The sorry state of Russian surface warship construction is exemplified by the long-delayed commissioning of the small 800-ton missile ship Burya.
Laid down in December 2016 and launched in October 2018, it then sat idle for years awaiting its diesel engines.
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Even then, sea trials dragged on for another three-and-a-half years due to chronic engine problems.
Originally, German high-speed diesel engines had been intended, but sanctions imposed after the 2014 annexation of Crimea cut off supplies.
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Russia shifted to domestic “import substitution,” but the Zvezda factory in St. Petersburg has lacked the capacity, facilities, and supply chain to keep up with demand.
When engines have finally been delivered, they have been plagued by breakdowns and warranty disputes.
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Burya is typical, having taken ten years to enter service, and many other hulls still sit pierside without engines. Larger warships such as the Admiral Gorshkov-class (5,500 tons) have suffered similar delays after the loss of access to Ukrainian gas-turbine engines in 2014.
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Russia has had to develop domestic replacements from scratch at NPO Saturn in Rybinsk (the M90FR gas turbines and M55R CODAG plants) which took years and caused multi-year slips.
The Admiral Gorshkov-class program continues to advance, but at a very slow pace.
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Source t.me/milinfolive/17…
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