MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. The upgraded guided missile frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov will rejoin the Russian Pacific Fleet by the end of 2021 after passing trials, a source in the defense industry told TASS on Wednesday.

"The Marshal Shaposhnikov will be handed over to the Pacific Fleet by the end of 2021," the source said.

The previous plans envisaged the warship’s delivery to the Pacific Fleet in 2020.

TASS has no official confirmation of this information yet.

The frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov underwent its repairs and upgrade at the Dalzavod Ship Repair Center in Vladivostok in the Russian Far East. During its upgrade, the Project 1155 large anti-submarine warfare ship Marshal Shaposhnikov was converted into a multi-purpose frigate capable of fighting ground, naval and underwater targets.

The frigate received the latest Kalibr-NK and Uran strike missile systems and the most advanced artillery armament. Its firepower increased several-fold compared to its original designation. The warship currently carries two versatile shipborne launchers for 16 Kalibr-NK and Oniks cruise missiles and eventually for Tsirkon hypersonic weapons.

As the Pacific Fleet’s press office reported earlier, the Marshal Shaposhnikov test-fired an Uran anti-ship cruise missile for the first time during trials in late December 2020. There have been no reports yet on the launches of other missiles the frigate has received as a result of its upgrade.

The large anti-submarine warfare ship Marshal Shaposhnikov was laid down at the Yantar Shipyard in the Kaliningrad Region in 1983. The warship is currently undergoing trials after its heavy upgrade. The project of such a scope is being implemented in Russia for the first time. The service life of the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov will be extended by ten years. Following this, several more Project 1155 anti-submarine warfare ships are expected to undergo modernization.