Article Posted on : - May 31, 2011

MOSCOW (BNS): The second Gepard 3.9 class frigate built by Russia for the Vietnamese Navy has set sail for the home country after completing a series of sea acceptance trials.

The warship, built by Russia's Zelenodolsk Shipyard, was loaded aboard the special-purpose transport vessel, Eide Transporter, on May 25 and shipped to Vietnam on May 26, Rus Navy reported.

The ship is expected to reach Vietnam after 65 days.

Vietnam had ordered two Gepard 3.9 class frigates from Russia in 2006.

While the first frigate, named Dinh Tien Hoang, was floated out in December 2009, the second frigate was launched in March last year.

The frigates, built under Project 1166.1, have been designed to engage surface ships, submarines and air targets, both independently and as part of a task force, as well as to perform escort and patrol tasks.

Each ship has a displacement of 1,930 tons (full load), length of 102 meters and a maximum speed of 23 knots.

Major armaments installed on the frigate include the Uran-E anti-ship missile, a 76.2-mm gun mount AK-176M, a Palma air defence artillery system, two 30-mm gun mounts AK-630M and 533-mm torpedo tubes.

The warship can carry a Ka-28 or a Ka-31 Helix naval helicopter.