Last year's contract on the delivery of six Kilo class dieselsubmarines to Vietnam, worth a total of $3.2 billion
, is the largestdeal in the history of Russian exports of naval equipment, a Russianmagazine says.
The contract was signed in December 2009 during the visit of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to Russia.
"The construction cost is $2.1 billion, but the building of allnecessary coastal infrastructure and the delivery of armaments andother equipment may bring the total to $3.2 bln, which makes this dealthe largest in the history of Russian exports of naval equipment," theExport of Arms magazine says in an editorial published in its Juneissue.
Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg will build the submarines with the rate of one vessel per year.
State-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport previously said Russia couldsell up to 40 fourth-generation diesel-electric submarines to foreigncustomers by 2015.
Kilo class submarines, nicknamed "Black Holes" for their ability toavoid detection, are considered to be among the quietestdiesel-electric submarines in the world.
The submarine is designed for anti-submarine warfare andanti-surface-ship warfare, and also for general reconnaissance andpatrol missions.
The vessel has a displacement of 2,300 tons, a maximum depth of 350meters (1,200 feet), a range of 6,000 miles, and a crew of 57. It isequipped with six 533-mm torpedo tubes.
At least 29 Kilo class subs have been exported to China, India, Iran, Poland, Romania and Algeria.
Export of Arms is a specialized Moscow-based technical andanalytical magazine, published bimonthly by Russia's Centre forStrategic and Technological Analysis.
