The list of cruiser classes in service includes all those currently with navies or armed forces and auxiliaries in the world. Ships are grouped by type, and listed alphabetically within.
The Libyan Navy is the naval warfare branch of the Libyan Armed Forces. Established in November 1962, Libyan Navy has been headed by Admiral Mansour Bader, Chief of Staff of the Libyan Naval Force. Before the First Libyan Civil War it was a fairly typical small navy with a few missile frigates, corvettes and patrol boats to defend the coastline, but with a very limited self-defence capability.
ROCS Tian Dan is the eighth ship of the Cheng Kung-class guided-missile frigates of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN), which was based on the Oliver Hazard Perry class of the United States Navy. Tian Dan was intended to be the first hull of the second batch of the class, with improved armament and electronics. However, delays in the development of the weapon systems and electronics led to the second batch being cancelled. In 1999, the first ship of the second batch was re-ordered to the standard design with all the improvements to the design. The ship was constructed beginning in 2001 by the China Shipbuilding Corporation in Taiwan and the frigate was launched in 2002 and entered service with the ROCN in 2004. In 2014, Tian Dan was among the Taiwanese vessels sent to assist in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight.
The Kiev class, Soviet designation Project 1143 Krechyet (gyrfalcon), was the first class of fixed-wing aircraft carriers built in the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy.
The Kresta II class, Soviet designation Project 1134A Berkut A, was a class of guided missile cruiser built by the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. The NATO lists the class as "cruisers" mainly due to the Metel anti-ship missile system capable to strike not only submarines but also surface vessels.
The Bagley class of eight destroyers was built for the United States Navy. They were part of a series of USN destroyers limited to 1,500 tons standard displacement by the London Naval Treaty and built in the 1930s. All eight ships were ordered and laid down in 1935 and subsequently completed in 1937. Their layout was based on the concurrently-built Gridley class destroyer design and was similar to the Benham class as well; all three classes were notable for including sixteen 21 inch torpedo tubes, the heaviest torpedo armament ever on US destroyers. They retained the fuel-efficient power plants of the Mahan-class destroyers, and thus had a slightly lower speed than the Gridleys. However, they had the extended range of the Mahans, 1,400 nautical miles (2,600 km) farther than the Gridleys. The Bagley class destroyers were readily distinguished visually by the prominent external trunking of the boiler uptakes around their single stack.
The Project 58 missile cruisers, known to NATO as the Kynda class and sometimes referred to as the Grozny class, from the name of the first ship of the series to be constructed, were the first generation of Soviet missile cruisers and represented a considerable advance for the Soviet Navy. Their main role was anti-surface warfare using the SS-N-3b 'Shaddock' missile. The design proved to be top-heavy and was soon succeeded by the larger Kresta I class, but the Kyndas stayed in service until the fall of the Soviet Union.
The Kortenaer class was a class of anti-submarine frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Like other frigate types of the 1970s and 1980s, they featured a COGOG propulsion system with separate cruise and sprint gas turbines. Ten were built by De Schelde in Vlissingen and two by Wilton-Fijenoord in Schiedam between 1978 and 1982. Only ten served with the Royal Netherlands Navy: two were sold to Greece's Navy while still under construction and replaced by two Jacob van Heemskerck-class frigates which were an air defence variant of the Kortenaer class. The Greek frigates were renamed the Elli class. After service with the Dutch ended, eight of the frigates were sold to Greece in 1992 and the remaining two to the United Arab Emirates. Three of the ships have since been retired from active military service with one converted into the superyacht Yas.
The Audace-class destroyers were two guided missile destroyers built for the Italian Navy during the Cold War. An improvement of the Impavido class, these ships were designed for area air defence and also had a heavy gun armament. They were fitted with contemporary American radars and sonars, but also, as the next Italian ships, all the modern weapons made by Italian industry of the time, such torpedoes, helicopters and guns. Also some indigenous radars were fitted.
The Durand de la Penne class are two guided-missile destroyers operated by the Italian Navy. The design is an enlarged version of the Audace class, updated with diesel and gas turbine CODOG machinery and modern sensors. Four ships were planned but the second pair were cancelled when Italy joined the Horizon project.
The Parchim-class corvette, Soviet designation Project 1331M, was developed for the East German Navy in the late 1970s, and built by the Wolgast Peene-Werft. The ships were designed for coastal anti-submarine warfare. In case of an all-out NATO-Warsaw Pact war in Europe their prime targets would have been the small U-206 coastal submarines of the West German navy. The first ship, Wismar, was launched on 9 April 1981 in Rostock, and subsequently another 15 ships were built until 1986. To make production more economical, the Soviet Union agreed to purchase another 12 ships from Wolgaster Peenewerft built between 1986 and 1990, thereby effectively subsidising the East German shipbuilding industry.
Almirante Juan de Borbón (F-102) is the second ship of the new F-100 class of air defence frigates entering service with the Spanish Navy in 2003. She is named for Infante Juan de Borbón, Count of Barcelona, father of the former King of Spain, Juan Carlos I.
The Poti class was the NATO reporting name for a group of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvettes built for the Soviet Navy. The Soviet designation was Project 204 small anti-submarine ships. These ships were the first Soviet warships powered by gas turbine engines; two propellers were mounted in tunnels to give a very shallow draught. A twin 57 mm (2 in) gun mounting provided self-defence. Three ships of the class were exported to Romania and six to Bulgaria during the Cold War. By 2008, all ships of the class were no longer extant.
The Sovremenny class, Soviet designation Project 956 Sarych (buzzard), is a class of anti-ship and anti-aircraft guided-missile destroyers of the Soviet and later Russian Navy. The ships are named after qualities, with "Sovremenny" translating as "modern" or "contemporary". Most of the ships have been retired from active service and one converted into a museum ship in 2018; as of 2021 three remain in commission with the Russian Navy with several in overhaul. Four modified ships were delivered to the People's Liberation Army Navy, and remain in service.