After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Navy inherited a large number of powerful surface warships
and they are still the core of the modern Russian Navy, one of them being the Neustrashimyy-class frigate
The Neustrashimyy-class consisted of two ships: Neustrashimyy 712 and Yaroslav Mudry 727, Soviet designation Project 11540 Yastreb
The program began in 1986, built as an extension of the Krivak-class patrol frigates
Seven ships were planned for the Soviet Navy, but the collapse of the Soviet Union disrupted those plans
Two ships have been completed, both of which are in service with Russia's Baltic Fleet
The Neustrashimy class was designed as a general purpose anti-submarine warfare frigate
When completed, the ships had a full load displacement of 4,400 tons, a length of 129 m, a beam of 15.6 m, and a draft of 5.6 m
The Neustrashimy class shares many similarities with traditional Soviet-era design, with many protrusions
long-running expanses of exposed hand rail sections, and multiple hull superstructures
The deck turret is positioned well-forward in the design with a stepped forward hull superstructure fitted just aft
This section contains the bridge, rocket launcher, and major communication and sensor fits - the latter atop the main mast
The stern section houses the helicopter pad and hangar
The propulsion system on board is a Combined gas and gas configuration
consisting of 2 x M70/D090 gas turbines used for cruising and 2 x M90 gas turbines for dash actions
The maximum speed the ship can achieve is up to 30 knots. The warship is crewed by approximately 210 personnel
Designed for the primary mission of Anti-submarine warfare
the two Neustrashimyy-class frigates can also flexibly support other missions thanks to their powerful weapons systems
Their weapon system is quite diverse, led by a single 100mm turreted deck gun over the forecastle
and this is backed by a pair of "Kashtan" digitally-controlled Close-In Weapon Systems
4 x 8-cell Vertical Launch Systems (VLSs) fire the "Gauntlet" Surface-to-Air Missile and a 12-tube RBU-6000 Anti-Submarine Rocket launcher
Furthermore, the warship is equipped with 6 x 533mm torpedo tubes to be used against both surface and undersea threats
Yaroslav Mudry also carries 2 x 4-cell "Switchblade" Anti-Ship-Missiles for additional ranged firepower against enemy surface combatants
Essentially, the Neustrashimyy class was built to Cold War design standards and more-or-less compare poorly to newer
more modern and stealthy offerings appearing even within the Russian Navy ranks itself
However, there is some value to these frigates that will keep them operational for at least the next decade
Since 2014 Neustrashimy has been 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 February 2022