New Russian River-And-Sea-Going-Class Ship

The Russian Navy has embarked on a program of modernization, including construction of new multi-purpose warships.

This week saw a river-and-sea-going-class ship laid down at a shipyard in the town of Zelenodolsk in Tatarstan.

The Grad Sviyazhsk missile ship is specifically designed to tackle coast guard, sea piracy and poaching, which rides roughshod over Russia’s bio-resources. Zelenodlsk shipyard spokesman Sergei Lazarev touted advanced characteristics of the warship, which he explained has displacement of 949 tons and is equipped with electronic countermeasure radars.

Earlier, the Zelenodolsk shipyard took part in a tender for the construction of a multi-purpose surface warship, which could successfully deal with naval patrol service, convoy operations and poaching, Lazarev says. The Grad Sviyazhsk is equipped with missiles capable of hitting underwater, surface and air targets, he adds.

The warship, which will be part of the Russian Caspian flotilla, was named after an ancient fortress founded by Tsar Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century. Five such warships will be built at the Zelenodolsk shipyard in the coming months, Lazarev said.

By: Shelldrake