Amur Shipbuilders lay down two Project 22800 corvettes for Russian Pacific Fleet.

The Amur Shipbuilding Plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur has laid down two GM corvettes of project 22800 (Karakurt) - the Rzhev and the Udomlya - for the Pacific Fleet, the information support department of the Primorye region said. Both vessels are expected to come into service after 2020.

Project 22800 Karakurt-class guided-missile corvette, the Uragan, first ship of the class (Picture Source: Russianarms)

"These modern warships are going to be built under a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry for the construction of six Project 22800 warships for the Pacific Fleet. Four of these corvettes are due to be built at the Amur enterprise while the other two will be built at the Vostochnaya Verf shipyard in Vladivostok," it said.

Project 22800 corvettes have been created by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau. The warships of this type are designed to destroy important adversary facilities in the coastal zone, as well as surface warships, vessels and boats independently or with other forces, and to repel air strikes with its own weapons.

The corvettes can also carry out additional missions: fight terrorist subversive forces, search for distressed ships and aircraft and save their crews as well as help coast guard services to protect the state border.

The warship’s length is 67 meters; the beam is 11 meters and the draft is 2.8 meters; the full load is 860 tonnes. The main propulsion plant consists of two M-507D-1 diesel engines with a capacity of 7,360 kW each and one M7OFRU gas turbine engine with a power capacity of 8,830 kW. Maxim speed is up to 35 knots; economical speed is 12 knots; the navigational range is 2,500 miles; endurance is 12 days. Weapons seaworthiness is up to five points.

The corvettes are armed with a 76-mm automatic universal artillery gun AK-176MA and the Pantsir-M air defence missile/gun system (starting from the third serial ship; the first two serial corvettes were armed with two 30 mm small calibre AK-630 anti-aircraft artillery systems). A strike missile complex with a one 8-container universal vertical launcher for 3S-14 Kalibr missiles is located in the ship’s superstructure.

Project 22800 corvettes (Karakut) are renowned for their high maneuverability, increased seaworthiness as well as the architecture of the hull and superstructures, which have reduced radar visibility. The corvettes can carry an Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

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