''Neustrashimy'' (also transliterated ''Neustrashimyy'', , lit. "dauntless" or "fearless") is the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of the (Russian designation Project 11540 Yastreb) of the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

Design and description

''Neustrashimy'' is long overall and at the waterline, with a beam of and a draught of . Displacing

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

and

full load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weig ...

, the ship's power is provided by two M90 and two M70

gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...

s arranged in a combined gas turbine and gas turbine (COGAG) installation, driving two fixed-pitch

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

s. Her maximum speed is and range of at . The ship's complement is 210, including 35 officers. ''Neustrashimy'' is armed with one A-190E gun. Defence against aircraft are provided by thirty two 3K95 Kinzhal (SA-N-9 'Gauntlet')

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

s launched from four octuple

vertical launching system A vertical launching system (VLS) is an advanced system for holding and firing missiles on mobile naval platforms, such as surface ships and submarines. Each vertical launch system consists of a number of ''cells'', which can hold one or mo ...

cells, and two Kashtan

close-in weapon system A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of l ...

s, each consisted of two 30 mm AO-18K rotary cannons and two

9M311 The 2K22 Tunguska () is a Soviet tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft gun armed with a surface-to-air gun and missile system. It is designed to provide day and night protection for infantry and tank regiments against low-flying aircraft, helicop ...

-1 missile launchers with thirty two missiles each, four of which are ready-to-fire from the launcher. For anti-submarine warfare, the ship are equipped with a single

RBU-6000 The RBU-6000 Smerch-2 (Реактивно-Бомбовая Установка, ''Reaktivno-Bombovaja Ustanovka''; rocket-bomb installation & Смерч; waterspout) is a 213 mm caliber Soviet anti-submarine rocket launcher. The system enter ...

''Smerch-2'' 12-barrel

anti-submarine rocket An anti-submarine rocket is an anti-submarine weapon type deployed on surface warships for the purpose of sinking or damaging submarines by small explosive charges. They are similar to anti-submarine mortar but a comparably more modern system. T ...

launcher and six (three on each sides) fixed-mounted torpedo launchers, which could launch

RPK-2 Vyuga The RPK-2 Vyuga (, ''blizzard''; NATO reporting name: SS-N-15 Starfish), also designated as 81R, is a Soviet surface- or submarine-launched, nuclear-armed anti-submarine missile system, launched exclusively through torpedo tubes. The system was ...

(SS-N-15 'Starfish') or RPK-6 Vodopad (SS-N-16 'Stallion') anti-submarine missiles and 53-65K wake homing or SET-65 anti-submarine homing torpedoes. The ship also has provisions of two

naval mines A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are deposited and le ...

rails. The ship electronic and sensor suites includes ''Tron'' and ''Diplomant'' combat management systems, MR-750 ''Fregat-MA'' air

search radar This is a list of different types of radar. Detection and search radars Search radars scan great volumes of space with pulses of short radio waves. They typically scan the volume two to four times a minute. The radio waves are usually less than a ...

, MR-352 ''Positiv'' air/surface search radar, two ''Nayada-1''

navigation radar Radar navigation is the utilization of marine and aviation radar systems for vessel and aircraft navigation. When a craft is within radar range of land or special radar aids to navigation, the navigator can take distances and angular bearings ...

s, MP-405-1 ''Start''

Electronic Support Measures In military telecommunications, electronic support (ES) or electronic support measures (ESM) gather intelligence through passive "listening" to electromagnetic radiations of military interest. They are an aspect of electronic warfare involving ...

(ESM) system, MP-407 electronic countermeasure, and ''Spektr-F'' laser intercept. The frigate has MGK-365 ''Zvezda-1M'' sonar suite, consisted of hull-mounted active/passive sonar and

variable depth sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

Fire control Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire triangle). Fire prevention and control ...

for the guns consisted of MR-145 ''Lev'' radar for the 100 mm gun and 3R95 radar for the 3K95 Kinzhal (SA-N-9 'Gauntlet') missiles. The vessel was also equipped with two PK-16 and six PK-10 decoy-dispenser system which used

chaff Chaff (; ) is dry, scale-like plant material such as the protective seed casings of cereal grains, the scale-like parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw. Chaff cannot be digested by humans, but it may be fed to livestock, ploughed into soil ...

as a form of

missile defense Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear weapon, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic mi ...

. The frigate has a helicopter hangar, flight deck and carried a

Kamov Ka-27 The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and as of 2024 is in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-2 ...

PL anti-submarine helicopter.

Construction and career

Her keel was laid on 25 or 27 March 1987 with

yard number The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.9 ...

401 at the

Yantar Shipyard Yantar Shipyard () is a Russian shipbuilding company based in Kaliningrad, Russia. Yantar Shipyard builds military ships, including antisubmarine and patrol craft, as well as civil vessels such as fishing trawlers and seiners. It is a part of th ...

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

. The ship was launched on 25 May 1988. The frigate was completed on 28 December 1990 and started sea trials in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

at that month. ''Neustrashimy'' was commissioned to the

on 24 January 1993. The ship is based at

Baltiysk Baltiysk ( ); ; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; ; ; is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separ ...

. ''Neustrashimy'' made a friendly visit to

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, Germany for the occasion of 100th anniversary of the

Kiel Canal The Kiel Canal (, until 1948 called in German the ) is a fresh water canal that links the North Sea () to the Baltic Sea (). It runs through the Germany, German states of Germany, state of Schleswig-Holstein, from Brunsbüttel to the Holtenau di ...

. She participated in numerous joint exercise with the European navies in the 2000s. The ship paid a visit to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 2003 in conjunction with President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

visit to the city. In late September 2008, ''Neustrashimy'' left the

and was sent to the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

waters off the Somali coast to fight piracy in the region. Russian navy spokesman Captain Igor Dygalo told the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

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. As of 27 October, the frigate was operating independently in the vicinity of a group of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

warships near the Somali coast. On 11 November, ''Neustrashimy'' helped capture suspected pirates along with

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

from ; the suspected pirates had been attempting to board the merchant vessel . On 16 November 2008, the frigate prevented pirates from capturing the Saudi Arabian ship . From 2014 ''Neustrashimy'' was in overhaul with the deadline for the completion of her refit having passed on several occasions, partly due to the problem of acquiring parts for her Ukrainian-made engines. However, the ship completed her refit in December 2021 and is scheduled to return to the fleet in April 2022. Post-refit sea trials were underway as of February 2022. In July, ''Neustrashimy'' was reported to have fired the SA-N-9 air defence missile during its tests at sea. The ship completed post-refit sea trials and rejoined the fleet in April 2023. During a 2024 voyage from its Baltic Fleet base with other vessels, including , the vessel visited the port of Havana, Cuba on 27 July. After leaving

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

on 21 September, she docked in

Simon's Town Simon's Town (), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of Simon's Bay in False Bay, on the eastern s ...

on 3 October with the replenishment ship ''Akademik Pashin'' in time for the South African Navy Festival.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neustrashimy, 1988 1988 ships Neustrashimyy-class frigates Ships built at Yantar Shipyard