Baltic Shipyard Starts Work on New Frigate for Russian Navy

KALININGRAD, November 15 (RIA Novosti) – Construction of a new frigate for the Russian navy began Friday at the Yantar shipyard in the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.

The Admiral Istomin is the fifth in a series of six Project 11356M (Admiral Grigorovich class) frigates the shipyard is building under two contracts with Russia’s Defense Ministry.

The first four ships in the series – Admiral Grigorovich, Admiral Essen, Admiral Makarov and Admiral Butakov – are currently at different stages of completion.

The Admiral Grigorovich is expected to join Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in 2014.

The Project 11356M frigates displace 3,850 tons and are designed to carry out anti-ship, anti-submarine and air defense missions, both independently and as part of naval task forces or convoys.

The vessels are armed with an eight-cell launcher for Kalibr or Klub anti-ship and surface-to-surface missiles, a 100-mm main gun, two Kashtan gun and missile close-in air defense systems, a Shtil vertical-launch air defense missile system, two torpedo tubes, an anti-submarine rocket system and a Ka-28 or Ka-31 helicopter.