MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. Project 22350 guided missile frigates currently under construction at the Severnoye Shipyard will eventually become the mainstay of the Russian Navy’s surface force, CEO of the Severnoye Design Bureau (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) Andrei Dyachkov told TASS on Thursday on the occasion of the company’s 75th anniversary.

"Project 22350 frigates are set to become the backbone of the Russian Navy’s surface groupings soon. Work on six warships of this series is currently underway," the chief executive said.

The new frigates will be distinguished by their armament, which will substantially boost the potential of both these warships and naval groups they will make part of, provide them with new capabilities and help cope with additional tasks. Also, the warships that are being serial-produced today will operate a completely domestic main propulsion unit compared to the lead frigate, he said.

The Project 22350 lead frigate Admiral Gorshkov captured close attention of specialists throughout the world in 2019 when it made a round-the-world voyage, which was recognized as an achievement and entered into the Record Book of the Russian Armed Forces, the chief executive said.

"Such operations had not been carried out since the break-up of the Soviet Union. During its voyage, the warship proved its excellent running properties and reliability and its proper integrated engineering solutions," the chief executive noted.

Project 22350 frigates are multi-purpose combat ships capable of effectively fighting enemy surface ships, aircraft and submarines and delivering strikes against ground and coastal installations to a range of over 1,500 km.