Based on the Krivak class, the emphasis on anti-submarine warfare (ASW) left these ships with limited anti-surface and anti-air capabilities.

[5] Following the Udaloy's commissioning, designers began developing an upgrade package in 1982 to provide more balanced capabilities with a greater emphasis on anti-ship warfare.

The resulting Project 1155.1 Fregat-M Large ASW Ship (NATO reporting name: Udaloy II) is roughly the counterpart of the improved Spruance-class.

Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the dire economic situation in Russia that followed it and the radical cuts in military spending, only one ship was completed.

[6] The Zvezda sonar system is considered by its designers to be the equivalent in terms of overall performance of the AN/SQS-53 on US destroyers, though much bulkier and heavier than its American counterpart: the length of the hull-mounted portion is nearly 30 m (98 ft).