This is what the Russian Ministry of Defense said a few hours ago. The news was picked up by all Russian media, including the Ria Novosti news agency.
Just tomorrow at the Sredne-Nevsky shipyard in St. Petersburg, a ceremony will be held to present the first boat of the class, Alexander Obukhov, hero of the Soviet fleet (1917-2009).
The Alexander Obukhov is an 890 minesweeper tons, 61 meters long and ten wide. Its autonomy at sea is of 10 / 12 days. The hull of the "Project 12700" was made from a single block of fiberglass molded with the vacuum infusion technique.
Compared to steel hulls, fiberglass hulls have a greater resistance, an essential ability in de-mining operations. Finally, the fiberglass hull has a lighter mass than those in non-magnetic steel.
The top speed is 16,5 knots with a crew of 44 sailors. The ship was designed to find and destroy mines placed in the waters in front of naval bases at a safe distance.
The Alexander Obukhov will join the Northern Fleet. According to the Sredne-Nevsky shipyard, the only one in Russia to have vacuum infusion technology, the first hull of the ships was modeled in just 36 hours.
The new minesweepers will have all the typical features of the category combined with the ability to interact remotely with automated systems of advance.
Franco Iacch
