Gepard-class frigate explained

The Gepard-class frigates, Russian designation Project 11661, is a Russian class of frigates that were intended as successors to the earlier s and, and corvettes. The first unit of the class, Yastreb (Hawk), was laid down at the Zelenodol'sk Zavod shipyard at Tatarstan in 1991. She was launched in July 1993, after which she began fitting out; fitting was nearly completed by late 1995, when it was suspended due to lack of funds. Renamed Tatarstan, the ship was finally completed in July 2002, and became the flagship of the Caspian Flotilla. She has two sister ships, Albatross (renamed Dagestan), and Burevestnik (Storm Petrel), which was still under construction .

Vietnam is the main operator of the class with its navy having commissioned 4 frigates - twice the size of Russia's Project 11661 inventory - and having plans to order at least 2 more.

Design

These vessels are capable of employing their weapons systems in conditions up to Sea State 5. The hull and superstructure are constructed primarily of steel, with some aluminium-magnesium being used in the upper superstructure(stealth technology). They are equipped with fin stabilizers and twin rudders, and can use either gas turbines or diesel for propulsion in a CODOG configuration.

Gepard is Russian for cheetah.

Service history

In October 2015, Dagestan, in company with three other Russian Navy ships serving with the Caspian Flotilla, launched cruise missiles at targets in Syria. The missiles flew nearly 1500km (900miles) over Iran and Iraq and struck targets in Raqqa and Aleppo provinces (controlled by the Islamic State) as well as Idlib province (controlled by the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front).^[1] Peshmerga forces (Kurdish armed forces located in northern Iraq) published a video allegedly depicting two cruise missiles mid-flight en route to Syria.^[2]

On 6 November 2024 an A-22 drone from the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck the Kaspiysk naval base and reportedly damaged both Tatarstan and Dagestan as well as one .^{[3] [4]}

Export

The Gepard-class was designed from the outset as a lightweight, inexpensive export vessel. Russia offers three variants of the class to the market:^[5]

• Gepard 3.9: designed to search, track and fight against surface, underwater and air enemy independently and within task force, plant mine fields, provide protection and patrol of maritime state border and exclusive economic zone, perform combat missions, patrol service. Powered by gas-turbine engines with CODOG configuration. Fitted with two inclined quadruple launchers for eight Kh-35 anti-ship missiles with alternative options to be featured with VLS systems such as UKSK (for cruise missiles such as Club-N and Yakhont) and Shtil-1 air-defense system.^[6] Being the only exported variant with Vietnam being its first and only operator.
• Gepard 5.1: configured as an ocean-going patrol ship. Intended for patrolling territorial waters, helping in distress on the sea, environment protection, support to marine missions and flag demonstration in areas being of state interest. Can be featured with "heavier" weapons if necessary. Powered entirely by diesel engines with a two-shaft CODAD propulsion plant.^[7]
• Gepard 5.3: designed to search, track and fight against surface, underwater and air enemy independently and within task force, carry out convoy missions and patrol duty, guard maritime state border and economic zone. Featured with four quadruple launchers for sixteen Kh-35 anti-ship missiles. Powered by a two-shaft CODAD propulsion plant.^[8]

Vietnam

In March and August of 2011, the Vietnam People's Navy received two Gepard 3.9-class frigates ordered in 2006, built in Russia at Tatarstan's Gorky Shipbuilding Plant. In late 2011, Vietnam signed a contract for an additional batch of two ships in an anti-submarine configuration.^[9] A further two ships are being considered to bring the total order up to six vessels, and that potential acquisition is likely being stalled due to sanctions towards Russia as a result of the Ukrainian conflicts.^{[10] [11] [12]}

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka began talks for the credit purchase of a Gepard 5.1 frigate in 2017 and the Sri Lankan cabinet approved the proposal by President Maithripala Sirisena for the purchase of the ship in September 2017.^[13]

Ships

No.	Name	Namesake	Project designation	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned	Fleet	Status
Russian Navy (2)
691	Tatarstan (ex-Yastreb)	Republic of Tatarstan	11661	Zelenodolsk Shipyard	1993	2 July 2001	31 August 2003	Caspian	Active
693	Dagestan (ex-Albatros)	Republic of Dagestan	11661K		1994	1 April 2011^[14]	28 November 2012^[15]		Active
Vietnam People's Navy (4+2)
011	Dinh Tien Hoang	Đinh Tiên Hoàng	11661E (Gepard 3.9 batch I)	Zelenodolsk Shipyard	10 July 2007	12 December 2010^[16]	23 March 2011^[17]	Naval Region 4	Active
012	Ly Thai To	Lý Thái Tổ			27 November 2007	16 March 2011	22 August 2011^[18]		Active
015	Tran Hung Dao	Trần Hưng Đạo	11661E (Gepard 3.9 batch II)		24 September 2013^[19]	27 April 2016^[20]	6 February 2018		Active^[21]
016	Quang Trung	Quang Trung			24 September 2013	26 May 2016	6 February 2018		Active^[22]
-	-	-	11661_ (Gepard 3.9 batch III)	-	-	-	-		Planned
-	-	-			-	-	-

See also

• List of ships of the Soviet Navy
• List of ships of Russia by project number
• List of naval ship classes in service

