Russian Warship Blessed by Church

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On Monday, a Navy spokesman said that a priest sprinkled the newest combatant in the Baltic Fleet with holy water during its blessing over the weekend. Baltic Fleet spokesman Captain 2nd Rank (equivalent to a USN Commander) Vladimir Matveyev said, “The Project 20380 corvette Boiky, which is currently on its sea trials, was blessed by a priest in a ceremony attended by the corvette’s crew. The priest blessed the corvette’s hull, weapons systems, and superstructures, as well as the ship’s interior.  The Boiky’s trials are due to end by mid-April”.

The Project 20380 corvette, designed by the Almaz FGUP Central Marine Design Bureau and built at Severnaya Verf in St Petersburg, is optimised for antisubmarine and surface warfare, and can support landing operations. The class incorporates stealth technology, with considerably-reduced radar and infrared signatures. The Project 20380 carries Kh-35 anti-ship missiles and 3M-54 Klub cruise missiles, Kashtan anti-aircraft gun/missile CIWS, a main 100 mm (3.9 inch) AU A-190 Universal dual-purpose gun, and two AU AK-630M 30-mm close-range air defence guns, as well as Paket-NK 324mm (12.75 inch) ASW torpedo tubes, according to naval-technology.com. It also has a hangar and flight deck for operating a Kamov Ka-27PL anti-submarine warfare helicopter, and is fitted with Vinyetka-EM towed-array sonar.

1 April 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20130401/180380275/Russian-Warship-Gets-Holy-Water-Blessing.html

 

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