Russian frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov armed with A-190-1 gun.

The Marshal Shaposhnikov frigate of project 1155 will be armed with 100mm A-190-01 artillery stealth gun during an upgrade. Artillery turrets are most visible by radars. The stealth gun will decrease the frigate signature. Its angled turret properly dilutes radar emission. Experts said the new gun have other advantages to increase combat capabilities of the warship, the Izvestia daily writes.

Marshal Shaposhnikov (Russian: Маршал Ша́пошников) is a Udaloy-class destroyer of the Russian Navy Pacific Fleet laid down in 1985 (Picture source: Russian Navy)

The gun will replace two 100mm AK-100 guns in the bow, Defense Ministry sources said. The upgraded A-190-01 has passed all trials and was accepted into service eight years ago.

AK-100 was designed in 1970s when stealth technologies were poorly known and little attention was paid to warship signature. Modern radars properly see the bow of the frigate with two round turrets.

The new A-190-01 is less visible for radars, expert Dmitry Boltenkov said. "The artillery is necessary to support landing operations and destroy small ships. It is costly to fire expensive missiles at them. One large-calibre gun is sufficient for the mission. In 30 years, the requirements to universality and rate of fire of the guns, as well as hit precision have increased. Therefore, it was decided to rearm the Marshal Shaposhnikov," he said.

Project 1155 warships were designed to fight adversary submarines. 100mm guns were the only anti-ship weapons. Today, missiles are the main force. After the upgrade, the frigate will be armed with them and increase the firepower several times.

"The fleet will get a modern attack warship. Kalibr cruise missiles will strike at sea and ground targets. The seaborne option has a range of close to 1.5 thousand kilometers. Artillery gun will be an auxiliary weapon," Boltenkov said.

The new universal launchers of the frigate will be able to fire prospective hypersonic Tsirkon missiles.

The Marshal Shaposhnikov joined the Navy in 1986 and is currently undergoing an upgrade at Dalzavod Shipyard. It had sea valves and hull constructions overhauled, electric equipment replaced and foundations for new weapons erected. Over 20 percent of the superstructure was built anew. The changes are necessary to carry new equipment and arms.

Thirteen projects 1155 warships were built in 1980-1991. They were all named after Russian and Soviet admirals. Today, eight frigates remain operational - four in the Pacific and four in the Northern fleet.

A-190-01 fires 80 shots per minute to a maximum distance of 20 km. It can down aircraft at an altitude of 15 km, the Izvestia said.