Русский
Vietnam is showing great interest in Russia’s Project 11661E Gepard-3.9 Class frigates, and localization of their production in that country is likely, according to Russian Federal Military-Technical Cooperation Service Director Dmitry Shugayev.
He stated that “There is great interest in developing the Gepard-3.9 class frigate project, as four of these frigates are already in service with the Vietnamese Navy. I think we can count on this to go on, including localization of production. Vietnam is currently armed with our aircraft, ground forces hardware, and naval equipment and is an essential component.”
Vietnam has already purchased four Gepard-class frigates from Russia. The first two ships were built and delivered to Vietnam in 2010-2011. The second pair was ordered in the anti-submarine version and delivered to Vietnam in December 2017. The Project 11661E Gepard-3.9 class are Russian-built, heavily armed stealth light frigates primarily exported to the Vietnam People’s Navy. Displacing around 2,200 tons, they are designed to engage surface ships, submarines, and air targets while patrolling exclusive economic zones (EEZ).
The project 11661E “Gepard-3.9” was developed by the Zelenodolsk Design Bureau, with all four frigates built for Vietnam constructed at the Zelenodolsk Gorky Shipyard in the Republic of Tatarstan. The Zelenodolsk Design Bureau develops combat anti-submarine ships, military patrol vessels, and specialized watercraft (boats and auxiliary vessels) for the Russian Navy and for export.
Construction of the Gepard frigates in Vietnam is likely to be undertaken in the Z189 Shipyard in Haiphong, the Song Thu shipyard in Da Nang, and the historic Ba Son shipyard in Ho Chi Minh City, under Russian technical supervision.
