The Severnaya Verf shipyard in St Petersburg said on Tuesday it will begin construction of a new frigate for the Russian Navy on November 26.
The Admiral Kasatonov is a second Admiral Gorshkov class frigate designed to carry out long-range strike, anti-submarine and escort missions in distant maritime zones.
The frigate has a displacement of about 4,500 metric tons, a length of over 130 meters (430 feet), a maximum width of 16 meters (51 feet), and a range of over 4,000 miles.
The main weapons of the ship are reported to include eight SS-NX-26 Yakhont anti-ship cruise missiles, a new 130-mm gun mount, a Medvedka-2 ASW system, and a Hurricane medium-range air defense missile system.
The first Admiral Gorshkov class vessel is being built at the Severnaya Verf shipyard, and will be launched in 2011.
According to military sources, Russia's Navy intends to procure up to 20 such vessels.
ST. PETERSBURG, November 24 (RIA Novosti)
