MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. The Project 22350 first serial-produced frigate Admiral Kasatonov armed with Kalibr cruise missiles may enter the second stage of shipbuilders’ sea trials before the end of April, the Severnaya Verf Shipyard told TASS on Tuesday.

"Most likely, this may happen on April 20 or 21 but it is not ruled out that the ship’s departure for the sea may be delayed for several more days," the Shipyard said.

Severnaya Verf CEO Igor Ponomaryov said earlier that the Admiral Kasatonov would enter the second stage of shipbuilders’ sea trials in late March - early April this year.

The frigate Fleet Admiral Kasatonov is the second (the first serial-produced) Project 22350 warship built at the Severnaya Verf Shipyard (part of Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation). The cutting-edge frigate was laid down on November 26, 2009 and floated out on December 12, 2014. The frigate is set to be delivered to the Russian Navy this year.

The lead warship of this series, the Admiral Gorshkov, was delivered to the Navy in the summer of 2018 and the construction of two more frigates (the Admiral Golovko and the Admiral Isakov) continues at the slipways of the Severnaya Verf Shipyard in St. Petersburg.

Project 22350 frigates are expected to become the Russian Navy’s most advanced warships in their class. These frigates displace 4,500 tonnes and can develop a speed of 29 knots. They are armed with Oniks and Kalibr missiles and the Poliment-Redut air defense missile systems.