There was a disappointing update on the project of the Russian destroyer Leader. The military department plans to build at least eight such promising destroyers of Project 23560. The Leader destroyers have a standard displacement of about 15 thousand tons and a draft of 6.6 m.

The RIA Novosti columnist published a statement by the General Director of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) Alexei Rakhmanov, in which he says that the destroyer will most likely not be created in the form originally intended.

From the statement of the head of the USC:

"At least not so fast ... It all depends on the decision of the Ministry of Defense."

Work on the development of design documentation for the Leader destroyers was to begin in 2019. There is no information yet on what stage the development is at. In addition, it is not specified why the USC believes that a promising destroyer for the Russian Navy cannot be realized in its “original form”.

Recall that in the very original version, the destroyers "Leader" should be equipped with hypersonic missiles "Zircon". In addition, the option of installing a ship-based S-500 "Prometheus" air defense system on board was considered. In the latter version, the destroyer was also supposed to carry 2 helicopters on board.

If you believe the statement of the head of the USC, the equipment and armament of the destroyer "Leader" will be reduced, unless, of course, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation intervenes in the process of its creation.