Ukrainian Centaur-class assault boats arrive in Odessa for state trials

The first two Ukrainian Navy Centaur-class assault craft arrived in Odessa on November 19 to start their state trials.

The assault boats transited from Kiev, where they were built by shipbuilder Kuznya on Rybalsky, to Odessa under their own power.

They were launched in September this year as the first locally-designed and locally-built navy vessels under Project 58181.

Displacing 47 tons and measuring 24 meters in length, they are crewed by five sailors and can transport up to 32 troops. Propelled by waterjets, the boats have a reported top speed of 50 knots and can stay at sea for a maximum of five days.

The class is armed with two remote weapon stations with 12.7 mm high-caliber machine guns and a 40-mm rocket launcher. The boats also feature two 80-mm rocket-launch systems.

Centaur-class assault boats will complement the Ukrainian Navy fleet of Gurza and Gurza-M artillery boats.