Radical missiles paired with conservative safeguards

The stern helipad shows that Soviet designers were already accommodating shipboard helicopter operations in a design conceived during the 1950s, even though they omitted a hangar. At the same time, Kynda retained guns, torpedoes, and RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers rather than trusting a wholly missile-based or aviation-based concept. The RBU-6000 illustrates the appeal of an inexpensive, light, and mechanically simple system derived from proven forward-thrown ASW weapons. Its range was limited, but fitting it cost little displacement and preserved an independent way to attack a submarine. A navy taking a major leap in one area may deliberately remain conservative elsewhere, especially in a political system where a failed decision carried exceptional personal risk.