This latest addition to Russia’s Arctic military arsenal Ivan Papanin has launched on Friday at the port city’s Admiralty Shipyard. The vessel is expected to be commissioned sometime in 2022 or 2023.

The Russian military plans to use the multipurpose ship for patrols of its Arctic waters. The launch of the Ivan Papanin comes amid Russia’s rapid military and economic development in its strategic Arctic region.

The Ivan Papanin is one of two new military craft capable of smashing through ice up to 1.7 metres thick but the vessels are the first of their kind to be equipped with heavy weapons, increasing concerns about the militarisation of the Arctic and competing claims to its resources.

The 114-meter-long warship can be used as a patrol ship, a tug or an icebreaker for other vessels. 

Maritime Business World