New upgrade for Russian Navy Nanuchka class Project 1234 Guided Missile Corvette.

The Smerch upgraded small missile ship sailed out for another stage of running trials. Specialists of Severo-Vostochny overhaul center in Kamchatka and Dalzavod Shipyard in Vladivostok who renewed all mechanisms and arms will check the warship together with the crew, the Army Standard writes.

Nanuchka III class Guided Missile Corvette (Picture source Pinterest)

After several years of stagnation, the Russian fleet began to receive new frigates, corvettes, nuclear and diesel-electric submarines in the past years. Old Soviet-built warships are upgraded. They develop into new combat units due to the latest arms. It concerns Ovod-class small missile ships of project 12341. One of them sailed out to the Pacific Ocean for trials.

The Nanuchka class was the NATO reporting name for a series of corvettes or small missile ships built for the Soviet Navy and export customers between 1969 and 1991 under the Russian name of Project 1234.

Project 1234 warships used to be the most powerful in the class with such a displacement. They posed a major threat, as they carried a major arsenal of six Malakhit anti-ship missiles, AK-176 and AK-630 guns, and Osa-MA antiaircraft weapon with 20 guided missiles.

As for the drawbacks of the project, seaworthiness left much to be desired. Small missile ships rocked a lot in a rough sea which impeded the engagement of artillery and missile weapons.

The first project 1234 warship was laid in 1981 by the shipyard in Vladivostok and became operational in December 1984. The ships served in the Northern, Black Sea, Pacific and Baltic fleets. Twelve of them remained at present and will all undergo an upgrade. The first modernized missile ships will join the Pacific and Black Sea fleets. Other fleets will follow.

Navy representatives said the warships are good and reliable, but the arms are outdated. Malakhit missiles will be replaced with longer-range modern Uran complexes armed with Kh-35U anti-ship missiles. They are subsonic missiles with a range that exceeds the predecessor two times.

The homing warhead of Kh-35U can track the target in conditions of the most intensive electronic warfare by the adversary. The missile can strike at naval and ground targets which expands the combat potential of upgraded missile ships. They can now provide fire support to the amphibious assault from a safe distance from the adversary.

The upgrade considerably increased the number of missiles. Each warship will carry 16 anti-ship missiles instead of six. Experts said the salvo power of an upgraded ship can exceed even the latest corvette of project 20380.

Both arms and all systems of small missile ships undergo an upgrade. They receive more powerful and fuel-efficient engines and modern fire controls which eliminate the problem of artillery engagement in a rough sea. The ships will meet the latest combat requirements. Several such ships armed with Kh-35U can create numerous problems for attack forces of the conditional adversary.

The military said the first upgraded ship will join the Pacific fleet in late 2019, the Army Standard writes.

© Copyright 2019 TASS. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.