Gepard-class frigate

Last updated

Gepard 3.9 frigate Quang Trung (016) of Vietnam People's Navy in MILAN2022 - 2.jpg
Quang Trung - one of the two ships in the second batch of Gepard 3.9 built for the Vietnam People's Navy
Class overview
NameGepard class (Project 1166.1)
Builders Zelenodolsk Plant Gorky
Operators
Preceded by
Subclasses
  • Project 11661 Tatarstan
  • Project 11661K Dagestan
  • Project 11661E Gepard:
    • Gepard 3.9: Batch I; Batch II
    • Gepard 5.1
    • Gepard 5.3
Cost
  • 11661E (Gepard 3.9 batch I): US$175 million per ship
  • 11661E (Gepard 3.9 batch II): US$350 million per ship (price included ammunition, maintenance packages signed between Vietnam and Russia)
Built1991–2016
Planned10
Completed6
Active6
General characteristics
Type Frigate
Displacement
  • 1,500 tons (standard)
  • 1,930 tons (full load)
  • Up to 2,500 tons (Gepard 3.9)
LengthApprox 102.4 m (336 ft) (Gepard 3.9 batch II)
Beam
  • 13.09 m (42.9 ft)
  • Approx 15 m (49 ft) (Gepard 3.9)
Draught5.7 m (19 ft)
PropulsionTwin-shaft CODOG, FPP, 2 x 14,300 + 1 x 6,000 (kW)
Speed29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph)
Range4,000 nmi (7,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Endurance20 days
Complement94
Sensors and
processing systems
  • MR-231-1 Pal navigation radar
  • Mineral-ME shipborne multifunctional radar system (including guidance and target designation functions for cruise missiles)
  • 5P-26/MR-352 Pozitiv-ME1/-ME1.2 3D active shipborne radars
  • 5P-10E-03E Laska fire control radar for naval gun and CIWS
  • Sonar: MGK-335EM-03 with under-keel antenna
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • EW Suite: 2 × Bell Shroud passive intercept, 2 × Bell Squat jammers,
  • Countermeasures: 4 × 16-barreled Pk-16 decoy launchers
Armament
Notes

The Gepard-class frigates, also designated Project 11661, is a Russian class of frigates that were intended as successors to the earlier Koni-class frigates and Grisha, and Parchim-class corvettes. The first unit of the class, Yastreb (Hawk), was laid down at the Zelenodol'sk Zavod shipyard at Tatarstan in 1991. She was launched in July 1993, after which she began fitting out; fitting was nearly completed by late 1995, when it was suspended due to lack of funds. Renamed Tatarstan, the ship was finally completed in July 2002, and became the flagship of the Caspian Flotilla. She has two sister ships, Albatross (renamed Dagestan), and Burevestnik (Storm Petrel), which was still under construction as of 2012.

Contents

Vietnam is the main operator of the class with its navy having commissioned 4 frigates - twice the size of Russia's Project 11661 inventory - and having plans to order at least 2 more.

Design

These vessels are capable of employing their weapons systems in conditions up to Sea State 5.[ citation needed ] The hull and superstructure are constructed primarily of steel, with some aluminium-magnesium being used in the upper superstructure(stealth technology). They are equipped with fin stabilizers and twin rudders, and can use either gas turbines or diesel for propulsion in a CODOG configuration.

Gepard is Russian for cheetah.

Service history

In October 2015, Dagestan, in company with three other Russian Navy ships serving with the Caspian Flotilla, launched cruise missiles at targets in Syria. The missiles flew nearly 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) over Iran and Iraq and struck targets in Raqqa and Aleppo provinces (controlled by the Islamic State) as well as Idlib province (controlled by the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front). [1] Peshmerga forces (Kurdish armed forces located in northern Iraq) published a video allegedly depicting two cruise missiles mid-flight en route to Syria. [2]

Export

The Gepard-class was designed from the outset as a lightweight, inexpensive export vessel. Russia offers three variants of the class to the market: [3]

Vietnam

In March and August of 2011, the Vietnam People's Navy received two Gepard 3.9-class frigates ordered in 2006, built in Russia at Tatarstan's Gorky Shipbuilding Plant. In late 2011, Vietnam signed a contract for an additional batch of two ships in an anti-submarine configuration. [7] A further two ships are being considered to bring the total order up to six vessels, and that potential acquisition is likely being stalled due to sanctions towards Russia as a result of the Ukrainian conflicts. [8] [9] [10]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka began talks for the credit purchase of a Gepard 5.1 frigate in 2017 and the Sri Lankan cabinet approved the proposal by President Maithripala Sirisena for the purchase of the ship in September 2017. [11]

Ships

No. Name Namesake Project designation Builder Laid Down Launched Commissioned Fleet Status
Naval Ensign of Russia.svg Russian Navy (2)
691Tatarstan
(ex-Yastreb)
Republic of Tatarstan 11661 Zelenodolsk Shipyard 19932 July 200131 August 2003 Caspian Active
693Dagestan
(ex-Albatros)
Republic of Dagestan 11661K19941 April 2011 [12] 28 November 2012 [13] Active
Ensign of Vietnam People's Navy.svg Vietnam People's Navy (4+2)
011 Dinh Tien Hoang Đinh Tiên Hoàng 11661E (Gepard 3.9 batch I) Zelenodolsk Shipyard 10 July 200712 December 2010 [14] 23 March 2011 [15] Naval Region 4 Active
012 Ly Thai To Lý Thái Tổ 27 November 200716 March 2011[ citation needed ]22 August 2011 [16] Active
015Tran Hung Dao Trần Hưng Đạo 11661E (Gepard 3.9 batch II)24 September 2013 [17] 27 April 2016 [18] 6 February 2018Active [19]
016Quang Trung Quang Trung 24 September 2013 [17] 26 May 20166 February 2018Active [20]
---11661_ (Gepard 3.9 batch III)----Planned [10]
------

See also

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References

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