ST.PETERSBURG, July 1. /TASS/. The delay in constructing vessels for Russia’s Navy comes only due to the need to replace imported parts, Russia's Navy commander-in-chief Viktor Chirkov has said, stressing that there are no other reasons.
"The problems with postponing the manufacturing of ships are linked to import replacement, and there are no other problems here," Chirkov told the International Maritime Defence Show that opened in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, on Wednesday.
The major delay comes as the vessels are manufactured with the use of gas turbine engines made in Ukraine. "We hope that by late 2017 or in 2018 we will have [domestic] turbines already and the situation will be solved," Chirkov said.
Earlier reports said Russia’s Saturn research and production association would launch the supplies of gas turbine engines for naval ships in late 2017 or in early 2018. Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade told TASS on Wednesday that the vessels will start receiving domestic gas turbines in 2017 and there was no threat that the supplies will be disrupted.
Admiral Grigorovich class frigates (Project 11356) and Admiral Gorshkov class frigates (Project 22350) use Ukrainian gas turbine engines, in particular.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said in early June that Russia cannot complete the construction of some naval ships as Ukraine has suspended supplies of gas turbine engines.
Russia plans to complete this import substitution effort before 2018, the top official said.