My focus is actually this big ship does not look the same as the model.
Welcome aboard John, happy sea faring, and hope you find all the info and dialog you are looking for. It's really an informative place.Hi Everyone, my name is John Fryer and although I have been a frequent visitor to Sinodefence, today is my first day as a registered member of the forum.
St. Petersburg. September 4. INTERFAX - Russian warship builder Almaz is
in negotiations with China and seeks to sell four Zubr amphibious
hovercraft to that country, the shipyard's marketing director, Sergei
Galichenko, said on Monday.
Galichenko expects the talks to conclude in 2008.
Russian state weapons exporter Rosoboronexport is brokering the talks,
Galichenko added.
He said Almaz, based in St. Petersburg, might also export one or two
Svetlyak escort boats to Vietnam and that Vietnam was expected to send
in an order for the vessels very soon.
Almaz builds vessels for the Russian navy and has been exporting its
products for many years.
I can't believe this is still in discussion, because it was thought to be completed last year, but that's the word according to this article
if so, then China will finally get what appears to be 4 Zubrs. And I think if they like its performance, they will end up getting licensed production.Kiev - China's navy is to purchase four Ukrainian military hovercraft in a 315-million-dollar deal potentially shifting the South China Sea naval balance, the Interfax news agency reported. A shipbuilding firm in Ukraine's Black Sea port Feodosia will construct two Zubr (translation - Bison) class craft, and a second pair of vessels will be built in China under the supervision of Ukrainian technicians.
A Ukrainian government publication listing state contracts confirmed the order without giving its value. Officials at the Morye shipyard in Feodosia declined comment.
The Zubr hovercraft is designed to carry three tanks, 10 armoured personnel carriers, or as many as 500 troops at speeds exceeding 63 knots.
The vessel can due to its larger size operate in rougher seas than smaller hovercraft.
The Russian, Ukrainian, and Greek navies currently operate the Zubr, with a total ten hovercraft produced since 1988.
China's navy currently lacks heavy capacity hovercraft of the Zubr type. The most modern Chinese naval hovercraft in operation, the Jingsah II, has a maximum capacity of 70 troops.
The Zubr hovercraft's capacity to deliver substantial combat forces by water at speeds doubling conventional landing ships would, once in Chinese inventory, complicate defence planning for South China Sea nations particularly Taiwan, according to the report.
Feodosia's Morye shipyard as co-developer of the Zubr hovercraft with St. Peterburg's Almaz naval design bureau technically is banned from selling Zubr's military technologies to a third party, without Almaz management agreement.
China in 2006 was in talks with Almaz on the purchase of six Zubr hovercraft without result.
Management at Ukraine's Morye shipyard, actual production of site of all Zubr-class hovercraft, began talks with Chinese naval representatives in 2008, a naval source told Interfax.
So what about the LCAC analog? It looked like a fairly nice piece of equipment, even if it wasn't as well protected and unarmed.
it doesn't really saw when this detail will be completed by, which is a shame. But I think you can start seeing China license producing Zubr in the future for Taiwan operations. It actually has quite a huge need for Zubr, which is not the case for most countries around the world. And maybe it can use some of the technology from Zubr to improve LCAC.KYIV. July 1 (Interfax-AVN) - The implementation of a contract to build high-speed hovercrafts of the Zubr-type for China at the Morye shipyard in Feodosia will start in September, Prime Minister of Crimea Vasyl Dzharty said.
"The construction of the first two hovercrafts will begin in September," Dzharty said at the shipyard.
Crimea and Ukraine continue looking for new orders for Feodosia shipyards, he said.
"I think orders will come from Russia and from Ukraine," he added.
Earlier reports said that a $350 million contract for the construction of four high-speed amphibious hovercrafts of the Zubr-type for China was concluded by Ukrainian arms trader Ukrspetsexport in 2009.
Two were to be built in Ukraine and two in China with Ukrainian experts' participation. Blueprints are to be handed over to the Chinese side under the project, according to some sources.
Ukraine, Russia and Greece signed a trilateral contract in January 2000 for the delivery of four similar hovercrafts to Greece - two by Ukraine and two by Russia, worth a total of about $200 million. The contract with Ukraine was worth about $97 million and with Russia some $101 million.
The high-speed amphibious hovercraft of the Zubr-type is capable of carrying 150 tons of cargo, including up to three medium tanks, or 500 Marines. The hovercraft can develop a speed of over 60 knots (about 120 kilometers per hour) on land, water and ice. It can tackle obstacles of up to 1.5 meters high. Zubr has five 5 hp gas turbines.