Russian Navy Odintsovo Karakurt-class corvette of project 22800 ready for trials.

The Odintsovo Karakurt-class corvette of project 22800 has been armed with Pantsir-M antiaircraft missile gun. In late April, the warship began degaussing by a project 130 vessel, according to a Russian industry source. The corvette will be used to perform anti-surface and anti-air warfare, as well as coastal surveillance missions in littoral zones.

Russian Navy Odintsovo Karakurt-class corvette of project 22800. (Picture source Iz.ru)

The running trials had to begin in April. The crew completed training in the Navy center in St. Petersburg. The corvette has to be handed over to the Baltic fleet by the end of the year. The Odintsovo is the third corvette of project 22800. It was laid by Pella Shipyard as the Shkval on July 29, 2016 and floated on May 5, 2018.

The main armament of the Karakurt-Class will include Kalibr-NK cruise missiles fired from an eight-tube UKSK vertical launching system (VLS). The 3M-14T Kalibr-NK is a land-attack cruise missile carried by Russia’s surface vessels. Reports put its max range at 1,500 – 2,500 km.

The Karakurt-Class missile corvette will also be armed with the Pantsir-M missile and anti-aircraft gun system. It is a naval variant of the Pantsir-S1 combined surface-to-air missile (SAM) and anti-aircraft artillery system developed by KBP Instrument Design Bureau.

The Karakurt-Class is also armed with an AK-176MA 76.2mm automatic gun located on the forward bow deck, an upgraded variant of the AK-176 naval gun. It can fire at a rate of 150rpm and can engage targets within the maximum range of 15 km.

Armament of the corvette also includes two AK-630M 30mm close-in weapon systems (CIWS), that are used to destroy aerial and surface targets such as anti-ship missiles, aircraft and helicopters, as well as small-size surface vessels, floating mines, and shore-based fire posts.

The industrial source said the shipyard is preparing to finalize the construction of the Vikhr and the Okhortsk corvettes of the project. They are sailing the Volga River to the Neva River.

Naval Pantsir air defense missile system (Picture source Bastion-karpenko)