Russian Deputy Minister of Defense: The number of ships docked in cold lay-up is just unacceptable
Over the past two decades due to poor financing the number of flagships at the docks in ‘cold’ lay-up has exceeded all reasonable limits, a Russian Defense Ministry official said.
Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Yuri Borisov, who was speaking at a closed-door meeting in the FSUE Krylovsky State Scientific Center, dedicated to some amendments to the long-term program for Russia’s military shipbuilding, said that "reducing the variety of ship types will allow us to increase the series number of ships being constructed on a single platform with an option for further retrofitting of vessels" the Krylovsky institute press service quoted him as saying.
The meeting was also attended by the Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Oleg Ostapenko, Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief, Adm. Viktor Chirkov, Krylovsky Center General Director Andrei Dutov, representatives of the Navy departments, corporations, shipbuilding companies and naval architecture and marine engineering firms.
Borisov added: "Certainly, we need to have options for successive modifications of projects and the construction of small subseries of advanced ships".
"In accordance with the request of the President of Russia in the beginning of 2014 the military department in conjunction with the defense industry should develop a long-term military shipbuilding program for the period 2050."
"This program will provide a progressive evolutionary development of warships, the reduction of ship types and increase their serial production with cutting edge design and industrial technology, efficient budget spending throughout the entire life cycle of ships."
Deputy Defense Minister said that "by 2014 there will be five types of reactor and seven types of steam-turbine plants as part the fleet with nuclear power plants, taking into account SSN of Borey and Yasen class."
“In this regard, it would be reasonable to reduce the diversity of nuclear power plants by choosing a single basic scheme taking into account the unification for surface and submarine nuclear-powered ships." said Mr. Borisov.
