Russia to order ten more Project 12700 MCMVs
The Russian Navy already has five Alexandrit-class MCMVs in service. (Photo: Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard)
The latest intent to order doubles the procurement to 20 ships. Project 12700 MCMVs could ultimately replace 30 to 50 Soviet-era minesweepers in the Russian Navy.
The Russian Navy intends to acquire ten additional Project 12700 (Alexandrit-class) mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) following completion of the first batch of the same number.
This was revealed by the navy’s Commander-in-Chief, Adm Nikolay Evmenov on 9 September. According to the TASS news agency, Evmenov said that Project 12700 is a good and reliable MCMV, considered among the most modern in the world. He also added that the Russian Navy is satisfied with its capabilities and that is why it intends to order more.
Evmenov made his speech at the laying-down ceremony of the ninth Project 12700 MCMV, Afanasiy
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