Twenty-seven Project 56 Kotlin hulls give Gorshkov both fleet numbers and platforms for incremental modernization. Project 56A introduces the SA-N-1 surface-to-air missile installation, with sixteen missiles replacing earlier equipment. A hull under 3,300 tons full load, 126 meters long and 12.7 meters wide leaves limited room for growth. Its 38-knot speed is impressive, but missile warfare strengthens the argument for more space and capability. Destroyers are politically defensible small ships with a wartime record, and each improvement also supports the case for building larger combatants.
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Project 56A brings missiles to a compact destroyer
Kotlin's missile conversion grows Soviet capability within a small hull whose high speed cannot compensate for limited room to expand.