Russia’s new Project 20380 corvette soon to enter sea trials

Russian Navy’s new Project 20380 Steregushchiy-class corvette Rezkiy will commence its sea trials in January next year.

According to the information provided by shipbuilding company Amur Shipyard, a formed and trained military crew settled on the ship. This means that all the interior of the ship is finished and the ship’s survivability systems are checked and working.

After the crew members moved onboard, they will conduct full-scale mooring system tests, and the turning on of the main diesel engine is planned for December this year.

The ships of the Steregushchiy class are multipurpose corvettes, designed to replace the Grisha class. Such ships are used for littoral zone operations, engagement of enemy submarines and surface ships, and gun support of landing operations.

The first batch built at the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg consists of four ships. A second building line is planned to be finished at Amur Shipyard. Their displacement reaches 2,200 tonnes, their speed is going up to 27 knots, and the maximum cruise range is 4,000 miles.

Project 20380 ships are designed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau, and started entering service in 2007 when the first vessel in the class, the Steregushchy, was commissioned.

The ninth Project 20380 corvette Aldar Tsydenzhapov entered the Pacific Fleet in December last year. The Russian Navy held a flag raising ceremony for the newbuild at the military pier of the Korabelnaya embankment in Vladivostok.

The Russian Navy has revealed that they expect to buy at least 30 of these ships, for all four major fleets.