The second Gepard 3.9 Class frigate for the Vietnamese Navy has been floated out, according to a spokesman for the Zelenodolsk shipyard in Russia.
The spokesman said the first frigate would be delivered to Vietnam in October 2010 and the second by the end of the year, according to rianovosti.
The first Gepard 3.9 Class frigate was floated out in December 2009, and both the frigates will undergo sea trials in the Baltic Sea.
The frigate can perform escort and patrol tasks while engaging surface ships, submarines and air targets, independently and as part of a task force.
The 102m-long vessel has a displacement capacity of 2,000t and a maximum cruising speed of 23kt.
The ship, with an operational range of 5,000 miles, can accommodate 103 personnel and carry a Ka-28 or a Ka-31 Helix naval helicopter.
Armament of the frigate includes an Uran-E anti-ship missile system, a 76.2mm gun mount AK-176M, a Palma air defence artillery system, two 30mm gun mounts AK-630M and 533mm torpedo tubes.
In 2006, Russia and Vietnam signed a contract on the construction of two Gepard 3.9 Class frigates for the Vietnamese Navy.
