Vietnam Builds Two More Warships With Advanced Russian Technology

Two more fast-attack missile ships of the Russian Molniya class built in Vietnam were handed over to the Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) during a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City.

The Vietnamese Ba Son Shipbuilding Corporation, under the Ministry of Defense, transferred two new warships to the High Command of the Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) during a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

The warships are the third and fourth of the six Molniya-class ships designed under a technology transfer agreement signed by Vietnam and Russia in 2009.

Like the first two Molniya-class missile warships, which were made available last year, the two new vessels are equipped with advanced weapons and high-tech functions.

The ships coded HQ379 and HQ380 can operate at sea for 10 straight days attacking both in the air and at sea.

In addition to a modern radar system that can track targets accurately, each of the warships is armed with 16 sea-to-sea Uran-E missiles with a range of 130 kilometers.

The ship also has two AK-630 ship-borne artillery systems with 4,000 shells each, which can fire 4,000-5,000 rounds per minute at a range of 4-5 kilometers, and an AK-176M automatic gun with a range of 15 kilometers for sea and land targets and 11 kilometers for air targets.

Speaking at the ceremony, Major General, Read Admiral Nguyen Van Ninh, Deputy Commander of the VPN, said, “The two ships are equipped with strong firepower from advanced weapons, and are of high mobility. They can effectively operate by themselves or in coordination with other forces,” Vietnam’s media reports.

The first two Molniya-class warships, HQ377 and HQ378, were handed over to the VPN in July last year.

The last two will be given to the VPN in the second quarter of 2016.