Ukrainian frontiersmen renew their fleet

11.03.2011 Ukraine will spend $125 mln for rearmament of frontier service in Crimea because existent fleet gets old, writes New Region citing deputy director of Ukrainian Frontier Service Pavel Shisholin.

"We plan to launch six Coral class ships by 2015. Such vessels have displacement of 300 tons, speed of 30 knots, crew of 20 men, and fully automated control. Those ships are going to secure economic zone and territorial waters. Ships of this project are built in Nikolayev under Dutch technology. Also, we are about to commission eight Orlan class cutters with displacement of up to 50 tons and speed up to 40 knots. After allowing for inflation, the program will need about UAH 1 bln ($125 mln)", said the official in the interview to Krymskaya Pravda newspaper.

"Present-day security demands serious investments. In addition, we plan to build a patrol ship with displacement up to 1,000 tons which will not only secure the borders but to rescue people and conduct reconnaissance – there would be a helicopter on board", added the representative of Frontier Service.

According to Mr. Shisholin, currently in-service Molniya class ship is a good vessel; however, she is a not a patrol craft but a warship with torpedo tubes, depth charges, artillery, and sonar. Frontiersmen need a law-enforcement ship though.

"Molniya ships, Kuropiatnikov, and Gnatenko are good ships, but they have to be retired", emphasized the official. "Scientifically, it's called metal fatigue; these ships can be hardly sent 100 miles away from the coast. Another nuance – Molniya's displacement is 500 tons while Coral's one is 300 tons. So, the crew will be smaller, too. We save taxpayers' money", said Pavel Shisholin.

We recall that Ukrainian defense ministry developed the Armed Forces Reformation Concept providing that manpower of Ukrainian army will be 40,000 smaller numbering 160,000 by 2015. The concept also implies gradual increase of military financing from UAH 13.6 bln in 2001 to UAH 21.4 bln in 2015.