Gepard class frigates (image : Hoangsa)
Shipbuilders in Russia's republic of Tatarstan floated out a second frigate for the Vietnamese Navy on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Zelenodolsk shipyard said.
Russia and Vietnam signed a contract on the construction of two Gepard 3.9 class frigates for the Vietnamese Navy in 2006. The first frigate was floated out in December 2009.
Russia and Vietnam signed a contract on the construction of two Gepard 3.9 class frigates for the Vietnamese Navy in 2006. The first frigate was floated out in December 2009.
"A second Gepard 3.9 class frigate for the Vietnamese Navy was floated out on Tuesday. The first frigate will be delivered to Vietnam in October and the second by the end of this year," the spokesman said.
Both ships will undergo sea trials in the Baltic Sea.
Project 1166.1 Gepard 3.9 class frigate is designed to engage surface ships, submarines and air targets, both independently and as part of a task force, as well as to perform escort and patrol tasks.
The ship has a displacement of 2,000 tons, a length of 102 meters, a maximum speed of 23 knots, a crew of 103 personnel and a cruising range of 5,000 miles.
The frigate is armed with an Uran-E anti-ship missile system, a 76.2-mm gun mount AK-176M, a Palma air defense artillery system, two 30-mm gun mounts AK-630M and 533-mm torpedo tubes. It can carry a Ka-28 or a Ka-31 Helix naval helicopter.
Together with the country's recently ordered six Kilo class submarines and Su-30MK2 naval fighter-bombers, the Gepard deal is seen as part of Vietnam's current navy modernization drive.