External links

• Project 11661 Gepard Class Frigates @ Zelenodolsk Plant named after A.M. Gorky
• Project 11661 Gepard-3.9 Class Frigates @ Zelenodolsk Plant named after A.M. Gorky
• Project 11661 Gepard Class Frigates @ Naval Technology
• Project 1166.1 Gepard class @ FAS
• 1166.1 Gepard @ Encyclopedia of Ships
• All Gepard Class Frigates - Complete Ship List @ RussianShips

Notes and References

1. News: Russia fires cruise missiles from warships into Syria . Yahoo! News . Aji . Albert . Vasilyeva . Nataliya . Associated Press . 7 October 2015 . 9 October 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151014040244/http://news.yahoo.com/fighting-erupts-central-syria-amid-russian-airstrikes-072047268.html . 14 October 2015.
2. Web site: Kurdish Video Lends Credibility to Russian Navy Caspian Sea Strike Mission Claims . October 7, 2015 . USNI News.
3. News: A Ukrainian Drone Motored 700 Miles And Blasted Three Russian Warships In One Blow . . David . Axe . David Axe . 2024-11-13 . 2024-11-13.
4. Gerashchenko_en . Anton Gerashchenko . 1854162196814516295 . Reports appeard that two warships were hit in Russian Kaspiysk. The "Tatarstan" and "Dagestan" missile ships were reportedly damaged in a drone strike on the Caspian Fleet in Dagestan. Small missile ships of Project 21631 Buyan-M were also damaged.
5. Web site: Naval systems Catalog Rosoboronexport. 2021-11-29. roe.ru.
6. Web site: Frigate (on the base of the project 11661 escort ship) Gepard 3.9 Catalog Rosoboronexport. 2021-11-29. roe.ru.
7. Web site: Frigate (on the base of the project 11661) Gepard 5.3 Catalog Rosoboronexport. 2021-11-29. roe.ru.
8. Web site: Frigate (on the base of the project 11661) Gepard 5.3 Catalog Rosoboronexport. 2021-11-29. roe.ru.
9. Web site: Vietnam Bought Second Batch of Russian Gepard-Class Frigates . rusnavy.com . 7 December 2011 . 9 October 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140902054020/http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=13819 . 2 September 2014.
10. Web site: John . Pike . Project 1166.1 Gepard class . Globalsecurity.org . 21 August 2014 . 9 October 2015.
11. Web site: Vietnam Receives Second Russian-Made Frigate . https://archive.today/20120731065632/http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=7439844&c=ASI&s=SEA . dead . 31 July 2012 . Defense News . Agence France-Presse . 22 August 2011 . 9 October 2015.
12. Web site: Vietnam raises interest in procuring improved Gepard 3.9-class frigates from Russia. 2021-10-24. Asia Pacific Defense Journal.
13. News: Deal for Rs. 20 billion++ Russian patrol vessel this week, company chief comes in private jet . December 3, 2017 . . 2017-12-04.
14. Web site: Missile ship Dagestan was launched in Zelenodolsk . rusnavy.com . 5 April 2011 . 9 October 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120406112717/http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=11940 . 6 April 2012.
15. Web site: Caspian Flotilla Commissions New Corvette . rusnavy.com . 28 November 2012 . 9 October 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20181224024330/http://rusnavy.com/news/newsofday/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=16565 . 2018-12-24.
16. Web site: Russian shipyard built frigate for Vietnam . rusnavy.com . 14 December 2009 . 9 October 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200927232755/http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=8274 . 2020-09-27.
17. Web site: http://flot.com/news/vpk/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=56698 . ru:Работы над фрегатами "Гепард" для Вьетнама близки к завершению . Work on Gepard frigates for Vietnam close to completion . ru . flot.com . 26 October 2010 . 9 October 2015.
18. Web site: Vietnam gets most modern patrol ship in region . . 22 August 2011 . 2011-12-28 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120923023003/http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitrenews/politics/vietnam-gets-most-modern-patrol-ship-in-region-1.41637?localLinksEnabled=false . September 23, 2012.
19. Web site: 2014-04-02. Chi tiết thời điểm Việt Nam nhận 2 chiến hạm Gepard-3.9 mới. 2021-10-24. datviet.trithuccuocsong.vn. 24 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211024005949/https://datviet.trithuccuocsong.vn/quoc-phong/quoc-phong-viet-nam/chi-tiet-thoi-diem-viet-nam-nhan-2-chien-ham-gepard-39-moi-3031580/. dead.
20. Web site: Фрегат "Гепард 3.9" тожественно спущен на воду . The frigate "Gepard 3.9" was launched . ru . Zelenodolsk Plant . 27 April 2016 . 28 April 2016 . 6 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220206114739/https://www.zdship.ru/press-center/news-events/1813/ . dead .
21. Web site: Third Gepard frigate arrives to Vietnam from Russia . 30 October 2017 . Naval Today . 12 January 2018.
22. Web site: Vietnam's fourth Gepard frigate arrives in Cam Ranh Bay . . 4 February 2018 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180207183508/http://www.janes.com/article/77296/vietnam-s-fourth-gepard-frigate-arrives-in-cam-ranh-bay . 7 February 2018.