Naval Systems

Project 1134B Berkut-B / Kara-class cruiser

Also known as
  • Kara class
  • Kara-class cruiser
  • Kara-class destroyer
  • Project 1134B
  • Project 1134-B
  • Project 1134B Berkut-B
  • Project 1134BF
  • Berkut-B
  • Project 1134.2
  • Large anti-submarine ship
  • BPK

Project 1134B Berkut-B, known to NATO as the Kara class, was a Soviet gas-turbine large anti-submarine ship family built at Shipyard 445 in Nikolayev. The seven-ship series paired Metel stand-off ASW missiles, Shtorm and Osa naval surface-to-air systems, rocket depth-charge launchers, torpedoes, sonar, and a Ka-25 helicopter facility; its last conflict-linked appearance was the decommissioned Ochakov being scuttled by Russian forces as a blockship in Donuzlav during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.

Project 1134B Berkut-B / Kara-class cruiser, Guided-missile anti-submarine cruiser, Naval Systems
Image source: Missile cruiser KERCH.JPEG

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Soviet Union
Type
Guided-missile anti-submarine cruiser
Service note
1971-2020
Designer
Northern Design Bureau
Designed
1964 tactical-technical task; late-1960s design period
Produced
1968-1979
Number built
7

Specifications

Displacement
8,200-8,565 tons standard; 8,825-9,700 tons full load
Length
173.0-173.4 m
Beam
18.5-18.6 m
Draft
5.74-6.7 m
Speed
34 knots
Propulsion
Gas-turbine plant, 96,000-120,000 shp, two propellers
Crew
350-525
Class count
6 Project 1134B ships and 1 Project 1134BF ship
Main armament
Metel / SS-N-14 ASW missiles, Shtorm and Osa surface-to-air missile systems, AK-726 guns, AK-630 close-in guns, RBU-6000 and RBU-1000 ASW rocket launchers, and 533 mm torpedo tubes
Sensors
MR-700 air-search radar, MR-310U surface-search radar, Grom and Baza missile-control radars, MG-332 hull sonar, and MG-325 variable-depth sonar
Aircraft
One Ka-25PL anti-submarine helicopter
Variants

Public references separate the baseline Project 1134B ships from Azov's Project 1134BF test configuration.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
Project 1134BBaseline Kara-class large anti-submarine ship

Six ships were completed in the main Project 1134B configuration at the 61 Kommunara yard in Nikolayev.

Sources: Project 1134B Berkut-B class - WeaponSystems.net, Project 1134B Ship List - GlobalSecurity.org

Project 1134BF / AzovFort/S-300F test configuration

Azov is listed separately as the one Project 1134BF ship; GlobalSecurity and WeaponSystems.net identify it with the Fort / SA-N-6 test fit replacing part of the standard air-defense arrangement.

Sources: Project 1134B Berkut-B class - WeaponSystems.net, Project 1134B Specifications - GlobalSecurity.org

Carried Naval Systems

Open references describe Project 1134B as a shipboard combat system rather than a single weapon: the hull carried air-defense missiles, anti-submarine rockets, torpedoes, guns, sensors, and one shipborne helicopter.

Carried itemItem typeCarriage evidence
RBU-6000 Smerch-2 anti-submarine rocket launcher, Shipboard anti-submarine rocket launcher, Naval SystemsRBU-6000 Smerch-2 anti-submarine rocket launcherShipboard ASW rocket launcher

GlobalSecurity lists two twelve-tube RBU-6000 ASW rocket launchers in the Project 1134B fit, matching the cataloged RBU-6000 shipboard anti-submarine launcher.

Sources: Project 1134B Specifications - GlobalSecurity.org, RBU-6000 Smerch-2 - WeaponSystems.net

9M33 Osa, Command-guided short-range surface-to-air missile family, Munitions9M33 OsaNaval Osa-M missile family

GlobalSecurity lists Osa / SA-N-4 launchers with 40 missiles on the class, while WeaponSystems.net identifies the naval Osa-M system as using 9M33-family missiles.

Sources: Project 1134B Specifications - GlobalSecurity.org, M-4 Osa-M - WeaponSystems.net

Combat System Fit

The Kara-class fit combined stand-off submarine prosecution, layered point and area air defense, close-in guns, and shipboard aviation. Public catalog links exist for RBU-6000 and 9M33/Osa-family items; other systems remain summarized here until separate sourced records are useful.

ASW reach

URPK-3 Metel / SS-N-14 missiles carried torpedo payloads for stand-off submarine engagements, backed by RBU-6000 and RBU-1000 rocket launchers, torpedo tubes, hull sonar, variable-depth sonar, and a Ka-25PL helicopter.

Air defense

The standard fit combined M-11 Shtorm / SA-N-3 and Osa / SA-N-4 systems; Azov's Project 1134BF configuration carried the Fort / SA-N-6 test installation.

Guns and sensors

GlobalSecurity lists AK-726 dual-purpose guns, AK-630 close-in guns, MR-700 and MR-310 search radars, Grom and Baza missile-control radars, and MG-332/MG-325 sonar equipment.

Sources: Project 1134B Specifications - GlobalSecurity.org; Project 1134B Berkut-B class - WeaponSystems.net; URPK-3 Metel - WeaponSystems.net.

