Vietnam's BPS-500 vessel is equipped with new weapons after upgrade.

According to Defense Brief, a magazine published by the Russian Center for Strategic and Technological Analysis (CAST), Moscow is helping Vietnam upgrade its BPS-500 ships with new weapons.

Although specific details about the upgrade package, as well as the timeline for implementation and completion, were not disclosed, this is the second time since late 2014 that Russia has announced an upgrade of the BPS-500 missile boats for the Vietnamese Navy, with the contract being carried out by Russia's Northern Design Bureau for Shipbuilding.

General Director Vladimir Spiridopulo stated: "Through the Rosoboronexport arms export corporation, we received a contract to repair and upgrade the BPS-500 missile boat, which is a vessel from our 1990s military-technical cooperation program."

Sailors on board the BPS-500.

According to Mr. Spiridopulo, the BPS-500 missile boat was repaired at the Ba Son shipyard in Ho Chi Minh City. "We acted as the work coordinator, participating in the integration of weapon systems, which are mainly manufactured in Russia, and providing technical support for the project," Mr. Spiridopulo added.

Following initial reports of Russian assistance in upgrading the BPS-500 vessel, in May 2016, the ship undertook a journey of over 1,000 nautical miles to Brunei to participate in the ADMM+ Maritime Security and Counterterrorism Field Exercise 2016.

After that long mission, there were virtually no further images of ship 381. It wasn't until the Navy's combat readiness training inspection in early 2017 that this BPS-500 reappeared.

The current role of the BPS-500 in the Vietnam People's Navy remains very important, despite the fact that we now have many more advanced Molniya 1241.8 vessels. According to publicly available information, the vessel is 62m long and equipped with a diesel engine, giving it a speed of 30 knots and a cruising range of 30 days.

The ship's electronic systems include the Pozitiv ME multi-purpose radar, which conducts air and sea target reconnaissance with a range of over 100km. It can detect flying targets with a radar cross-section (RCS) of 1m2 at an altitude of 1,000m from a distance of 11km, and detect anti-ship missiles with an RCS of 0.03m2 at an altitude of 15m from a distance of 15km.

The radar can also track 15 targets simultaneously, or monitor 3-5 targets at a time. In addition, the ship has radar systems for controlling artillery and missile fire, as well as a communication system.

Regarding weaponry (before upgrades), the BPS-500 is equipped with an AK-176 naval gun, eight Uran-E anti-ship cruise missiles (range 130km), two AK-630 high-speed anti-aircraft gun mounts, an Igla short-range anti-aircraft missile system, and two 12.7mm machine guns.

According to Baodatviet