Eight new missile cruisers for Russian Navy
Each will have an arsenal of 200 different missiles, among them a version of the S-500.
A contract with the Ministry of Defense is under planning, Deputy President of the United Shipbuilding Corporation Igor Ponomarev says to RIA Novosti. That will include the first of a total of eight ships.
A draft is currently under review in the ministry and that will be followed by technical specifications and documentation, Ponomarev explains to the news agency.
The new missile cruiser (project 23560) is expected to have a deadweight of 17,500 tons, a length of 200 meter and be equipped with more than 200 missiles of various purposes. Among them will be a version of the S-500, the newest and most lethal Russian missile system, Izvestia reports.
The ships will be Russia’s first new missile cruisers since the 1990s. The Northern Fleet’s current flagship, the «Pyotr Veliki», was included in the Navy in 1998.
It is the Severnoye Design Bureau in St. Petersburg, which is in charge of designing the vessel, Izvestia informs.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: How Arctic shipping could boost Canada’s trade relationship with Asia, Radio Canada International
China: Chinese company mulls more Arctic shipping, Barents Observer
Iceland: Calls for action at Arctic shipping conference, Alaska Dispatch News
Norway: Arctic shipping – The myths, the realities & the challenges ahead, Eye on the Arctic
Russia: Korean shipping industry watching Northern Sea Route, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Swedish icebreakers gear up for Arctic role, Radio Sweden
United States: Arctic no shipping rival to Suez: expert, Alaska Public Radio Network
