Severnoye Design Bureau turned 65

29.04.2011 JSC Severnoye Design Bureau celebrated its 65th birthday. According to the decree issued by Soviet Cabinet of Ministers on Apr 17, 1946 and the order No. 088 made by Ministry of Shipbuilding Industry on Apr 22, 1946, the organization consisting of 216 employees was transformed into 53rd Central Design Bureau meant for designing of destroyers and corvettes.

The bureau's activity significantly expanded over the years. Virtually, it became the country's leading design organization for various types of surface ships, including large ASW ships, guided missile cruisers, frigates, heavy nuclear-powered missile cruisers etc.

In Jan 1966 the bureau was renamed into Severnoye Design Bureau. In 2001 it received status of the federal enterprise, and in 2008 it became a joint stock company.

Right after the Great Patriotic War, the bureau designed ships for batch production such as destroyers of Projects 30 and 56, and Project 50 corvettes. They made the basis of Soviet surface fleet in the first post-war decade.

Designing and shipbuilding experience accumulated after the war and technological breakthrough in defense engineering created good conditions for the bureau's experts to start development of crucially new ships. Thanks to new types of missile weapons and radio-electronics, those ships had significant combat power and higher technical performance. Project 57bis missile ships and Project 58 missile cruisers opened up new strike capabilities for the Navy, and Project 61 frigates were the world's first warships powered by gas turbine plant. Ships of the 2nd generation – projects 1134A and 1135B – had more advanced weapons and were classified as a new class, i.e. large antisubmarine ships. Project 1135 frigate was one of the bureau's most successful projects and won respect of servicemen at all fleets of Soviet Navy.

Third generation of warships designed by Severnoye bureau (1974-1990) constitute the basis of current Russian Navy. Above all, they are Project 11442 nuclear-powered missile cruisers, Project 1164 missile cruisers, Project 1155 (11551) large ASW ships, Project 956 destroyers; all of them are powerful ocean-going warships with advanced arms and highly competitive with the world's best analogs.

Nuclear cruiser Petr Veliky and large ASW ship Admiral Chabanenko commissioned in 1998 and 1999 respectively are still the proud of Russian Navy and Severnoye Design Bureau.

At present, the bureau continues to support building of two 4th generation ships – Project 22350 frigates – lead ship Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Gorshkov and the first serial ship Admiral Flota Kasatonov which are really the 21st century warships. The frigates are being built at Severnaya Verf shipyard. The work over the project began in Severnoye bureau in 2003. The lead ship was laid down in Feb 2006, the second one – in Nov 2009. It is planned to deliver the lead frigate to the Navy in 2012.

Severnoye Design Bureau gives special attention to development of military cooperation with foreign countries which started early in 70's. On the basis of the decree issued by Soviet Cabinet of Ministers in 1975, Severnoye bureau was tasked to design a project of an assault antisubmarine ship for India – Project 61ME. In 1997-1999 the bureau developed radically new Project 11356 frigate for Indian Navy (3 ships were delivered to the orderer in 2003-2004).

Other three Project 11356 frigates for India are being currently built for Indian Navy at Baltic shipyard Yantar. Those frigates will be armed with new Russian-Indian antiship missiles BrahMos. It is planned to deliver the ships to India in 2011 and 2012. Aside from India, Severnoye Design Bureau fruitfully cooperated with Vietnam and China. Two Project 956 destroyers modernized under project Project 956E were delivered to China in 1999-2000. Effective cooperation with China resulted in a new contract signed in Jan 2002 for other two Project 956EM destroyers with modernized attack and antiaircraft missile systems. The ships were built and handed over to Chinese Navy in 2005 and 2006 relatively.

The bureau does not overlook civilian shipbuilding either. Presently, Severnoye bureau works on several conceptual projects of liquefied natural gas carriers with use of various types of cargo containment systems. Development works are conducted by the order of Ministry of Trade and Industry in the framework of federal target program "Civil Maritime Engineering Development 2016".