MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. Russia’s Yantar Shipyard on the Baltic coast has launched work to build two Project 11356 frigates for the Indian Navy, the press office of Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport reported on Friday.

"Rosoboronexport sees the Yantar Shipyard’s big potential for developing and producing hi-tech products supplied as part of military and technical cooperation. Its capacities have already produced hardware for exports worth over $1 billion and today the Shipyard has started fulfilling one of the largest contracts for India’s Navy," the state arms exporter’s press office quoted Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheyev as saying.

The Rosoboronexport chief executive made this statement during his working tip to Kaliningrad where he met with Kaliningrad Region Governor Anton Alikhanov, Yantar Shipyard CEO Eduard Yefimov and a delegation of India’s Defense Ministry led by First Deputy Defense Secretary Sanjay Mitra.

As was reported earlier, Russia and India signed contracts in November 2018 on the delivery of four Project 11356 frigates. Under the deal, two frigates will be built at Russia’s Yantar Shipyard on the Baltic coast and the other two will be constructed at India’s Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL). Head of Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation Alexei Rakhmanov earlier said that the first Project 11356 frigates for India would be built in Russia within three years.

The preparations for fulfilling this contract topped the agenda of a meeting between India’s delegation and the management of the Yantar Shipyard and Rosoboronexport. The Shipyard previously built warships of this type for the Indian Navy.

Project 11356 frigates are designed to deliver strikes against enemy surface ships and submarines in the coastal and oceanic zones and fight air targets both independently and as part of a naval group. The warships of this type are armed with A-190 100mm artillery guns, striking missile and air defense systems, including Kalibr and Shtil complexes and torpedo tubes. The frigates displace 3,620 tonnes, are 124.8 meters long, develop a speed of 30 knots and have an operating range of 4,850 miles. The frigates can carry a Ka-27 helicopter and its modification.