Russia’s Defense Ministry and the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) have come to an agreement that the Northern Shipyard in St. Petersburg in northwest Russia will start the construction of landing helicopter docks in 2020, a source in Russia’s defense industry told TASS.
Priboy LHD scale model showcased by Krylov during Army 2016 exhibition.
"The Defense Ministry and the United Shipbuilding Corporation have come to an agreement that the Northern Shipyard will build landing helicopter docks and Leader-class destroyers," the source said.
"The shipyard is currently carrying out large-scale work to reconstruct its manufacturing facilities. It is also erecting a shop to build ships of the type," the source added.
"The shipyard is planned to build two landing helicopter docks and then launch the construction of the destroyers. An R&D work on the landing helicopter docks will begin in 2018. The construction of the lead ship is expected to begin in 2020 and it will be delivered to the Navy in 2024," the source said.
"The construction of the first and the sole serial-produced landing helicopter dock is planned to begin in 2022 and the ship is expected to be delivered to the customer in 2026," the source added.
TASS does not have any official confirmation of this information.
Priboy LHD scale model showcased by Krylov during Army 2016 exhibition.
Earlier, another source told TASS that the landing helicopter docks would have a CODAG power plant.
According to the source, Kamov Ka-52K (NATO reporting name: Hokum-B) helicopters will form the mainstay of the ships’ air wing, the source added.
The delivery of the helicopters and the ships will be synchronized. The ships will carry Ka-27 (Helix), Ka-29 (Helix-B) and Ka-31 helicopters as well.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said earlier that the first landing helicopter dock would be built approximately by 2022.
Earlier, another source told TASS that the landing helicopter docks would have a CODAG power plant.
According to the source, Kamov Ka-52K (NATO reporting name: Hokum-B) helicopters will form the mainstay of the ships’ air wing, the source added.
The delivery of the helicopters and the ships will be synchronized. The ships will carry Ka-27 (Helix), Ka-29 (Helix-B) and Ka-31 helicopters as well.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said earlier that the first landing helicopter dock would be built approximately by 2022.
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Comment by Navy Recognition: About the Priboy LHD
Russian Krylov State Research Center has developed the Priboy LHD on its own initiative. It is significantly different from the Mistral landing helicopter dock designed by DCNS. Priboy is intended for seaborne movement of troops and military equipment and landing on beaches during amphibious operation in conjunction with other naval forces. It can support projection of soldiers and hardware, take part in offensive mining actions and mount sonar beacons of suspended array surveillance systems.
The Priboy ship has a displacement of 23,000 tones, a length of 200 meters, a width of 34 meters, a designed draught of 7.5 meters, a full speed of 20 knots, a cruising speed of 14 knots, an endurance of 6,000 miles and a cruising capacity of 30 days.
The ship can withstand storms of force 6-7 on the Beaufort scale (strong breeze/near gale).
The helicopter carrier is planned to be equipped with a gas-turbine main propulsion plant. The ship’s crew totals about 400. The vessel can transport 500-900 marines, about 50 infantry fighting vehicles and up to 10 tanks.
Up to 12 military transport and search and rescue helicopters can be based on the Priboy ship. It can also carry six landing boats with a cargo-carrying capacity of 45 tons and six assault boats on davits.
The Priboy's armament suite includes two anti-air gun-missile combat modules, two close-in weapon systems and one 76mm naval gun.
