Rare Grif class of Vietnam Border Guard
In the fleet of some squadrons of the Vietnam Border Guard, there is a class of little-known high-speed patrol boats, the Project 1400M Grif.
According to data from the Russian TsAMTO Center for Analysis of the World Arms Trade, during the period 1998 - 2000, Ukraine provided Vietnam with 5 Project 1400M Grif patrol boats to equip the water patrol force of the Border Guard.
The Grif patrol boat (NATO name Zhuk) is a product manufactured during the Soviet era by many different shipbuilding facilities. This vehicle has a rather modest size with a length of 23.8 m; width of 5 m; draft of 1.1 m; full displacement of 39 tons; crew of 11 people.
The heart of the Grif is the M401B direct-drive diesel engine, which powers two propellers, giving a top speed of 30 knots (55.56 km/h) and a range of 450 nautical miles (830 km).
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| High-speed patrol boat squadron Project 1400M Grif of Border Guard Squadron 28. |
The electronic equipment system of the Grif high-speed patrol boat includes maritime navigation radar and surface reconnaissance radar along with a number of equipment for weapon aiming.
After receiving this vehicle, the 5 Project 1140M boats are said to be assigned to the Border Guard fleets stationed in the southwestern sea and islands of the country. Images of them are relatively rare. Currently, this class of high-speed patrol boats is still used by many countries of the former Soviet Union.
With the capacity of the domestic shipbuilding industry, Vietnam is now capable of manufacturing a product equivalent to or even stronger than the Grif, of which the CQ-02 high-speed patrol boat class can be seen as a clear example.
