ST. PETERSBURG, July 2. /TASS/. The nuclear power generating facility for the propulsion system of Russia’s future aircraft carrier will be worked out on the Lider (Leader) class destroyer, a shipbuilding industry source told TASS on Thursday.
"At first, the nuclear power unit for the future national aircraft carrier will be worked out on the Lider destroyer," he said at the International Maritime Defence Show (IMDS-2015).
Elements of the ship’s deck, according to the source, will be worked out at the Yeisk training complex in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia. "Later, the future aircraft carrier’s body will be explored," the source added.
The Russian Navy plans in the future to obtain new aircraft carriers, but the timeframe for the construction this class of vessel is unknown. The Navy has said that a prospective aircraft carrier will be built no earlier than in 2030.
As for the Leader destroyer, its construction could begin in 2019 - such statement was made by Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Admiral Viktor Chirkov in late June. According to previous reports, this ship’s displacement may be 15,000 tonnes, the vessel will be armed with the Kalibr and Onyx cruise missiles or their modifications, as well as with the S-500 marine anti-aircraft missile system. The source told TASS that the Navy planned to get 12 destroyers of the new class.
The 7th International Maritime Defence Show is held St. Petersburg from July 1 to 5, 2015. The IMDS-2015 organiser is the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. The exhibition is held with participation of the Russian Defence Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, the Government of St. Petersburg and OJSC Rosoboronexport arms exporting company. The Exhibition Operator is Morskoy Salon JSC.