missiles can be aimed simultaneously. The range is up to 25km against targets with speeds up to 830m/s. The ship carries 48 Shtil missiles.
GUNS
The ship’s 130mm guns are the AK-130-MR-184 supplied by the Ametist Design Bureau and the Frunze Arsenal Design Bureau in Saint Petersburg.
The system includes a computer control system with electronic and television sighting. The gun can be operated in fully automatic mode from the radar control system, under autonomous control using the turret-mounted Kondensor optical sighting system and can also be laid manually. Rate of fire is between 20 and 35 rounds/min.
The ship has four six-barrel 30mm AK-630 artillery systems. The maximum rate of fire is 5,000 rounds/min. Range is up to 4,000m for low-flying anti-ship missiles and 5,000m for light surface targets. The gun is equipped with radar and television detection and tracking.
ANTI-SUBMARINE SYSTEMS
The destroyer has two double 533mm torpedo tubes and two six-barrel RBU-1000 anti-submarine rocket launchers, with 48 rockets. Range is 1,000m. The rocket is armed with a 55kg warhead.
HELICOPTER
The ship’s helicopter pad accommodates one Kamov Ka-27 anti-submarine warfare helicopter, NATO codename Helix. The helicopter can operate in conditions up to Sea State 5 and up to 200km from the host ship.
COUNTERMEASURES
The Project 956 destroyer is fitted with an electronic countermeasures system and carries a store of 200 rockets for the two decoy dispensers, model PK-2.
SENSORS
The ship is equipped with three navigation radars, an air target acquisition radar, and fire control radars for the 130mm gun and the 30mm gun. The sonar suite includes active and passive hull mounted search and attack sonar.
PROPULSION
The ship’s propulsion system is based on two steam turbine engines each producing 50,000hp, together with four high-pressure boilers. There are two fixed-pitch propellers. The ship’s maximum speed is just under 33kt. At a fuel-economic speed of 18kt the range is 3,920 miles.
