Vietnam Navy Receives Russian-design Missile Boats

The Vietnamese Navy has received two indigenous missile boats, Molniyas, on Tuesday that are modeled on Russian vessels to enhance maritime defenses.

The two Tarantul-class corvettes are equipped with 16 missiles and automatic weapons. Further they are among six ordered by the navy, two of which were delivered last year. The missiles have a range of 130 kilometers.

Molniya Missile Boat is intended to engage combatant ships, amphibious ships, and other vessels at open sea. It has the variety of weapons with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air capabilities. 

The unique radar system of the corvettes covers the missile entire effective range, tracing 15 targets at a time and also assigns six designated targets under intensive electronic warfare environment. 

The Russian hardware that has boosted Vietnam's naval defense capabilities includes state-of-the-art kilo-class submarines recently equipped with a Russian land attack variant of the Klub missile that is capable of precision strikes within a range of 300km.

Deputy Defence Minister Truong Quang Khanh said that the new boats showed Vietnam could "fully master the technology and techniques of modern military shipbuilding".

The Vietnam's strengthening of its defenses and its diplomatic ties with Japan, the Philippines and the US recently indicate its determination to counter China's growing assertiveness.