Sankt-Peterburg Submarine in the Bolshaya Neva (photo: http://www.flot.com)
In honor of Navy Day — the 315th anniversary of the Russian Navy’s establishment — here are this week’s sound bites from Navy CINC, Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy. RIA Novosti will publish a complete interview with him tomorrow.
Vysotskiy says the Navy expects “not less than eight” proyekt 885 SSNs by 2020. Some sources maintain the number is six.
Unit 1 Severodvinsk is preparing for sea trials in August, and unit 2 Kazan is expected by 2015. They’ll have to pick up the pace to get eight by 2020.
Vysotskiy says work on a new destroyer will begin in 2012, and be completed in 2016. This is the one he suggested might be nuclear-powered.
The CINC’s other comments covered the Black Sea Fleet.
He claimed the BSF will get six proyekt 636 diesel-electric submarines in the coming years. Its sole submarine now, proyekt 877 Varshavyanka-class SS Alrosa is currently in the Baltic for repair.
RIA Novosti recalled Vysotskiy’s past comments about obtaining 15 frigates and diesel submarines for the BSF by 2020 in a 60-30 proportion. He also said a frigate and submarine were specifically laid down for the BSF in 2010, and would be every year henceforth. He claimed the fleet would be renewed by 2020 through new construction rather than inter-fleet transfers.
Moskovskiy komsomolets and Newsru.com reported on the BSF’s drastic ten-fold decline since 1997.
This week TsAMTO cited a Baltic Fleet press release saying it expects to get the Neustrashimyy-class FF Yaroslav Mudryy, proyekt 20380 Steregushchiy-class FFLs Steregushchiy, Soobrazitelnyy, and Boykiy, proyekt 677 Lada-class SS Sankt-Peterburg, as well as assault ships and other craft. The BSF may be expecting to get some of these ships as well.
Russian Defense Policy 