"Now, alongside a concept the Russian navy also has a programme. The programme of building up and rearming the navy is designed until 2015. If implemented in full, by 2015 we will see a new ship, aviation and submarine makeup", said Admiral Kuroedov, answering questions from journalists.
Vladimir Kuroedov participates in the operative-mobilisation assembly for naval commanders held in St.Petersburg.
"We are building a fleet to be operative until the 40s-50s, as is provided for in the plans of the high command and the Defence Ministry", he said.
Practically all the head ships for the surface fleet have been laid down, mostly at the shipyards in St.Petersburg, he said.
"Not all has yet been decided but, I think, the next few years will cross all the t's and dot all the i's in the navy build-up programme", said the admiral.
According to Vladimir Kuroedov, the specificity of the new stage of the fleet build-up will be the creation of ships not for oceanic but close and far navigation. "The second specificity is that we abandon the big type of ships as now, remaining from the Soviet times, and switch over to multifunctional ships", Kuroedov said.
The main types of surface ships will be corvettes and frigates, he said. "Frigates will not be like the ships now in the making by the Baltiiski Factory in St.Petersburg for India. Russia will have its own frigates", he said. And added that he is planning with commanders to consider the detail design of frigate, for whose building a competition will be announced.
