MOSCOW. March 5 (Interfax-AVN) - The Admiralty Shipyards will deliver the first two Project 636 'Varshavyanka' diesel-electric submarines to Vietnam this year. In all, six subs will be built under the contract, a Russian defense sector representative told Interfax-AVN on Tuesday.
"The shipyards are due to export two Project 636 subs this year. The third sub will be launched in August, and the construction of the fourth sub will begin," he said.
The lead submarine of the project successfully completed the first stage of sea trials last December. The submarine systems and mechanisms proved operative. The submarine did twelve dives, including one deepwater.
"State sea trials of the first submarine will end this summer. The acceptance tests will take place in September and the submarine will be delivered to the client," he said.
The second submarine was launched late last year and finishing works began in early January. There will be dockside trials in March-April and the sea trials will start in May.
The other submarines are having their hulls assembled and systems tested, he said. The shipyards began to cut metal for the final submarine of the order in early February.
The works are strictly on schedule.
The contract on building six diesel-electric submarines of Project 636 'Varshavyanka' was signed during the Moscow visit of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in 2009. It also stipulates the training of Vietnamese crews and the delivery of equipment and property.
The contract is unofficially valued at approximately $2 billion. The Admiralty Shipyards intend to deliver one submarine per annum.