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New frigate and intelligence vessel for Russian Navy

"Admiral Gorshkov" is the first naval surface vessel since 1987 that is fully projected and built in Russia. (Photo: Naval Today)

Two new vessels for the Russian Navy will be laid down simultaneously at the Northern Shipyard in St.Petersburg. One is the fourth vessel in the Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates and the other the second in a new class of intelligence vessels.

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The two vessels will be laid down on November 14, when the Northern Shipyard celebrates its 101stanniversary, Lenta reports.

The frigate, which will carry the name “Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Isakov” (“Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Isakov”), is the fourth in Russia’s new series of multipurpose frigates to replace the country’s old Udaloy-class destroyers. According to navy officials, Russia needs 20-30 frigates. 

The first vessel in the series of frigates, “Admiral Gorshkov”, was planned to be handed over to the Northern Fleet in 2012, but troubles with the artillery systems has delayed the delivery, and the vessel will probably not be ready for operations before late 2014, Vzglyad writes.

The second and third vessels, “Admiral Kasatonov” and “Admiral Golovko”, are in different stages of construction and will be ready to be put on water in the coming couple of years. The first of these vessels will be delivered to the Pacific Fleet, the other to the Northern Fleet.

Frigates of the Admiral Gorshkov-class are built with stealth technology and  will be able to execute long-range strike, anti-submarine and escort missions in remote areas. They have a displacement of 4,500 tons, a speed of 29 knots, a range of 4000 nm at 14 knots, and endurance of 15 days.

The intelligence vessel will be named “Ivan Khurs”. The 95 meters long and 16 meters wide vessel will have a displacement of 2500 tons and will be classified as a special communications vessel without any armament.

The first vessel of the class, “Yury Ivanov”, was laid down in 2004 and put on water in September this year. It will be handed over to the Northern Fleet in the end of 2014, Lenta writes. According to Wikipedia, each of Russia’s four fleets will have one intelligence vessel each.