The Russian Gepard-class frigates, Russian designation Project 11661, is a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of frigates that were intended as successors to the earlier s and , and corvettes. The first unit of the class, ''Yastreb'' (''Hawk''), was laid down at the Zelenodol'sk Zavod shipyard at

Tatarstan The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...

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 Kaspiyskaya flotiliya , image = Great emblem of the Caspian Flotilla.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Caspian Flotilla , dates = No ...

. She has two sister ships, ''Albatross'' (renamed ''Dagestan''), and ''Burevestnik'' (''Storm Petrel''), which was still under construction . The foreign customer

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

is the main operator of the class when its navy has commissioned at least 4 frigates - twice the size of Russia's Project 11661 frigates - while having plans to order at least 2 more.

Design

These vessels are capable of employing their weapons systems in conditions up to

Sea State In oceanography, sea state is the general condition of the free surface on a large body of water—with respect to wind waves and swell—at a certain location and moment. A sea state is characterized by statistics, including the wave height, ...

5. The hull and superstructure are constructed primarily of steel, with some

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

being used in the upper superstructure. They are equipped with fin stabilizers and twin

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

s, and can use either

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...

s or

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

for propulsion in a

CODOG Combined diesel or gas (CODOG) is a type of propulsion system for ships that need a maximum speed that is considerably faster than their cruise speed, particularly warships like modern frigates or corvettes. For every propeller shaft there is o ...

configuration. ''Gepard'' is Russian for

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

Service history

In October 2015, ''Dagestan'', in company with three other Russian Navy ships serving with the Caspian Flotilla, launched cruise missiles at targets in Syria. The missiles flew nearly over

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

and struck targets in

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...

and Aleppo provinces (controlled by the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

) as well as Idlib province (controlled by the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front). Peshmerga forces (Kurdish armed forces located in northern Iraq) published a video allegedly depicting two cruise missiles mid-flight en route to Syria.

Export

The Gepard-class was designed from the outset as a lightweight, inexpensive export vessel. Russia offers three variants of the class to the market: *Gepard 3.9: designed to search, track and fight against surface, underwater and air enemy independently and within task force, plant mine fields, provide protection and patrol of maritime state border and exclusive economic zone, perform combat missions, patrol service. Powered by gas-turbine engines with

configuration. Fitted with two inclined quadruple launchers for eight

Kh-35 The Zvezda Kh-35 (russian: Х-35 , AS-20 'Kayak') is a Soviet turbojet subsonic cruise anti-ship missile. The missile can be launched from helicopters, surface ships and coastal defence batteries with the help of a rocket booster, in which c ...

anti-ship missiles An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good ...

with alternative options to be featured with VLS systems such as UKSK (for cruise missiles such as Club-N and Yakhont) and Shtil-1 air-defense system. Being the only exported variant with

being its first and only operator. *Gepard 5.1: configured as a ocean-going patrol ship. Intended for patrolling territorial waters, helping in distress on the sea, environment protection, support to marine missions and flag demonstration in areas being of state interest. Can be featured with "heavier" weapons if necessary. Powered entirely by diesel engines with a two-shaft

CODAD Combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) is a propulsion system for ships using two diesel engines to power a single propeller shaft. A gearbox and clutches enable either of the engines or both of them together to drive the shaft. Two advantages over ...

propulsion plant. *Gepard 5.3: designed to search, track and fight against surface, underwater and air enemy independently and within task force, carry out convoy missions and patrol duty, guard maritime state border and economic zone. Featured with four quadruple launchers for sixteen

. Powered by a two-shaft

propulsion plant.

Vietnam

In March and August of 2011, the

Vietnam People's Navy The Vietnam People's Navy (VPN; vi, Hải quân nhân dân Việt Nam), or the Naval Service (), also known as the Vietnamese People's Navy or simply Vietnam/Vietnamese Navy (), is the naval branch of the Vietnam People's Army and is responsi ...

received two Gepard 3.9-class frigates ordered in 2006, built in Russia at Tatarstan's Gorky Shipbuilding Plant. In late 2011, Vietnam signed a contract for an additional batch of two ships in an anti-submarine configuration. A further two ships are being considered to bring the total order up to six vessels, and that potential acquisition is likely being stalled due to sanctions towards Russia as a result of the Ukrainian conflicts.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka began talks for the credit purchase of a Gepard 5.1 frigate in 2017 and the Sri Lankan cabinet approved the proposal by President

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්‍ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්‍රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி� ...

for the purchase of the ship in September 2017.

Ships

File:Caspian Frigate Tatarstan.jpg,

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

frigate 691 ''Tatarstan'' File:Caspian Frigate Dagestan.jpg,

frigate 693 ''Dagestan'' File:HQ 011 converted.jpg, Vietnam People Navy ship no. 011 ''Đinh Tiên Hoàng''

References

External links

Project 11661 Gepard Class Frigates
@ Zelenodolsk Plant named after A.M. Gorky
Project 11661 Gepard-3.9 Class Frigates
@ Zelenodolsk Plant named after A.M. Gorky
Project 11661 Gepard Class Frigates
@ Naval Technology

@ FAS
1166.1 Gepard
@ Encyclopedia of Ships

@ RussianShips {{Soviet and Russian ships after 1945 Frigate classes