By Prashanth Parameswaran
Hanoi’s maritime capabilities get another boost.
The Vietnamese Navy received two indigenously built, Russian-design missile ships on Tuesday to enhance its maritime defenses.
The two Project 1241 Tarantul-class or Molniya corvettes, built in Vietnam at the Ba Son shipyard under the General Department of Military Industry following a Russian technology contract inked a few years ago, were officially handed over to the Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) during a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh on Tuesday. The ships, coded HQ 379 and HQ 380, are among the six ordered by the navy, with the first two – HQ 377 and HQ 378 – delivered last year.
The vessels are equipped with 16 Uran-E missiles of 130 km in range, two AK-630 ship-borne artillery systems, and an AK-176M automatic gun. Their endurance is 10 days and they can travel at a maximum speed of almost 70 km/hour in standard conditions.
“The two ships are equipped with strong firepower from advanced weapons, and are of high mobility,” Nguyen Van Ninh, the deputy commander of the VPN, said at the ceremony. “They can effectively operate by themselves or in coordination with other forces.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat