Russia commissions final Project 21631 Buyan-M corvette Stavropol to support Baltic operations.

On August 28, 2025, the Russian Navy held a ceremony that brought three ships into service, including the Project 21631 Buyan-M corvette Stavropol, which entered the Baltic Fleet. The event was led by Admiral Aleksandr Moiseev, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, who gave the order to raise naval flags via video conference from the Admiralty in St. Petersburg. In Baltiysk, the St. Andrew’s flags were hoisted on the Stavropol, built under Project 21631, and on the patrol ship Viktor Velikiy, part of Project 22160. At the same time, in Makhachkala, the corvette Typhoon, belonging to Project 22800 Karakurt-class, was received into the Black Sea Fleet. For the Stavropol, this marked the completion of the Buyan-M program, making it the twelfth and last ship of its class to be accepted into service.
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The weaponry of the Stavropol includes a 100 mm A-190 naval gun, an AK-630M-2 Duet close-in weapon system with dual six-barrel rotary cannons, and two 3M-47 Gibka short-range air defense launchers firing Igla-S or Verba missiles. (Picture source: Russian Navy)

The Stavropol was constructed at the Zelenodolsk Shipyard named after A. M. Gorky, which is part of the Ak Bars Shipbuilding Corporation. It carried the yard number 642 and was built under a Ministry of Defense contract signed on 7 September 2016 for three Buyan-M corvettes numbered 640 through 642. The value of the contract was 27 billion rubles, and delivery of the ships had initially been expected between 2021 and 2023. The Stavropol was laid down on 12 July 2018, launched on 11 June 2024, and in August–September 2024 was transferred by inland waterways from Zelenodolsk to Kronstadt for final outfitting and preparations. It departed Kronstadt on 23 December 2024 for factory sea trials before being formally handed over in August 2025. Its commissioning closed out both the 2016 contract and the overall Buyan-M series.

Project 21631, known as Buyan-M, was designed by the Zelenodolsk Design Bureau as a river-sea class missile ship, based on the earlier Project 21630 Buyan artillery ships. Buyan-M ships are multipurpose missile corvettes intended for operations in coastal waters and on inland waterways, with the official role of protecting and patrolling Russia’s economic zones. The ships are equipped with the 3S14UKSK universal vertical launch system, which has eight cells capable of carrying Kalibr-NK, Oniks, and Tsirkon cruise missiles. These systems allow strikes against land targets at ranges of 1,500 kilometers, and some reports indicate up to 2,500 kilometers, while anti-ship missiles from the Kalibr family are reported to reach ranges of up to 500 kilometers. The universal launcher allows any combination of these weapons up to the eight-cell limit.

The defensive systems of the Stavropol and other Buyan-M ships include a 100 mm A-190 naval gun, an AK-630M-2 Duet close-in weapon system with dual six-barrel rotary cannons, and two 3M-47 Gibka short-range air defense launchers firing Igla-S or Verba missiles. These systems rely on the Pozitiv-M1 radar and infrared sensors that are intended to detect small aerial targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles. The air defense arrangement can intercept drones, but it depends on accurate and timely target designation. The ship is also fitted with 14.5 mm and 7.62 mm machine gun mounts for additional close-range defense. Provision is included for operating reconnaissance drones such as the Orlan-10, which expand situational awareness and targeting beyond the ship’s onboard radar.

Project 21631 Buyan-M ships displace 949 tons at full load, measure 74.1 meters in length, 11 meters in beam, and draw 2.6 meters. The propulsion system is of the combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) type, with changes implemented during the program’s run due to foreign sanctions. The first five ships used German MTU 16V4000M90 diesels, the next four were powered by Chinese CHD622V20 engines from Henan Diesel Engine Industry Company, and the final three ships, including the Stavropol, were fitted with Russian-built Kolomna 16D49 diesels integrated into DRRA-6000 power units with gearboxes produced by Zvezda in St. Petersburg. These engines reportedly provide a maximum speed of 25 knots, an operational range of 2,500 nautical miles at 12 knots, and an endurance of ten days. Crew numbers vary between 36 and 52 depending on configuration, and the hull is built of low-magnetic steel with armored protection for the bridge and windows.

The commissioning of the Stavropol concludes a program that delivered twelve Buyan-M ships across the Caspian, Black Sea, and Baltic Fleets. Earlier ships included Grad Sviyazhsk, Uglich, and Velikiy Ustyug, which joined the Caspian Flotilla beginning in 2014, followed by Zelenyy Dol and Serpukhov, which entered service with the Black Sea Fleet in 2015 before being transferred to the Baltic Fleet in 2016. The Black Sea Fleet later received Vyshniy Volochyok in 2018, Orekhovo-Zuyevo in 2018, Ingushetiya in 2019, and Grayvoron in 2021. The Baltic Fleet received Grad in 2022, Naro-Fominsk in 2023, and now the Stavropol in 2025. Alongside these ships, three Project 21630 Buyan artillery ships, Astrakhan, Volgodonsk, and Makhachkala, had already been delivered between 2004 and 2012. With the Stavropol’s induction, the entire planned sequence of three Buyan artillery ships and twelve Buyan-M missile ships has been completed.

The end of the Buyan-M series marks the first completed small missile ship program of Russia’s fourth-generation vessels. These ships demonstrated their operational role during Russian actions in Syria in 2015, when several units launched Kalibr missiles from the Caspian Sea at targets more than 1,500 kilometers away, and later during operations in Ukraine. Their ability to navigate inland waterways, including the Volga-Don and Moscow canals, has provided strategic flexibility by allowing redeployment between the Caspian, Black Sea, and Baltic without transiting international waters. At the same time, limitations such as short endurance, restricted sea-keeping ability in rough conditions above five Beaufort, and relatively light air defense have been noted. Russian commentators have suggested that future small combatants may require stronger electronic warfare systems, new short-range radars capable of detecting drones and unmanned surface vehicles, and automated fire control for close-range weapons. The Stavropol’s commissioning therefore, completes the Buyan-M program while underlining the future challenges facing the Russian Navy’s small missile ship fleet.