9 photos of Russia's new stealth frigate, a small warship that's much better armed than the US Navy's LCS

Daniel BrownJul 21, 2018, 00:30 IST

Russian Defense Ministry

The Russian Navy will receive a new stealth frigate in late July, according to TASS, a Russian state-owned media outlet.

The Admiral Gorshkov, the first of the new class of stealth frigates, will be delivered to the Russian Navy on July 28, TASS reported.

Launched in 2010, the Admiral Gorshkov was expected to be delivered in November 2016, but got pushed back to November 2017, due to several technical issues, according to The Diplomat. It then got pushed back again to July 2018.

The second Admiral Gorshkov-class frigate, the Admiral Kasatonov, has been delayed as well. Still, the ship does appear to be well-armed - especially as compared to the US Navy's littoral combat ships, a class of small surface combatants that has also struggled with delays and propulsion problems.

Check it out below:

See 9 photos of Russia's new stealth frigate, a small warship that's much better armed than the US Navy's LCS >>

First laid down in 2006, the Admiral Gorshkov is named after Sergei Gorshkov, the former commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy.

It's the largest surface warship built by Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, The Diplomat reported.

Source: naval-technology.com

Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates are almost 427 feet long, and have a beam and draft of about 52 feet, and a displacement of 4,500 tons.

Source: naval-technology.com

They also have a maximum range of more than 4,000 miles.

Source: naval-technology.com

Powered by two gas turbines and two boost gas turbines, they have a maximum speed of about 34 mph.

The Gorshkov, however, has had propulsion problems, which partly led to the delivery delays.

Sources: naval-technology.com, The Diplomat

Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates are armed with vertical launch tubes that can fire Oniks and Kalibr cruise missiles as well as Poliment-Redut surface-to-air missiles and even BrahMos missiles.

BrahMos missiles carry conventional warheads up to 660 pounds and have a range of about 180 miles.

The Poliment-Redut surface-to-air missiles have reportedly had compatability and performance issues, which have also caused delivery delays.

Source: naval-technology.com, The Diplomat

They're also armed with a 130mm gun mount on the stern and a 30mm CIWS. In comparison, the US Navy's LCS are typically only outfitted with 57mm guns.

Source: naval-technology.com

In addition, the frigates have a Medvedka-2 anti-submarine warfare system, a Hurricane medium-range surface-to-air defense missile system and can even be fitted with 21-inch torpedo tubes.

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9 photos of Russia's new stealth frigate, a small warship that's much better armed than the US Navy's LCS

First laid down in 2006, the Admiral Gorshkov is named after Sergei Gorshkov, the former commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy.

Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates are almost 427 feet long, and have a beam and draft of about 52 feet, and a displacement of 4,500 tons.

They also have a maximum range of more than 4,000 miles.

Powered by two gas turbines and two boost gas turbines, they have a maximum speed of about 34 mph.

Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates are armed with vertical launch tubes that can fire Oniks and Kalibr cruise missiles as well as Poliment-Redut surface-to-air missiles and even BrahMos missiles.

They're also armed with a 130mm gun mount on the stern and a 30mm CIWS. In comparison, the US Navy's LCS are typically only outfitted with 57mm guns.

In addition, the frigates have a Medvedka-2 anti-submarine warfare system, a Hurricane medium-range surface-to-air defense missile system and can even be fitted with 21-inch torpedo tubes.

Putin himself even visited the Admiral Gorshkov during Russia's Navy Day in 2015.

Where he made a speech on the Gorshkov's flight deck.

Check out the Gorshkov in motion below: