MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/. The Russian Navy will get the Pyotr Morgunov large landing ship, laid down on Thursday at the Kaliningrad-based Yantar shipyard, in 2018, head of Navy’s shipbuilding department Vladimir Tryapichnikov told reporters.

"The Pyotr Morgunov large landing ship is planned to be transferred to the Navy in 2018, after the completion of the vessel building and all stages of testing. The project’s lead ship - the Ivan Gren is in the final stage of construction and will be delivered to the Navy after trials at the end 2015," he said.

Vessels of the Ivan Gren class have a displacement of 5,000 tonnes. Such a ship can support over-the-beach landing of up to 300 marines, 40 armored personnel carriers or 13 tanks and carry the Kamov Ka-29 type helicopter on the deck. The landing ships are armed with a 76-mm naval gun, two 30-mm AK-630 antiaircraft mounts and multiple artillery rocket systems.

The Pyotr Morgunov will have modern cranes for loading equipment, which also can be loaded on the ship through the bow ramp. "The vessel has significantly improved living conditions for accommodation and accommodation of the crew, commandos and marines. Its cruising range is up to 4,000 miles, which will allow the ship to fulfil tasks in the off-shore maritime zone. The Pyotr Morgunov large landing ship can also carry a transport-combat helicopter," said Tryapichnikov.

The Russian Navy will receive by 2020 the first new-generation landing ship that will be many times heavier than the Ivan Gren class vessels and will be able to carry several helicopters, Tryapichnikov told reporters earlier on Thursday.

"The construction of new-generation large landing ships will be launched within the next five years, and these ships will many times surpass in displacement the Ivan Gren and Pyotr Morgunov large landing ships, have higher landing force compatibility and will be able to carry not one, but several helicopters," Tryapichnikov said.

According to him, the first ship of this class is to be built by 2020. "It will be a new project for the ‘large landing ship’ class," he said.

Director General of the Nevsky Design Bureau Sergei Vlasov told TASS in an interview that the bureau was working on the project of a next-generation landing ship worth 20 million roubles ($365,240). In addition, a high-ranking defence industry source told TASS previously that the designing and building of national amphibious assault helicopter ships was included in the country’s long-term naval construction programme for the period until 2050.