"The second minesweeper Georgy Kurbatov will be launched on July 29. It will be commissioned next September, we shall test it next summer," Vladimir Seredokho told reporters.
According to Seredokho, the third vessel of the series will be laid down at the same time as the launch of Georgy Kurbatov. The fourth ship will be laid down in September.
In 2014, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the country’s Navy would receive new minesweepers by 2019 under Project 12700.
The Alexander Obukhov minesweeper, the lead vessel in the series, is 61 meters (200 feet) in length and 10 meters in width, with a maximum speed of 16.5 knots and a crew of 44. The vessel, designed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau, searches for and destroys mines in the waters surrounding marine bases at a safe distance.
