Vladimir Tryapichnikov and Pyotr Morgunov

Ivan Gren-class: Petersburg Yantar shipyards and will join the navy in 2018 after the completion of construction and all phases of testing, the head of the navy shipbuilding department, Vladimir Tryapichnikov, said late last week, according to The Moscow Times. The ship, the second of Russia new Ivan Gren-class landing vessels, was ordered a month after Paris froze a 1.2 billion euro deal for two Mistral-class assault ships in response to Russia annexation of Crimea and support for rebels in eastern Ukraine. The assault vessel is being built in St. In an apparent reference to the stalled Mistral deal, the ship will be named the Pyotr Morgunov — the name of a Red Army commander who played a decisive role in the 1942 defense of the Crimean city of Sevastopol from Nazi forces in World War II. The Morgunov and its sister ship, the nearly completed Ivan Gren, are not direct replacements for the French Mistral helicopter carriers, but will still allow the Russian navy to land ground forces onto enemy beaches up to 4,000 kilometers from their home ports. The Morgunov, for example, has space for 300 marines supported by one helicopter and either 40 armored personnel carriers or 13 tanks. But even in this capacity, they are considerably smaller than the Mistrals. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.