Timeline

Project 1134B Berkut-B / Kara-class cruiser Key Events

  1. Design requirement issued

    GlobalSecurity describes Project 1134B as a further Kresta-II development centered on gas turbines, revised internal layout, and strong anti-air and anti-submarine capability.

  2. Lead ship laid down

    The Project 1134B ship list records Nikolayev as the first hull, laid down at Shipyard 445 in Nikolayev on 25 June 1968.

  3. Class enters service

    The lead ship Nikolayev commissioned on 31 December 1971, starting the class's Soviet Navy service.

  4. Azov becomes the Fort testbed

    Azov, the fourth hull, is identified as the Project 1134BF / SA-N-6 test ship, distinguishing it from the standard Project 1134B fit.

  5. Ochakov scuttled in Donuzlav

    Maritime reporting citing Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Russian forces sank the decommissioned Ochakov in the Donuzlav channel to block Ukrainian Navy ships at Novoozerne.

  6. Kerch fire during maintenance

    TASS reported that a fire broke out aboard the Black Sea Fleet ship Kerch during service maintenance at Sevastopol and was contained without reported injuries.

  7. Last Kara-class ship stricken

    GlobalSecurity's ship list records Kerch as stricken on 15 February 2020, closing the public service period for the class.

Media

Project 1134B Berkut-B / Kara-class cruiser Videos

Project 1134B Berkut-B / Kara-class cruiser Images

Project 1134B Berkut-B / Kara-class cruiser, Guided-missile anti-submarine cruiser, Naval Systems - view 1
Source: Ochakov1982.jpg
Project 1134B Berkut-B / Kara-class cruiser, Guided-missile anti-submarine cruiser, Naval Systems - view 2
Source: Azov1988.jpg
Project 1134B Berkut-B / Kara-class cruiser, Guided-missile anti-submarine cruiser, Naval Systems - view 3
Source: Sunken Ochakov in Donuzlav
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Sources

Project 1134B Berkut-B / Kara Class - GlobalSecurity.orgPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports Project 1134B / Kara-class background, gas-turbine development from the Kresta-II design, mission framing, Russian destroyer/large-ASW classification context, Azov test-ship context, and direct 2014 Russia-Ukraine War use: Russian forces towed and scuttled Ochakov to block Ukrainian Navy ships in Donuzlav. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Project 1134B Specifications - GlobalSecurity.orgPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports builder attribution to Shipyard 445, Nikolayev, and class-level displacement, speed, dimensions, propulsion, crew, missiles, guns, ASW rocket launchers, electronics, sonar, and helicopter data. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Project 1134B Ship List - GlobalSecurity.orgPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports the seven-ship Project 1134B class list, SY 445 shipyard attribution, construction chronology from Nikolayev through Vladivostok, Azov modification note, Kerch 2020 stricken date, and 2014 Russia-Ukraine War direct use: Ochakov was used by Russian forces as a sunk block ship. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Project 1134B Berkut-B class - WeaponSystems.netPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports Project 1134B / Kara-class identity, Soviet origin, 1971 service entry, 1968-1979 production, 61 Kommunar shipyard attribution, 6 Project 1134B plus 1 Project 1134BF count, and major armament, sensor, and helicopter fit. | Accessed: 2026-07-13URPK-3 Metel - WeaponSystems.netPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports URPK-3 Metel / SS-N-14 Silex identity, stand-off ASW missile role, and Project 1134B / Kara-class platform use. | Accessed: 2026-07-13RBU-6000 Smerch-2 - WeaponSystems.netPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports RBU-6000 as a Soviet shipboard anti-submarine rocket launcher with twelve launch tubes, RGB-60 ammunition, and sonar-fed Burya fire-control context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13M-4 Osa-M - WeaponSystems.netPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports the naval Osa-M / 4K33 relationship, ZIF-122 launcher context, 9M33-family missile use, and naval point-defense role. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Russia Sinks Ship to Create Obstacle - MarineLinkPublisher: MarineLink | Note: Supports 2014 Russia-Ukraine War direct-use context: citing Ukraine's Defense Ministry, reports that Russian sailors sank the anti-submarine vessel Ochakov in the Donuzlav straits to obstruct Ukrainian Navy ships. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Russian Warship Sunk Off Crimea - gCaptainPublisher: gCaptain | Note: Supports 2014 Russia-Ukraine War direct-use context: identifies Ochakov as a Kara-class cruiser intentionally sunk in the Donuzlav entrance to block Ukrainian Navy ships at Novoozerne. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Fire contained on board large submarine chaser Kerch in Russia's Sevastopol - TASSPublisher: TASS | Note: Supports Kerch's November 2014 maintenance fire at Sevastopol, no reported injuries, and Black Sea Fleet late-service context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Missile cruiser KERCH.JPEGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain U.S. Department of Defense photograph of the Soviet Kara-class guided missile cruiser Kerch underway. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Ochakov1982.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain U.S. Navy photograph of the Project 1134B / Kara-class ship Ochakov underway in 1982. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Azov1988.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain U.S. Navy photograph of the Kara-class cruiser Azov underway in 1988. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Sunken Ochakov in DonuzlavPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a CC BY 4.0 Ministry of Defense of Ukraine photograph of the sunken Ochakov in Donuzlav on 6 March 2014. | Accessed: 2026-07-13