St. Petersburg, Russia based Severnaya Verf Shipyard today, December 12, 2014, held an official launching seremony for the first serial frigate of Admiral Gorshkov-class (Project 22350) "Fleet Admiral Kasatonov" named for Hero of the Soviet Union, Fleet Adm. Vladimir Kasatonov, the shipbuilding company told IAA PortNews.
The ceremony was attended by Russian Navy Commander Viktor Chirkov, St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko and Admiral Igor Kasatonov, a son of Vladimir Kasatonov.
The 22350-series frigates flag ship “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov” is currently undergoing shipbuilder's trials on the naval proving grounds of the Baltic Fleet's Leningrad naval base.
Frigates Project 22350 ships have extended forecastle deck design, with innovative solid superstructure made of composite materials (polyvinyl chloride and carbon fibers) with radar-absorbing capabilities to reduce or block radar signals that reflect off from the surface of planes.
OJSC "Severnaya Verf" Shipyard (part of United Shipbuilding Corporation Group) is a leading shipbuilding company in Russia, building more than 75% of the Russian military surface warships. The company was founded on November 14, 1912, as "Putilovskaya Shipyard."
The company is dedicated to construction, repair and retrofitting of surface warships, including destroyers, frigates, corvettes under the state defense contracts for the Russian Navy. The company also executes contracts for foreign Navy under military and technical cooperation. Severnaya Verft also specializes in commercial shipbuilding for the domestic and foreign markets, manufacturing PSVs of various types, icebreakers, tankers and 12000dwt dry cargo carriers. In line with the contracts "Severnaya Verf" is to build and delivery to the Russian Navy four frigates of project 22350, four corvettes of 20380 and 20385 series, three mobile logistics ships of ARC4 class (a project 23120 modification), and two medium reconnaissance crafts of project 18280.