Vietnam's new Gepard-class frigates possess terrifying attack power

Russia's state corporation Rostex said the third pair of Gepard frigates that Vietnam is negotiating to buy will be equipped with Kalibr-NK cruise missiles.

"At the moment, the parties are discussing the issue of building a third pair of Gepard 3.9 ships in Zelenodolsk for the Vietnam Navy," said a representative of the state corporation Rostex.

Previously, Vietnam ordered two Gepard 3.9 class frigates, equipped with Kh-35 UranE subsonic anti-ship missiles and completed delivery in 2012. When arriving in Vietnam, these two frigates were named after two Vietnamese emperors, Dinh Tien Hoang (number 011) and Ly Thai To (012).

The Gepard 3.9 class warship is classified as a medium-class frigate, designed by the Zelenodolsk factory, with a displacement of about 2,000 tons, a maximum cruising range of about 5,000 nautical miles, and a continuous operating time at sea of ​​45 days...

Vietnam's first pair of Gepard 3.9 warships.

In addition to the basic weapon systems like the first two, the second pair of Gepard 3.9 frigates of Vietnam being built in Russia will be equipped with a weapon system that enhances anti-submarine capabilities thanks to a sonar detection system and new torpedo tubes.

After these two Gepard 3.9 ships are delivered and put into service, the Vietnam Navy will have four missile frigates, two of which are specialized in anti-ship warfare and the remaining two have additional anti-submarine capabilities.

However, these missile ships only have point air defense capabilities with a combat range of only about 10km, no medium-range air defense capabilities, and create a worrying combat gap when facing enemy fighter jets carrying long-range anti-ship missiles.

Therefore, while the second pair of Gepard 3.9 missile frigates (specially ordered anti-submarine version) is being fitted with weapons at the Zelenodolsk shipyard, the Vietnamese and Russian navies continue to negotiate to purchase additional Gepard 3.9 missile frigates upgraded with more modern missile systems.

Although the Zelenodolsk shipyard representative did not reveal the specific type of missile that will be equipped on the next ships, experts predict that it will be a new type of anti-ship missile, the Kh-35UE, with a longer range and stronger than the Kh-35E missile that Vietnam is using (launch range 260/130km).

In addition, the ship can also be upgraded to use the Kalibr-NK cruise missile system (surface-based version) like Russia's Gepard ships and the Shtil-1 ship-based air defense missile system (naval variant of the Buk-M1 medium-range air defense missile system).

Negotiations to purchase additional Gepard 3.9 missile ships, equipped with more modern weapons and missile systems, also show that in the near future, the Vietnam Navy will continue to expand the size of its fleet and enhance its combat power.

In the near future, Vietnam will use the Russian Gepard 3.9 class warship as its core force, capable of multi-purpose combat such as anti-surface ship, anti-submarine and fleet air defense. It will then continue to upgrade its strength with new, more modern generations of warships.

According to Baodatviet