United Shipbuilding Corporation's (USC) Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding Plant has laid the keel of the ninth Project 12700 or Alexandrit-class minesweeper slated for the Russian Navy.
The vessel will be named Afanasy Ivannikov after a celebrated Soviet Navy minesweeper captain who was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union decoration for his actions in World War II.
As with the other Project 12700 ships, the future Afanasy Ivannikov will also have remotely operated vehicles and unmanned underwater vehicles among its mine countermeasures equipment.