A leading Russian shipyard is helping Vietnam build the first missile-equipped ships for its navy.

Engineers in Vietnam have started to put together the first of four  Molnya Projekt 1241.8 boats, with parts sent from the Vympel shipyard under the supervision of expert designers at TsMKB Almaz from St. Petersburg, news website VietNamNet reported Thursday.

Two of the boats have been launched and two are heading towards completion.

Professional ship builders in Rybinsk are busy producing parts and components for two other boats to send to Vietnam, Dmitri Belyakov, deputy general director of Vympel, said at the 15th International Exhibition of Means for Provision of State Security held in Moscow from Tuesday to Friday this week.

The cooperation on making missile-equipped boats started in 2010 under a US$30 million contract that is expected to end in 2016.

A statement from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense said that the boats, along with military weapons that Vietnam has equipped itself with in the past, are purely for defense purposes.