Admiral Gorshkov Frigate Reveals Serious Shortcomings In Russias Naval Modernization Program

After 10 long years, the Russian navy is still waiting for its first Admiral Gorshkov–class frigate. Meanwhile, to fulfill its expected mission, the fleet has been forced to continue to make do with a collection of aging Soviet-era vessels. But these can no longer be fielded in sufficient numbers to do the job because of the increasing costs and difficulties of just keeping them in service. According to Ilya Kramnik, the Russian fleet now needs at least 20 modern frigates just to maintain its existing operational capacity, which has been steadily declining due to the increasing obsolescence of the warships in its fleet. Perhaps 2016 will finally turn out to be the year that the fleet receives its first Gorshkov-class frigate. But given the ship’s tortuous history and continuing problems with the development of key weapon systems, further delays seem just as likely. In fact, the program has acquired all of the hallmarks of a runaway project.