LUCKNOW /India/, February 6. /TASS/. India will get two Project 11356 frigates under construction at the Yantar Shipyard on the Baltic coast by the end of the first half of 2024, Russia’s Federal Service for Technical and Military Cooperation told TASS at the DefExpo international arms show in India on Thursday.
"In accordance with the existing work schedule agreed by the sides, the Project 11356 frigates under construction at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad are due to be delivered to the Indian Navy by the end of the first half of 2024," the federal defense agency’s press office said.
Under the plan, two more frigates will be built at an Indian shipyard. As Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation specified, the sides have started preparing India’s Goa Shipyard Limited for the frigates’ construction.
"In order to build the ships, it is necessary to further equip the Indian shipyard, develop and deliver the necessary documentation and train Indian specialists, including in the process of building the ships at the Russian shipyard," the press office explained.
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 (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) and the other two at India’s Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL).
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 weapons and torpedo armament. 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.
The DefExpo-2020 international land, naval and homeland security exhibition runs in Lucknow in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on February 5-9.