Naval Systems

Project 11661 Gepard-class frigate

Also known as
  • Gepard-class frigate

The Project 11661 Gepard-class frigate is a Russian-built multi-role frigate family designed for anti-surface, anti-submarine, and air-defense work, plus peacetime border control and search-and-rescue duties. The class spans Russian Navy and export variants, and Dagestan's Kalibr strike role made it one of the Caspian Flotilla ships used against Syria in 2015.

Project 11661 Gepard-class frigate, Frigate class, Naval Systems
Image source: Caspian Frigate Dagestan.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Role in Conflicts

Export Variant Split

GlobalMilitary.net describes three export configurations that split the class into combat, patrol, and escort roles.

VariantRoleStatus
Gepard 3.9Multi-role combat frigateExported to Vietnam as the production configuration.
Gepard 5.1Ocean-going patrol shipProposed export variant.
Gepard 5.3Escort frigateProposed export variant.
Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Russia
Type
Frigate class
Service note
1990s design in Russian naval service during the 2010s
Designed
Early 1990s
Unit cost
About $175 million
Produced
1991-2018
Number built
6 completed

Specifications

Full displacement
2,200 tonnes
Dimensions
102 x 14 x 5.4 m
Maximum speed
24 knots
Range
4,000 miles
Main armament
1 x 76.2 mm AK-176MA-01 gun, 8 x Kalibr cruise missiles, Palma AA artillery system with Sosna-R SAMs, and 2 x twin-tube torpedo launchers
Aviation facility
12-ton helicopter facility
Variants
  • Project 11661
  • Project 11661K
  • Gepard 3.9
  • Gepard 5.1
  • Gepard 5.3
Carried Munitions

The class's modern strike fit centers on the Kalibr-family cruise missile.

Carried itemItem typeCarriage evidence
Kalibr, Sea-launched cruise missile family, MunitionsKalibrCruise missile

GlobalMilitary says Dagestan's fit uses eight UKSK vertical-launch cells for Kalibr missiles, giving the class a long-range strike capability beyond patrol and escort work.

Sources: Gepard-class: Frigate Specs & History

Timeline

Project 11661 Gepard-class frigate Key Events

  1. Project 11661 construction begins

    GlobalMilitary says the first Project 11661 unit began construction in 1991, marking the start of the class's long development run.

    Sources: Gepard-class: Frigate Specs & History

  2. Tatarstan enters Russian service

    GlobalMilitary lists the lead ship Tatarstan as entering service in 2002, before later Russian Navy and export deliveries extended the family.

    Sources: Gepard-class: Frigate Specs & History

  3. Dagestan enters Russian service

    Open-source ship metadata and reporting place Dagestan in service with the Russian Navy and the Caspian Flotilla in late November 2012.

    Sources: Dagestan (ship, 2012) - Wikimedia Commons

  4. Caspian Flotilla launches strikes into Syria

    The Washington Institute reported that Russia's Caspian Flotilla fired cruise missiles from its ships at targets in Syria, with Dagestan among the frigates in the flotilla group.

    Sources: Russia's Cruise Missiles Raise the Stakes in the Caspian

  5. Vietnam commissions more Gepard-class frigates

    Naval Today reported that the Vietnam People's Navy commissioned another pair of Russian-built Gepard-class frigates, showing the class's continued export role.

