At roughly 8,200 tons standard and 9,700 tons fully loaded, the Kara was already close to the scale of an earlier light cruiser. Its combined gas-or-gas machinery used two cruising gas turbines and four boost turbines, an arrangement later used in the Slava class. The weapons fit combined SS-N-14 anti-submarine missiles, SA-N-3 launchers, Osa/Gecko point defense, twin 76 mm guns, torpedo tubes, and a Ka-25 or Ka-27 helicopter. This mix made the Kara a large general-purpose cruiser rather than a narrowly optimized missile carrier.
Notable Point · 11:34-14:07
Gas turbines and the balanced missile-cruiser fit
The technical overview explains the Kara's combined gas-turbine machinery and mixed ASW, air-defense, torpedo, gun, and helicopter armament.