The head icebreaker of Project 21180, the Ilya Muromets, was laid down for Russia's Navy at St. Petersburg's Admiralteiskiye Verfi shipyard. The diesel-and electric-powered icebreaker is being built for the Northern Fleet to provide support for coastal and island bases and airfields in the Arctic and to escort vessels through ice up to 80 cm thick. It is to be commissioned in 2017.
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