The design of the ship, developed by
Severnoye PKB (Northern Design Bureau) FSUE in Saint Petersburg, was approved by Naval Command in July 2003. The plan is to fully replace the older and in four Russian fleets. The
lead ship, or its full name –
Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov, was laid down on 1 February 2006 in
Severnaya Verf shipyard in Saint Petersburg. In late October 2008 the Russian
deputy prime minister,
Sergei Ivanov, said the timely construction of combat ships is a priority task for Russia's shipbuilding industry, and announced that the first ship in the class would be ready by 2011. The completion date of the lead ship was initially slated for 2009, but this was later pushed back, as was the commissioning date. On 24 June 2009, during the "МВМС-IMDS 2009" International Naval Expo, the Commander in Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral
Vladimir Vysotsky, announced that the production of a second
Admiral Gorshkov-class frigate would begin at Severnaya Verf by the end of the year. In November 2009 the Severnaya Verf shipyard announced that it would start the construction of the second ship of the class on 26 November named . The ship was laid down in a ceremony attended by representatives of the Russian Navy, the Saint Petersburg administration, and Admiral Igor Kasatonov - the son of the ship's namesake,
Vladimir Kasatonov. In December 2014, one engine from
Admiral Kasatonov was transferred to
Admiral Gorshkov. The Russian Navy set a requirement for 20–30 such ships. In 2011, the Severnaya Verf shipyard announced having received orders for six units. According to the Russian Navy's deputy commander for armament Vice Admiral
Viktor Bursuk, the Russian Navy needs no less than 15 such frigates in basic and upgraded versions. The first frigate was floated out of the launch dock on 29 October 2010. The ship was only 40 percent complete and then began to be fitted out. At that point, main mechanical equipment and systems providing safe launching had been installed, including a
combined diesel and gas (CODAG) turbine powerplant, gear assemblies, drive shafts and screws, and electric power supply facilities. Further work was performed at the shipyard's fitting quay. In August 2012, the shipyard received loans worth RUB 16.23 billion (US$510 million) from the state-owned
Sberbank to facilitate the frigate construction project. The first two ships of the class have gas turbines from
Zorya-Mashproekt in Ukraine. Following the
annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Ukrainian industry refused to supply Russia with military technology. As a result,
NPO Saturn has been commissioned to design indigenous engines. Initial forecasts expected these new engines to be available in 2017–18, allowing ships to be commissioned from 2020; however, after intervention by the Russian government, the plan was brought forward. In November 2020 it was announced that United Engine Corporation had initiated delivery of the DGTA M55R diesel-gas power plant which would be installed on frigates of the class beginning with
Admiral Isakov. The first frigate in the class,
Admiral Gorshkov, was commissioned on 28 July 2018. State testing of the Russian shipborne Poliment-Redut range air defence missile system with a phased array radar for the frigates of 22350 series has been completed, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Admiral
Vladimir Korolyov announced in February 2019. That month,
Admiral Gorshkov and
Admiral Kasatonov were equipped with a naval version of the new
5P-42 Filin electro-optic countermeasure system. The Filin fires a beam similar to a strobe light that affects enemy combatants' eyesight, making it more difficult for them to aim at night. During testing, volunteers reportedly used rifles and guns to shoot targets that were protected by the system and reported having trouble aiming because they could not see. Additionally, about half of the volunteers said they felt dizzy, nauseated and disoriented. About 20 percent of the volunteers reported experiencing hallucinations. On 23 April 2019, two modified Project 22350 frigates,
Admiral Amelko and
Admiral Chichagov, were laid down at Severnaya Verf in Saint Petersburg during a ceremony attended by Russian president
Vladimir Putin. It was reported that they were to be fitted with 24 VLS cells for Kalibr, Oniks or Zircon cruise missiles, as opposed to 16 VLS cells installed on the first four frigates of the class. Their delivery to the Russian Navy is scheduled for 2023/24 and 2025, respectively. In 2021 it was reported that the intent was actually to fit 32 3S-14 versatile shipborne VLS cells in
Admiral Amelko,
Admiral Chichagov and follow-on ships. This remained to be confirmed. A further contract for two additional frigates of the class was announced at the
Army-2020 forum increasing the numbers of projected frigates in the Northern and Pacific Fleets to four vessels each. On 30 December 2021, it was reported that the
Amur Shipyard was preparing to sign a contract for the construction of six frigates for the
Pacific Fleet, likely of the
Admiral Gorshkov class. This would decrease the load on
Severnaya Verf, which is currently responsible for the construction of all
Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates. However, there has been no official confirmation from either the
Ministry of Defence or Amur Shipyard. On 30 December 2020 it was reported that the second ship of the class,
Admiral Kasatonov, had successfully completed acceptance trials of the Otvet anti-submarine missile complex. In November 2022, General Director of
Severnaya Verf Igor Orlov stated that the shipyard planned to lay down five additional
Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates. On 11 December 2023 it was reported that
Admiral Kasatonov was upgraded with
Zircon hypersonic missiles.
Project 22350M frigate In March 2019, the
Severnoye Design Bureau reported it has completed the outline design of the upgraded Project 22350M frigate and began working on the technical documentation for the ship. The Project 22350M frigates are believed to incorporate increased number of
VLS cells for combination of 48 or 64
Kalibr,
Oniks and
Zircon anti-ship cruise missiles while displacing about 7,000 tons. The ships were expected to be laid down in a new boathouse with two slipways at Severnaya Verf which would be completed in 2022. On 2 February 2023, it was reported that the
Ministry of Defence would sign a contract for the construction of six Project 22350 and 22350M frigates at the "Army-2023" military exposition, with the
Amur Shipyard being ready to begin construction of frigates in 2024. On 3 February it was reported that Project 22350M frigates and possibly some Project 22350 frigates will have their 3S14 vertical launching systems adapted to fire 40N6E long-range anti-aircraft guided missile which are used by the
S-400 missile system and have a range of 400 km. ==Design==