Russian Zaliv shipyard launches Project 22160 corvette Sergey Kotov.

The Kerch-based Zaliv shipyard has launched the fourth Project 22160 (Karakurt-class) corvette on January 29, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The ship is christened « Sergey Kotov ».
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Launching ceremony of the Project 22160 'Sergey Kotov' corvette at Zaliv Shipyard on January 29, 2021 (Picture source: Russian MoD)

“The Zelenodolsk Shipyard named after A M Gorky was building the ship in conjunction with the shipbuilders from Kerch,” the Russian MoD reported. The Project 22160 corvette ‘Sergey Kotov’ was laid down on May 8, 2016. The ship will be assigned to the Black Sea Fleet.

Project 22160 is a series of corvettes. The vessels are primarily intended for duties such as patrol, monitoring and protection in open and closed seas. The first ship was laid down in February 2014. The first ship joined the Russian Navy in December 2018.

The class's armament includes the Kalibr-NK cruise missile, aerosol camouflage, two grenade launchers and two machineguns and a 76.2 mm dual-purpose gun (AK-176). The ship also has a helicopter deck and hangar for one Ka-27 or a Ka-226 helicopter. The ship also carries a landing speedboat, and has provisions for drones, underwater unmanned craft and unmanned boats. There is accommodation for an additional 60 men.

In 2020 it was announced that the Russian Navy would begin trials to test the installation of module containers on patrol vessels permitting such ships to carry significantly upgraded armaments tailored to different missions. The containers were envisaged to carry various weapons including sonars and torpedoes or antiship and cruise missiles. The trials took place in Arctic since June 2020 and lasted two months.

On 15 January 2021, Dmitry Rogachev entered the Mediterranean Sea, where it has strengthened the Russian navy squadron.

The Black Sea Fleet now operates three Project 22160 surface combatants, namely, ‘Vasiliy Bykov’, ‘Dmitry Rogachyov’, and ‘Pavel Derzhavin’. The Zelenodolsk Shipyard now constructs two more ships of the class — ‘Viktor Velikiy’ and ‘Nikolai Sipyagin’. Those naval platforms are set to be delivered to the customer before the end of 2023.

The Project 22160 corvettes feature modular design. At the Interpolitex 2015 defense show, a scale model of the ship with two aft-mounted four-cell containers with erectable launchers of the Kalibr (NATO reporting name: SS-N-27 Sizzler) missiles was showcased.