http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081030/118043727.html
*Russia to float out new missile frigate in 2011* *ST. PETERSBURG*, October 30 (RIA Novosti) - The first *Russian Project 22350* frigate being built at a shipyard in St. Petersburg will be launched in 2011, a Russian deputy prime minister said on Thursday. (Russian Navy modernized - Image gallery) The St. Petersburg-based Severnaya Verf shipyard started building the Admiral Sergei Gorshkov frigate in February 2006. According to military sources, Russia's Navy intends to procure up to 20 such vessels. "As we agreed today, the frigate must be floated out in 2011," Sergei Ivanov told a meeting of Russia's Military-Industrial Commission. The frigate has a displacement of about 4,500 metric tons, a length of over 130 meters (430 feet), a maximum width of 16 meters (51 feet), and a range of over 4,000 miles. The main weapons of the ship are reported to include eight SS-NX-26 Yakhont anti-ship cruise missiles, a new 130-mm gun mount, a Medvedka-2 ASW system, and a Hurricane medium-range air defense missile system. Ivanov, who is responsible for overseeing the defense, aerospace, nanotechnology and transport industries, also said that the second Project 20380 missile corvette, the Stoykiy, would be ready in 2010. The first corvette of the series, the Steregushchy, was commissioned with the Navy in 2007. Russia plans to have up to 20 vessels of this class to ensure the protection of its coastal waters, especially in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea. Ivanov said that timely construction of combat ships is now a priority task of the Russian shipbuilding industry. "The current situation in the world makes us realize that only the possession of modern warships of various classes can ensure the reliable protection of Russia's national interests in coastal and international waters," he said. "In this respect we could hardly overestimate the importance of fast, maneuverable, and well-armed frigates and corvettes [for the Russian Navy]," the deputy prime minister said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
