On March 21, the general director of Admiralty Shipyard Alexander Buzakov said that under pressure from financial factors the programme of developing of new ice-class patrol ship (Project 23550 ) was off until to 2023-2024 years.
“The deadlines for patrol ships of project 23550 under the state armament plan 2018-2027, unfortunately, have been shifted by 2023-2024 due to funding,” Buzakov said.
In 2016, the Russian Ministry of Defence ordered two patrol ships of the ice class of Project 23550 from JSC Admiralty Shipyards, a subsidiary of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC). They were to be transferred to the Navy by the end of 2020.
The ship was developed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau under the auspices of its designer general, Boris Leikis.
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The patrol vessels of Project 23550 are multipurpose as their tasks include the protection and escort of ships, towing, transportation of special cargo, and, of course, patrols. The displacement of new patrol vessel will total 8,500 tonnes, there are no comparable military vessels that are able to navigate in the two-meter-thick ice.
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The vessel will be equipped with a 76-mm AK-176MA automatic gun featuring high rate of fire, a helicopter launch pad and a hangar to host a helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as two high speed Raptor motor boats.