BPS-500 is a

missile boat A missile boat or missile cutter is a small, fast warship armed with anti-ship missiles. Being smaller than other warships such as destroyers and frigates, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming a navy at lower cost. They ...

in service with the

Vietnam People's Navy The Vietnam People's Navy (VPN; ), internally 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 responsible for the protection of the ...

. It was the only missile boat built under the project KBO 2000 where Vietnam started to domestically build this class in the late 1990s. KBO 2000 is a joint project between the Russia and Vietnam in order to build missile boats in Vietnam. Russia which is represented by Severnoye Project Design Bureau (SPKB) is involved in the design scheme of missile boats of the BPS-500 class as required by the Vietnam Navy.

Production cooperation

The sole BPS-500 missile ship was part of Project KBO 2000, jointly designed and manufactured by

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. KBO 2000 was a military shipbuilding cooperation project between

and

, with Russia represented by the Northern Design Bureau (SPKB). SPKB participated in designing the BPS-500 missile corvette according to the requirements of the

. The first BPS-500 missile ship was built at a shipyard in Ho Chi Minh City (

Ba Son Shipyard Saigon Naval Shipyard is a former French Navy, Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN) and Vietnam People's Navy (VPN) base in Saigon Vietnam. The base, located on the southwest bank of the Saigon River about from the South China Sea, represented the l ...

) with technical assistance and equipment, spare parts supplied by Russia. According to a Jane’s article published in March 1999, the BPS-500 was already completed, launched, and undergoing sea trials at that time. The ship was built using modern modular technology with angled surfaces to increase radar scattering capability. A special feature is the use of pump-jet propulsion instead of traditional propellers, which offers better maneuverability in shallow waters, enhanced agility through directional nozzles, and significantly reduced noise compared to conventional propellers. However, after completing the first BPS-500 ship, Vietnam halted the program. Some foreign media sources cited the ship’s outdated design, inability to meet Vietnam’s evolving requirements, or inferiority to Project 1241.8 Molniya class ships as reasons for the project's cancellation. One major issue was the propulsion system. The pump-jet mechanism led to higher construction costs, complexity in manufacturing, unstable operation, and poor performance at low speed (best suited for high speed). The ship’s hull design was also criticized for poor seaworthiness, making it unsuitable for operations in distant seas.

Upgrade

According to a contract with Rosoboronexport, in 2013, Russia’s Northern Design Bureau began providing technical support for the overhaul and upgrade of the sole BPS-500 missile patrol ship (Ship 381) for the

. This was confirmed in the company's 2013 financial report.Russia upgrades the 'unique' BPS-500 missile ship for Vietnam
Nguoi Dua Tin Newspaper

References

Worldwide Equipment Guide 2011 Volume 3
United States Army Training and Doctrine Command, section 1, p. 3. {{Reflist Ships of the Vietnam People's Navy Missile boats Ships built in Vietnam