ABSTRACT
The Soviets have made impressive progress in aircraft-carrier production, and such efforts are expected to continue as the navy tries to overcome its weakness in sea-based air power. Like US surface combatants, Soviet surface warships are used to project Soviet power and influence throughout the world. Soviet naval architects have designed ships that can fulfill specific combat missions in contrast to Western multipurpose ships which are capable of accomplishing many missions. By the time Khrushchev appointed Gorshkov as commander in chief of the Soviet Navy in 1956, the navy was in the midst of a large shipbuilding program, which had achieved a combatant fleet displacement of nearly 1.8 million tons by 1957. The weapons found on virtually all large Soviet surface combatants built or modified since 1970 reflect an excellent application of both technology and design concepts. When compared with the ships of Western navies, these combatants, in some respects, are more capable of accomplishing their wartime missions.
