Udaloy

Udaloy is the NATO name for Soviet Project 1155 Fregat, a class built primarily as large anti-submarine ships for blue-water fleet defense. Western sources often call them destroyers, while Soviet and Russian classification emphasizes the anti-submarine role. Built from the late 1970s through the Soviet collapse, the class formed a major part of Soviet and Russian ocean escort forces in the Northern and Pacific Fleets.

Project 1155 ships carry anti-submarine missiles or rockets, torpedoes, helicopter facilities, sonar, surface-search sensors, naval guns, and point air-defense systems. The original design prioritized submarine hunting and escort work more than balanced anti-surface strike. Later modernization, notably on Marshal Shaposhnikov, added Kalibr and Uran missile capability, turning some ships into more flexible surface combatants while extending service life.

Operationally, Udaloy-class ships escort high-value units, patrol distant seas, hunt submarines, and show presence in Russian naval deployments. Their endurance and helicopter facilities remain valuable, but aging hulls and weapons require modernization to stay relevant. The class illustrates Russia's practical naval challenge: older Soviet large surface combatants still perform frontline missions because replacement destroyer programs have been delayed or cancelled.