Is Vietnam's missile frigate more powerful than Russia claims?

Russia has displayed a model of the upgraded Gepard 3.9 missile frigate, with Vietnam being their target customer.

Currently, the Vietnam People's Navy has received the first Gepard 3.9 missile frigate of the second (and third) pair, and the remaining one is expected to arrive at Cam Ranh port in January 2018.

After receiving two pairs of Gepard 3.9 frigates, information from the Russian side suggests that Vietnam may sign a contract to build another pair of these frigates with a much more powerful weapons configuration.

As a kind of "showcase" move, Russia recently officially unveiled a model of the upgraded Gepard 3.9 submarine.

Russia has just unveiled an upgraded model of the Gepard 3.9 missile frigate.

Looking at the model, it's easy to see that this Gepard has very formidable anti-ship, anti-aircraft, and anti-submarine firepower.

At the front of the ship is the UKSK multi-purpose launcher, integrating 8 3M-54E Klub-N supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles with a range of 220 km, a maximum speed of Mach 2.9, and carrying a 200 kg warhead.

In the center are 16 vertical launch systems for the 9M317ME missile, part of the Shtil-1 complex with a range of 50 km. In addition to its air defense function, it can also serve as a short-range anti-ship missile by switching its function to attack sea-skimming targets.

Additionally, the ship is equipped with four 533 mm heavy torpedo tubes, one AK-176MA naval gun, and two AK-630M rapid-fire anti-aircraft guns.

The 9M96E (short) and 9M96E2 (long) interceptor missiles of the Redut shipborne air defense system.

Although the Gepard's power already surpasses the first two pairs, even outpacing many other 4,000-ton warships, it still has the potential to become even more powerful.

The ship carried Russia's best anti-ship missiles at the time, but its anti-aircraft missiles were relatively outdated. The Russian Navy no longer relied on the Shtil-1 system and instead opted for the Redut, which uses the 9M96E and 9M96E2 missiles.

The 9M96E medium-range missile has a range of 1-40 km; a target engagement altitude of 0.005-20 km; a weight of 333 kg; and carries a 24 kg warhead. The 9M96E2 is an extended version, with a range of 1-120 km; a target engagement altitude of 0.005-30 km; a weight of 420 kg, and a warhead weight of 24 kg, the same as the 9M96E.

Thanks to its active radar guidance mechanism, the 9M96E and 9M96E2 missiles have a 90% chance of hitting stealth targets with a single missile, given their low radar cross-section and high maneuverability. Furthermore, their ability to attack surface targets remains intact.

In addition, its compact size allows the anti-aircraft missile payload to be increased to 24 missiles. Using two different types of interceptor missiles, the warship can also choose the appropriate one for different targets to ensure cost-effectiveness.

Clearly, if equipped with the Redut system instead of Shtil-1, the Gepard 3.9's air defense capabilities would be much higher than the configuration described above.

According to Baodatviet