MOSCOW, October 15. /TASS/: The Yantar Shipyard on the Baltic coast will accept the world’s largest air-cushion amphibious assault ship Mordovia operational in the Baltic Fleet for repairs in early November, Shipyard spokesman Sergei Mikhailov told TASS on Tuesday.
"The ship will arrive at the Shipyard for repairs in late October - early November," the spokesman specified.
The amphibious assault ship will be repaired on the slipway of the Yantar Shipyard (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) and the scope of the repairs and their continuity will be specified after the ship undergoes its inspection for likely defects, he said.
The Project 12322 ‘Zubr’ air-cushion small amphibious assault ship Mordovia entered service with the Baltic Fleet in October 1991. The ship is designated to sealift amphibious assault personnel with their combat hardware from equipped and unequipped shores and land them onto an enemy coast with the provision of fire support for the landing force. The warship can also transport and plant sea mines. The air-cushion design allows the ship to move over the ground.
The warship can transport three tanks or ten armored personnel carriers or eight infantry fighting vehicles.
Four compartments with 140 seats accommodate the amphibious assault force. Instead of combat hardware, the warship can take 366 more personnel on its board. The Mordovia displaces 555 tonnes and can develop a speed of 60 knots (about 110 km/h). Zubr-class ships are considered as the world’s largest air-cushion vessels. The Mordovia is armed with two A-22 ‘Ogon’ launchers for 140mm rockets, two AK-630 30mm automatic artillery guns and eight Igla man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems.
