According to the Ukrainian newspaper "Evropeyskaya Pravda", the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has received a proposal to build eight large missile boats for the Ukrainian Navy under the British project. The first two boats are to be built in Great Britain, the remaining six - at Ukrainian shipyards.
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Large missile boat Q 04 Barzan of the Vita project of the Qatar Navy, built by the British company Vosper Thornycroft (now part of BAE Systems Corporation) in the 1990s. (Picture source: BAE Systems)
The project is to be financed through a loan of £ 1,25 billion ($ 1,6 billion), which will allegedly be provided by the UK for a period of 10 years. Also, the funds of this loan should be used to modernize the bases of the Ukrainian Navy.
The proposal was made during a visit to Kiev by British Defense Secretary Robert Ben Lobban Wallace. If agreed, the agreement could be signed during the visit of Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the UK in October this year.
According to the newspaper "Evropeyskaya Pravda", the design of the boats should be a derivative of the Vosper Thornycroft 56m patrol craft built for Oman and Kenya, with a redesigned internal arrangement and superstructure to provide a second deck at tank level.
The overall length is 56m with waterline length, 52m. The moulded breadth is 9m and the draught amidships is 2.5m. The displacement is 380 tonnes. The freshwater capacity is 8.0 tonnes and the oil fuel capacity is 8.0 tonnes and 44 tonnes. The Vita class carries a complement of 7 officers, 12 senior ratings, 12 junior ratings and 4 trainees.
The main weapon should be the Neptune anti-ship missiles of foreign or Ukrainian production. Each boat must carry eight anti-ship missiles.
The maximum speed is 35 knots and the range is in excess of 1800nm at 12 knots.