    Sources: Vietnam Navy commissions two Russian-built Gepard 3.9 frigates

Media

Project 11661 Gepard-class frigate Images

Project 11661 Gepard-class frigate, Frigate class, Naval Systems - view 1
Source: Caspian Flotilla Parade.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Project 11661 Gepard-class frigate, Frigate class, Naval Systems - view 2
Source: Caspian Frigate Tatarstan.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Related Weapon Systems
Project 22350 Admiral Gorshkov-class frigate, Guided-missile frigate, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsProject 22350 Admiral Gorshkov-class frigateGuided-missile frigateThe Project 22350 Admiral Gorshkov-class frigate is a Russian multirole guided-missile frigate family designed by Severnoye Design Bureau and built by Severnaya Verf for escort, air defense, anti-submarine warfare, and long-range strike. Public sources describe it as Russia's post-Soviet ocean-going surface combatant class built around UKSK vertical launch cells for Kalibr, Oniks, and Tsirkon missiles, with later hulls receiving expanded launcher fits.
Project 11356R / Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate, Guided-missile frigate, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsProject 11356R / Admiral Grigorovich-class frigateGuided-missile frigateProject 11356R / Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates are Russian guided-missile frigates built by Yantar Shipyard from Severnoye Design Bureau's Project 11356 design line. Three ships entered Russian Navy service in 2016-2017 for Black Sea Fleet use, combining Kalibr land-attack capability, Shtil-1 air defense, a helicopter hangar, and reduced-signature hull features; later unfinished Russian hulls were redirected into India's upgraded Project 1135.6/Tushil-class path.
Neustrashimy-class frigate, Anti-submarine warfare frigate, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsNeustrashimy-class frigateAnti-submarine warfare frigateThe Neustrashimy-class frigate is the Soviet Project 11540 Yastreb anti-submarine warfare frigate family, designed through a long Cold War development path and built at Yantar Shipbuilding Plant in Kaliningrad for Russian Baltic Fleet service. Only Neustrashimy and Yaroslav Mudry were completed, but the class combines a 129.8 m hull, helicopter facilities, sonar-centered anti-submarine weapons, 3K95 Kinzhal naval surface-to-air missiles, Kortik close-in defenses, and Kh-35 Uran anti-ship missiles on the second ship. Neustrashimy is directly documented in the 2008 Gulf of Aden counter-piracy campaign.
Project 1135 Burevestnik / Krivak-class frigate and derivatives, Anti-submarine frigate family, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsProject 1135 Burevestnik / Krivak-class frigate and derivativesAnti-submarine frigate familyProject 1135 Burevestnik, known to NATO as the Krivak class, is a Soviet anti-submarine frigate family developed by the Northern Design Bureau as a smaller ocean-going successor to the Riga class. The family combined gas-turbine propulsion, URK-5/Rastrub anti-submarine missiles, Osa-M/Osa-MA point defense, guns, torpedoes, and RBU launchers, then branched into border-guard, Indian export, and Russian guided-missile derivatives. Its 2014 Russia-Ukraine War record centers on Ukraine's Krivak III-derived Hetman Sahaidachny, which was scuttled at Mykolaiv in 2022 to avoid capture.

Sources

Project 11661 Gepard-3.9 frigatePublisher: Rosoboronexport | Note: Supports Project 11661 background, the frigate's intended roles, listed armament, displacement, dimensions, speed, range, and helicopter facility. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Zelenodolsk "Gepard" brought victory to TatarstanPublisher: Tatarstan Investment Development Agency | Note: Supports Zelenodolsk Plant named after A.M. Gorky as the builder and the Gepard-3.9 production background in Tatarstan. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Russia's Cruise Missiles Raise the Stakes in the CaspianPublisher: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy | Note: Supports 2011 Syrian Civil War conflict use by documenting the Caspian Flotilla missile strike group and the Gepard-class frigate Dagestan's presence in that force on 7 October 2015. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Caspian Frigate Dagestan.jpg - Wikimedia CommonsPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and public-domain licensing context for the Dagestan photograph used as the primary image. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Dagestan (ship, 2012) - Wikimedia CommonsPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports Dagestan's builder metadata and public-service status shown on the Commons category page for the ship. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Vietnam Navy commissions two Russian-built Gepard 3.9 frigatesPublisher: Naval Today | Note: Supports Vietnam People's Navy commissioning and delivery context for the Gepard-class export variant. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Caspian Flotilla Parade.jpg - Wikimedia CommonsPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance and public-domain licensing context for the parade image featuring Dagestan. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Caspian Frigate Tatarstan.jpg - Wikimedia CommonsPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance and public-domain licensing context for the sister-ship photograph. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Gepard-class: Frigate Specs & HistoryPublisher: GlobalMilitary.net | Note: Supports the class's early-1990s development, 1991 construction start, 2002 service entry for Tatarstan, export variants, completed ship count, and reported approximate unit cost. | Accessed: 2026-06-27