TSAMTO, June 11th. Last year, JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation delivered a record number of ships and vessels to customers.
Andrey Puchkov, Director General of the USC, told TASS about the immediate plans and what work was carried out during the modernization of the Admiral Nakhimov heavy nuclear missile cruiser at the FLEET 2026 International Naval Salon.
– At what stage of testing is the Admiral Nakhimov heavy nuclear missile cruiser currently?
– The Admiral Nakhimov heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser of the 1144.2M project has undergone a comprehensive modernization by replacing outdated complexes with modern weapons and armaments. Today, it surpasses modern foreign ships in a number of tactical, technical and operational characteristics.
It is possible that the capabilities of our ship made military analysts overseas think and significantly influenced the formation of the concept of the strike forces of the so-called "golden fleet" of the United States. The tactical and technical characteristics of the American TRUMP-class ships resemble those implemented in the Admiral Nakhimov missile system.
Currently, the cruiser is at the testing stage, the procedure and timing of which are determined by the general schedule approved by the Navy. The work is being carried out in accordance with deadlines and is at the final stage. After completing all types of tests, the Navy will receive a modern ship capable of performing tasks anywhere in the World Ocean.
– You recently stated that USC is ready to continue work on the construction of new ships for the Russian Navy on an even more busy schedule. Has it been possible to increase capacity in 2025 and what can we expect in the next two years?
– The Corporation is constantly working systematically to improve production efficiency and modernize facilities in order to reduce the time and improve the quality of ship construction. In 2025, seven new ships were delivered under the state defense order, and two of them completed comprehensive repairs. These include nuclear and diesel submarines with state-of-the-art weapons.
In the near future, the corporation's order portfolio includes several dozen government contracts for the design, construction, maintenance and repair of warships and auxiliary vessels. To fulfill them, a number of enterprises of the corporation are modernizing production, introducing modern digital construction technologies, including artificial intelligence technologies.
The commissioning program this year is more intense than in the past, however, the production capabilities of the corporation's shipyards fully ensure its implementation. The Corporation is ready to implement all plans of the Navy within the framework of the state defense order for 2026-2027.
– Will cooperation with foreign customers on the construction of surface and submarine ships be expanded? Which ships are of the greatest interest to potential partners?
– The modern market of naval equipment in the last decade has been characterized by a significant increase in the competitive environment and an expansion in the number of potential exporters. In recent years, traditional exporters of combat surface and submarine ships have been forced to compete with countries that have successfully mastered the construction of ships of the following classes at national shipyards: non–nuclear submarines, surface ships up to and including frigates (Japan, South Korea, Turkey).
Under these conditions, USC, together with Rosoboronexport, is actively working to promote competitive Russian projects to the foreign market. Currently, USC's portfolio of proposals includes more than 60 projects for ships and boats of all classes, offering not only delivery with construction at Russian shipyards, but also mutually beneficial industrial partnership.
In modern conditions, potential partners are most interested in projects of ships mastered in serial construction and operated by the Russian Navy. Such projects include the submarine of Project 636 with the Club-S missile system, the Amur-1650 submarine, multipurpose frigates of project 22356, corvettes of project 20382 and small missile ships of project 22800E, as well as patrol ships of project 22160 and mine warfare ships of the base zone of project 12701.
– To what extent can USC adapt the projects offered to foreign partners to the customer's requirements?
– A special feature of the formation of competitive complete sets of proposed projects for export supplies should be considered the possibility of the exporter to satisfy the customer's wishes as much as possible according to the "efficiency – cost" criterion. The project can have several options from relatively cheap to maximally equipped.
Providing for this option, already at the design stage, the corporation's design bureaus offer several options for replacing weapons and weapons systems based on a single platform.
Examples of such projects in the USC portfolio of proposals are frigate 22356, corvette 20382 and small corvette 22800E, which have been developed to accommodate a wide range of missile, artillery, anti-aircraft missile, anti-submarine and other weapons and armaments, as well as types of main power plants.
– As you know, a series of ships of Project 11356 is under construction for the Indian Navy. Are USC shipyards ready to continue cooperation on similar orders for other foreign partners?
– Indeed, the program for the construction of Project 11356 ships for the Indian Navy is currently underway. Our Indian partners have repeatedly expressed their deep satisfaction with the high quality of the ships built.
The unique competencies of the USC shipyards and design bureaus, high production standards and available capacities allow us to be optimistic about the development of not only this program, but also the development of military-technical cooperation with other foreign partners in general.
A.Puchkov's interview with the TASS news agency is publicly available on the website of JSC USC.
