Russia continues building Ivan Rogov warship in Kerch: expert shares new details

Defense Express Development Director Valerii Riabykh stated this on Espreso TV.

“The project to build two similar helicopter carriers was planned by the Russians during the height of their ‘wild fantasies’ about ‘restoring influence in the world,’ hoping to capture Ukraine. The estimated cost of the shipbuilding program is around 100 billion rubles,” he noted.

Despite the fact that the Russians are continuing construction out of inertia, investing funds in the territory of temporarily occupied Ukrainian Crimea, the successful completion of this project seems unlikely, says Valerii Riabykh.

“The concept of naval warfare has already changed, particularly thanks to our Ukrainian Defense Forces, who have actively implemented robotic systems at sea, fundamentally altering the paradigm of warfare. However, a similar helicopter carrier might eventually be useful for Ukraine as well. So let them build it,” he added.

• Defense Express reported that satellite images have become publicly available, showing the level of progress in the construction of one of the two universal amphibious assault ships of Project 23900 Ivan Rogov.
• According to the previously announced specifications for the 23900-class amphibious assault ships, laid out back in July 2020, each is expected to carry up to 15 helicopters, making them the most powerful ships for the occupiers in the Black Sea.
• The released images indicate that the lead ship of this project, Ivan Rogov, will have a hull length and width of up to 220 and 40 meters, respectively.
• Based on previously stated Russian specifications, the Ivan Rogov universal amphibious assault ship is supposed to have a full displacement of up to 30,000 tons, accommodate up to 900 marines, up to 75 vehicles, and up to three landing craft, in addition to 15 helicopters (expected to include Ka-29 and Ka-52K models).