Russian Navy tests weapon systems of Project 22160 Vasily Bykov Buyan-M class corvette.

According to information published by the Russian press agency on August 14, 2020, the Project 22160 Buyan-M lead corvette Vasily Bykov has arrived at the Northern Fleet’s White Sea naval base to test its weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry’s press office said.
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Russian Navy Project 22160 Buyan-M Class corvette Vasily Bykov. (Picture source Wallpaper)

“The Project 21631 corvette Zelyony Dol and the Project 22800 corvette Odintsovo will arrive in Severodvinsk [in north Russia] in the imminent future to undergo their state trials,” the press office said.

The tests of the ships will be supported by forces of the White Sea naval base.

The Vasily Bykov was laid down by the Zelenodolsk Shipyard in the Volga area on February 26, 2014 and floated out in 2017. The warship became operational with the Black Sea Fleet in December 2018.

The Project 22160 corvette has modular design and can mount such weapons that the customer sees fit. During the Interpolitex 2015 show, a Project 22160 corvette model was displayed. It mounted a Kalibr (NATO reporting name: SS-N-27 Sizzler) system with missiles in two standard vertical launch tubes. Each tube housed four missiles.

After the first launch of 3M-14 (SS-N-30) seaborne cruise missiles of the Kalibr system against terrorist facilities in Syria in 2015, a decision was made to furnish six ships in the series with the complex.

As of today, the Russian Navy operates two Project 22160 ships, namely, the Vasily Bykov and the Dmitry Rogachyov. The third ship in the series, i.e. the Pavel Derzhavin, is undergoing trials. Another three corvettes of the type, in particular, the Sergei Kotov, Viktor Veliky and Nikolai Sipyagin, are currently under construction.

The Project 22160 corvette has been developed by the Severnoye Design Bureau in St. Petersburg in northwest Russia. It is designed to protect and defend the maritime economic zone. It can also escort vessels and take part in anti-piracy and search-and-rescue operations.

The Project 22160 ship has a displacement of about 2,000 tons, a speed of 30 knots and a cruising range of 6,000 miles. Its cruising capacity is 60 days and its crew totals 80. The ship is armed with an artillery system, an air defense missile complex and machineguns. It can also carry a Kamov Ka-27PS (Helix) helicopter.

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