Ukraine News Agency Ukrinform reported that the State Research and Design Shipbuilding Center has signed a state contract with the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to repair and upgrade the Hetman Sahaidachny frigate. The work will be conducted in several stages from a general assessment of the vessel’s technical condition to its direct repair and modernization, the flagship of the national fleet. For the successful implementation of the project, the State Research and Design Shipbuilding Center is cooperating with other Ukrainian companies – leaders of the country’s defense industry and shipbuilding. Among them are Zorya-Mashproekt Gas Turbine Research and Development Complex, Mykolaiv Shipyard, Nibulon Shipbuilding, and Shiprepair Plant, and other enterprises.
Hetman Sahaydachniy is a frigate of the Ukrainian Navy that was originally built at the Kerch Shipyard as a Project 1135.1 patrol ship of Nerei / Krivak III / Menzhinskiy-class. It was launched on 29 March 1992 and commissioned on 2 April 1993. Homeported at Odessa since March 2014, it is the flagship of the Ukrainian Navy. Built at the Zalyv Shipbuilding yard, the ship was intended to be used by the Soviet Border Troops as Kirov. However, on 4 July 1993, the newly named (after Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny) Hetman Sahaydachniy raised the flag of the Ukrainian Navy. It was given the identification number of U130. The Hetman Sahaidachny frigate is to be withdrawn from the Ukrainian Navy in 2031.
Hetman Sahaydachniy joined the Naval Force of the European Union (EUNAVFOR) in early January 2014 for anti-piracy operations. The Ukrainian naval command reported that on 14 March, the ship encountered a Russian naval group in Ukrainian territorial waters. As Hetman Sahaydachniy approached the group, they withdrew into international waters. In September, the frigate entered Odessa to undergo repairs. In May 2017 it suffered an engine failure shortly after undergoing repairs. In July 2018 it participated in the Sea Breeze 2018 multinational exercises. On 2 April 2018, it celebrated the 25th anniversary of its commissioning. In January 2022 it was indicated that the ship would undergo a refit and upgrade.
State Research and Design Shipbuilding Center is a design bureau specializing in shipbuilding and located in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. It is part of the Ukrainian Defense Industries state corporation. Established in 1975 as a regional division of the Northern Planning and Design Bureau (Severnoe PDB, Leningrad) known as the 61st department. During the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1990, it was transformed into the Southern Planning and Design Burea (Yuzhnoe PDB, Mykolaiv). After the succession of Ukraine from the Soviet Union in 1992, the company became a major state design bureau, the State Research and Design Shipbuilding Center located in a seaport of Ukraine, Mykolaiv next to several shipyards.
