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Three Baltic Fleet Aist- class (Project 1232) air- cushion landing craft sit on their permanent hard- pads at Baltiysk in the Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania. Once the world’s largest operator of naval air-cushion vehicles, Russia now is surpassed by the U.S. Navy, with its ever-growing fleet of LCACs. The
250-ton Dzheyran class (as it is known in Russia) already is beginning to be discarded; 2 of the 20 delivered between 1971 and 1986 were offered for scrap last year. Production of the Aist’s successor, the 550-ton Pomornik class (Project 1232.2, or Zubr class), was halted in 1992, after only seven of the ten ordered had been completed.
The Brandenburg, the first of four Type 123 frigates for the German Bundesmarine, is shown moments after launch at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, on 28 July 1992. Scheduled for 1 December 1994, the ship’s commissioning will do little to slow the steady decline in size of the German Navy. Three sister ships are all to be in service by late 1996, by which time it should have been decided whether the Type 124 follow-on class will be built in cooperation with Spain and the Netherlands. Currently, all new German arms programs are frozen, possibly including the Type 212 submarine program. Note the careful faceting of the hull side to reduce the radar signature.
Ingalls Shipbuilding is building the Eilat, the first of three Sa ’ar V corvettes, for Israel. Extensive provisions have been made in the ship’s design to reduce radar, noise, and heat signatures. The corvette’s weapons include 64 vertically launched Barak surface-to-air missiles, and 8 Harpoon and 8 Gabriel surface-to-surface missiles. The Eilat is helicopter-capable and may carry the Israeli-developed Helstar helicopter reconnaissance drone. Upon completion of post-launch outfitting, as well as dockside and at-sea testing and crew training, the Eilat will transit to Haifa early next year.
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