ST. PETERSBURG, July 28. /TASS/. The technical design of Leader-class destroyer will be ready by 2022, after which the ship will be laid down, Russia’s Navy Deputy Commander-in-Chief for Armament Viktor Bursuk said Saturday.
"As for Leader-class destroyer, we plan to launch the development of technical design in 2019-2020. We plan that the technical design of the ship will be ready in around 2022, after which it will be laid down," he said.
According to Bursuk, respective funds have been earmarked for the project. "The shipbuilding program provides for the construction of this vessel," he said.
The Leader-class destroyer is being developed by the Severnoye Design Bureau in St. Petersburg in northwest Russia. Vice-President for Warship Construction at Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) Igor Ponomaryov said earlier that the Defense Ministry had approved the preliminary design of the new-generation destroyer.
Earlier reports said that the ship would have a displacement ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes.
Bursuk said earlier that the Leader-class ship would receive a nuclear power plant.