The Russian Navy (Russian: Военно-морской Флот Российской Федерации (ВМФ России), tr. Voyenno-morskoy Flot Rossiyskoy Federatsii (VMF Rossii), lit. Military-Maritime Fleet of the Russian Federation) is the naval arm of the Russian military. The Russian Gepard ("Cheetah") class frigates (Project 1166.1) were intended as successors to the earlier Koni, Grisha, and Parchim-class corvettes. The first unit of the class, Yastreb (Hawk), was laid down at the Zelenodol'sk Zavod shipyard at Tatarstan in 1991. She was launched in July 1993, after which she began fitting out; fitting was nearly completed by late 1995, when it was suspended due to lack of funds. Renamed Tatarstan, the ship was finally completed in July 2002, and became the flagship of the Caspian Flotilla. She has two sister ships, the Albatros (renamed Dagestan), and the Burevestnik (Storm Petrel), which was still under construction as of 2012. These vessels are capable of employing their weapons systems in conditions up to Sea State 5. The hull and superstructure are constructed primarily of steel, with some aluminum-magnesium being used in the upper superstructure. They are equipped with fin stabilizers and twin rudders, and can use either gas turbines or diesel for propulsion in a CODOG configuration. The Gepard-class was designed from the outset as a lightweight, inexpensive export vessel. The Russians have offered five variants for foreign sale. Gepard 1: Helicopter platform (no hangar), VDS deleted. Gepard 2: Helicopter platform and hangar, VDS and SA-N-4 deleted. Gepard 3: Increased beam of 13.8 m., displacement increased to 2,100 tons full load, single forward-placed Kortik CIWS in place of AK-630s, helicopter hangar above VDS housing. Gepard 4: Unarmed version for search-and-rescue, though weapon mountings still in place. Gepard 5: helicopter platform (no hangar), increased range to 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) knots, reduced speed of 23 knots (43 km/h), gas turbines replaced with 2 8,000 bhp (6,000 kW) diesels. The Vietnam People's Navy received in March and August 2011 two Gepard 3.9 class frigates ordered in 2006, built in Russia at Tatarstan's Gorky Shipbuilding Plant. As of 2012 Vietnam was examining a purchase of two more, possibly built in Vietnam under license. [1] [2] In late 2011 Vietnam signed a contract for an additional batch of two ships in an ASW version.[3][4] The Russian Navy (Russian: Военно-морской Флот Российской Федерации (ВМФ России), tr. Voyenno-morskoy Flot Rossiyskoy Federatsii (VMF Rossii), lit. Military-Maritime Fleet of the Russian Federation) is the naval arm of the Russian military. The present Russian Navy was formed in January 1992, succeeding the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which had itself succeeded the Soviet Navy following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. The first Russian Navy was established by Peter the Great (Peter I) in October 1696. Ascribed to Peter I is the oft quoted statement: "A ruler that has but an army has one hand, but he who has a navy has both." The symbols of the Russian Navy, the St. Andrew's flag and ensign (seen to the right), and most of its traditions were established personally by Peter I. Neither Jane's Fighting Ships nor the International Institute for Strategic Studies list any standard ship prefixs for the vessels of the Russian Navy. For official U.S. Navy photographs, they are sometimes referred to as "RFS" — "Russian Federation Ship". However, the Russian Navy does not use this convention for itself. The Russian Navy possesses the vast majority of the former Soviet naval forces, and currently comprises the Northern Fleet, the Russian Pacific Fleet, the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Russian Baltic Fleet, the Russian Caspian Flotilla, Naval Aviation, and the coastal troops (consisting of the naval infantry and the coastal missile and artillery troops). A recently approved rearmament program has placed the development of the navy on an equal footing with the strategic nuclear forces for the first time in Soviet and Russian history. The program, covering the period until 2015, is expected to see the replacement of 45 percent of the inventory of the Russian Navy.[2] Out of 4.9 trillion rubles ($192.16 billion) allocated for military rearmament, 25 percent will go into building new ships. "We are already building practically as many ships as we did in Soviet times," First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said during a visit to Severodvinsk in July 2007, "The problem now is not lack of money, but how to optimize production so that the navy can get new ships three, not five, years after laying them down."[3] The Russian Navy has suffered severely since the dissolution of the Soviet Union due to insufficient maintenance, lack of funding and thereby training of personnel and timely replacement of equipment.

• published: 28 Dec 2013
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