Nineteen combat ships, support vessel join Russian Navy in 2019 - commander
MOSCOW. Dec 28 (Interfax) -The Russian Navy has received 19 combat ships and support vessels this year, Navy Commander Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov said.
Furthermore, 17 ships and vessels have been floated out and 15 ships and vessels of different classes have been laid this year, Yevmenov said during a conference call at the Russian Defense Ministry.
"The Navy has adopted 19 combat ships and support vessels. Four coast-based missile systems and four aircraft have also been delivered. [...] Seventeen ships and vessels have been floated out and construction of 15 ships and vessels of different classes has begun this year," he said.
The construction of ice-class patrol vessels to protect the Arctic and the Subarctic is continuing, he said.
"Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin personally attended the keel-laying ceremony for the ice-class patrol ship Nikolai Zubov," Yevmenov said.
The proportion of advanced weapons and military and special-purpose hardware in the Russian Navy presently stands at over 68%, he said.