KAZAN, April 27. /TASS/. The third Project 11661 Gepard-3.9-class frigate designed for the Vietnamese Navy has been solemnly put afloat at the Zelenodolsk Shipyard in Tatarstan in the Volga area, a TASS correspondent reports from the scene.
"We have fulfilled the obligations to the Vietnamese Armed Forces on time and in a proper manner," Tatarstan Prime Minister Ildar Khalikov said.
As Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnamese People’s Army Pham Ngoc Minh said, the first frigates built by Russia’s Zelenodolsk Shipyard "have proved their efficiency."
The Zelenodolsk Shipyard delivered the first two Gepard-3.9-class frigates to the Vietnamese Navy in 2011.
In 2012, Vietnam signed a contract with the Zelenodolsk Shipyard to receive another two Project 11661 frigates. The two vessels were laid down in the autumn of 2013. It was reported that Vietnam would receive the frigates in 2017.
It was also reported that Vietnam was planning to order another two Project 11661 frigates.