Project 956/EM Sovremenny Class Missile Destroyer

Last updated: 22 March 2008

Project 956EM missile destroyer 138 Taizhou (Chinese Internet)

The Project 956 Sovremenny class missile destroyer was introduced in the mid-1980s by the Soviet Navy as a counter to the U.S. Navy’s surface warships, in particular the aircraft carrier battle groups and the Aegis cruisers. In 1996, the PLA Navy decided to purchase two unfinished ex-Russian Navy Project 956 destroyers worth US$800 million. They are hull #18, ex-Soviet Navy Vazhny and later renamed as Yekaterinbugr (698) by the Russian Navy, with two-thirds of building complete, and hull #19, ex-Russian Navy Alexandr Nevsky with only one-third complete. Both ships were laid down in the late 1980s by the North Shipyard in St. Petersburg and their construction was suspended in 1995 due to lack of funds. The first hull, renamed Hangzhou (136), was delivered in December 1999, followed by the second hull renamed Fuzhou (137) in December 2000.

In 2002, the PRC signed a contract with Russia to purchase an additional two improved Project 956EM destroyers worth US$1.4 billion. The first hull, Taizhou 138, was launched in April 2004 and delivered on 28 December 2005. The second hull, Ningbo (139) was launched in July 2004 and delivered in September 2006.

The Sovremenny class destroyers provided a balanced platform that vastly exceeds the capabilities of Chinese domestic designs at the time of delivery. Their displacement exceeded that of most Chinese indigenous surface warships, indicative of the overall improvement in combat potential. The ship also has longer endurance compared to the Chinese indigenous destroyers. The PLA Navy hoped to use these ships to fulfil the gap in its combat capability caused by the delay in developing indigenous designs.

The Sovremenny class is a typical Cold War-era Soviet design, with a large amount of weapon systems and sensors, as well as sophisticated electronic warfare and countermeasures (EW/ECM) equipments. The ship has a tall, large profile with all weapon systems and sensors exposed externally, increasing the ship’s radar cross section significantly. The destroyer has no infrared signature reduction measures. Early variant of the Sovremenny class in service with the Russian navy often produced heavy black smoke from its funnel, but this has been improved on later ships possibly due to the replacement of improved steam turbines.

Missiles

	Firing the 3M-80E Moskit missile during exercise (Chinese Internet)

The Sovremenny class has eight 3M-80E Moskit (NATO codename: SS-N-22 Sunburn) ramjet-powered, supersonic, sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs), which can attack surface targets 120km away at a speed of Mach 2.5. The missile is armed with a 300kg high-explosive warhead or a 20kT nuclear warhead. The launch weight is 4,000kg. The destroyer has two 4-cell launcher installed port and starboard of the forward superstructure and set an angle of 15 degree. The PLA Navy received 50 3M-80E Moskit (BATO codename: SS-N-22 Sunburn) anti-ship missiles in mid-2000, and the first test launch took place in 2001. The anti-ship missiles equipped by the Project 956EM is said to be improved 200km-range 3M80MBE variant.

Two single air defence missile launchers are installed on the raised decks behind the 130mm main guns. The launchers can fire the 9M38 (NATO codename: SA-N-7 Gadfly) semi-active, radar-homing, medium-range air defence missile. The missile uses the ship’s Top Plate 3D circular scan radar for target tracking, and the Front Dome (three radar for each launcher, each radar with two guidance channels) indication radar for missile guidance. Up to three missiles can be aimed simultaneously. The range is up to 25km against aircraft and 15km against anti-ship cruise missile. The ship carries 48 9M38 missiles.

Guns

The basic variant Project 956 has two (one front, one rear) 130mm AK-130-MR-184 main guns supplied by the Ametist Design Bureau and the Frunze Arsenal Design Bureau in Saint Petersburg. Controlled by fire-control radar and TV sighting, the gun can be operated fully automatically from the radar control system, or under autonomous control using the turret-mounted Kondensor optical sighting system, or fired manually. Rate of fire is between 20 and 35 rounds/min. For air defence the ship was equipped the destroyer has four six-barrel 30mm AK-630 close-in weapon systems (CIWs). 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.

	Project 956 missile destroyer 136 Hangzhou (Chinese Internet)

On the improved Project 956EM the aft AK-130 main gun was removed. The four AK-630 CIWS were replaced by two sets of Kashtan short-range air defence gun/missile systems. Each Kashtan system comprises a 3R86E1 command module and two 3R87E combat modules. Each 3R87E combat module has two 30mm GSh-30k six-barrel automatic guns (range 0.5~4km) and two SA-N-11 air defence missiles, which are armed with a 9kg warhead and have a range of 1.5~8km.

As a multirole destroyer mainly designed for the surface strike mission, the Sovremenny class is only equipped with basic self-defence antisubmarine weapons. The ship lacks the large and expensive towed sonar array and antisubmarine missile system that are commonly found on US and Japanese warships. The destroyer is equipped with two twin-barrel 533mm torpedo tubes and two six-barrel RBU-1000 antisubmarine rocket launchers, with 48 rockets. The rocket is armed with a 55kg warhead and has a maximum range of 1,000m.

Anti-Submarine Warfare

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.

Sensors, ECM and C3I

	Launching chaffs and flares decoys (Chinese Internet)

The air search radar is a Fregat-MAE (NATO reporting name: Top Plate) 3D air search radar mounted at the top of the front mast, offering two channels in E-band. The radar can track up to 40 targets simultaneously, and has a maximum range of 120km to aircraft and 50km to sea-skimming missile.

Fire control radars include a MR-184E (NATO reporting name: Kite Search) operating at H/I/K-band (for 130 mm gun control), two MR-123-02 (NATO reporting name: Bass Tilt) operating at H/I-band (for 30mm AK-630 CIWS). There is also a Mineral-E (NATO reporting name: Band Stand) for the datalink of the 3M-80E/S-N-22 anti-ship missile, six (each with two channels) MR-90 Orekh (NATO reporting name: Front Dome) operating at F-band for the control of the  guidance of 9M38 air-defence missile.

There are also a Bell Nest, two Light Bulb, and two Tee Pump datalinks. For countermeasures the ship is fitted with eight PK10 and 2 PK2 chaff launchers, and four Football and six Half Cup laser warning receivers. The MGK-335 fixed sonar suite includes Bull Horn active and Whale Tongue passive hull-mounted, medium frequency search and attack sonar.

The combat information management system can provide simultaneous tracking of several targets on data from active/passive sensors of the ship and organic helicopter as well as from other ships of the task force and patrol aircraft.

Aviation

	The improved Project 956EM variant (Chinese Internet)

The ship's helicopter pad accommodates one Ka-28 anti-submarine warfare helicopter, NATO codename Helix. The helicopter is supplied by the Kamov JSC of Lyubertsy, Moscow and Kimertau Research and Production Association, Bashkartastan. The helicopter can operate in conditions up to sea state 5 and up to 200 km from the host ship. The helicopter is equipped with radar, sonar antisubmarine torpedoes, antisubmarine missiles, depth charge rockets and depth charges. The aviation fuel stock onboard the host ship is 5 tonnes.

Propulsion

Main propulsion include four KVG-3 high-pressure steam boilers, 50,000hp TV-12-4 steam turbines, driving two fixed pitch propellers. Electric power is supplied by two 1,000kW steam turbo-generators and four 600kW diesel generators. The ship has a maximum speed of 32 knots and an economic speed of 18 knots.

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