Navy Recognition:
The Russian Navy will receive two upgraded Molniya-class missile boats of project 1241 by the beginning of 2019. They were initially planned for a foreign customer but the contract was cancelled and the Russian Navy displayed interest in the boats. They will be equipped with modern navigation and communication means and the latest arms. The architecture will change and crew conditions will improve. The boats will be armed with antiship Kh-35U missiles and Pantsir-M seaborne air defense, the Izvestia daily writes.
Experts believe the upgraded boats will be a powerful weapon less vulnerable for air attack and more comfortable for the crew.
The main Navy command told the newspaper the first of the two project 1241 boats built in Rybinsk is to be handed over to the fleet this year. The second boat is scheduled to arrive in 2019. The deadlines may be postponed if air defense weapons are not ready. One boat is expected to operate in the Black Sea and the other in the Caspian Sea.
