A large destroyer was Russia's likely next shipbuilding test

What major surface combatant was Russia likely to build next?

A large destroyer seemed the likely next step in 2021 because it would advance beyond the frigate program and test the complex air-defense integration needed before a carrier.

Russian planners had circulated super-sized destroyer concepts for years. The type offered a logical progression from the frigate program and the amphibious assault ship then under construction. A destroyer would force yards to integrate complex air-defense systems without taking on every challenge of a carrier at once. This was a dated 2021 forecast about building industrial capability through successive ship classes.