Story by TASS // Russian Defense & Technologies Newswire
“Today we float the Ivan Papanin designed by Almaz bureau,” shipyard CEO Alexander Buzakov said.
Admiral Viktor Chirkov from the United Shipbuilding Corporation said Russia for the first time got a universal ice-class warship. “It has to ensure security of navigation and research in the Arctic and protect our national interests,” he said.
The warship can operate as a tugboat, escort ship and an icebreaker. It will operate in ice, escort detained vessels to seaports, support supply ships, participate in rescue operations and deliver special cargoes. The ship has a displacement of 8500 tons, is over a hundred meters long and 20 meters wide, The cruising capacity is 60 days.
Comment by Naval News
For the record, the Project 23550 is a multirole icebreaker combining the functionalities of a tugboat, patrol ship and an icebreaker capable of breaking ice up to 1.7 meters thick. Project 23550 ships are designed to protect and monitor Arctic water resources; escort and tow other vessels; act as a support vessel; participation in rescue operations; transport various cargo in the Arctic…
The vessel has a total displacement of about 9,000 tons; a length of about 114 meters; a width of about 20 meters and a draft of about 6.0 meters. Its maximum speed is 18 knots; economic speed of 10 knots; crew / additional crew of about 60/50 people. The endurance is 70 days at sea. Arctic ship category: Arc7.
In terms of weapon systems and equipment, Project 23550 vessels are fitted with a 76-mm AK-176MA main gun; portable air defense systems; helipad and helicopter hangar able to accommodate a Ka-27 class helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicles; two Raptor high-speed assault boats of the Raptor type and one Project 23321 hovercraft. Last but certainly not least, the vessel can be fitted with a containerized version of the Kalibr-NK missile system.
