Work on a pair of upgraded amphibious assault ships for the Russian Navy is falling behind schedule.
A source in the Russian shipbuilding industry told state-owned media outlet TASS on Tuesday that the construction of two upgraded Project 11711 amphibious assault ships has fallen behind schedule because of “the designer’s failure to timely provide the working design documentation.” The source noted that “work on building the hulls” of the two new vessels is underway, but provided no other details such as an amended timeline for completion of the vessels.
The vessels are being built at Yantar Shipyard, located in the Russian exclave Kaliningrad. TASS did not receive a comment from the shipyard on the source’s information.
In April 2019, Yantar Shipyard laid down the two vessels, named Vladimir Andreyev and Vasily Trushin. At the time, the head of United Shipbuilding Corporation, Alexei Rakhmanov, stated that these would differ from the base model vessels in the class, featuring greater displacement and the ability to carry Ka-52K combat helicopters. Both warships were previously expected to be delivered to the Russian Navy prior to 2025.
Two base model Project 11711 amphibious assault ships have been built to date. The lead ship, Ivan Gren, was laid down in 2004 and commissioned in June 2018. Another vessel in the class, Petr Morgunov, was laid down in 2015 and should join the Navy later this year.
Yantar Shipyard’s CEO, Eduard Yefimov, said earlier in the month that the Russian Navy may order additional vessels of the class to be built at the shipyard.
Military markets analyst, covering Eurasia, Middle East, and Africa.
