MOSCOW. Feb 3 (Interfax-AVN) - The first two of a series of six Project 636.3 submarines intended for the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet are to be laid down at the Admiralteiskiye Verfi shipyard in 2017, a source in the defense industry told Interfax-AVN on Friday.
"Under the contract, the laying down of the first pair of Project 636.3 submarines for the Pacific Fleet is planned for this year, their handover to the fleet [is due] in 2019," the source said.
"This pace will continue in the subsequent years to make sure the contract is fulfilled by 2021," he said.
It was reported earlier that on September 7, 2016, the Russian Defense Ministry and United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) signed a contract for construction of six Project 636.3 diesel electric submarines for the Pacific Fleet.
The contract was signed by Admiralteiskiye Verfi (part of USC) General Director Alexander Buzakov and Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov at the Army 2016 international military-technical forum.
"The delivery deadlines for the six submarines: two in 2019, two in 2020 and two in 2021," Buzakov said at the time.
By now the Admiralteiskiye Verfi (based in St. Petersburg) has finished the construction of two six-submarine series: one, Project 636.1, for the Vietnamese Navy; the other, Project 636.3, for Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Two more submarines of Project 636.1 are being built for the Algerian Navy.