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Russia’s stealth corvette Soobrazitelny has successfully tested the country’s newest Paket-NK small-sized anti-submarine system with anti-torpedo capabilities during the military exercises in the Baltic Sea.

The Kilo class diesel-electric torpedo submarine “Varshavyanka” (Project 877) served as a target and was fired at with actual torpedoes (which hadn't been equipped with warheads).

The corvette is set to engage in more practice firing and conduct a number of other military exercises.

The Paket-NK system is designed to engage (destroy) submarines in a ship's close-in zone, when carrying out submarine warfare tasks, and to destroy torpedoes, attacking the ship while carrying out anti-torpedo defense tasks.

The Paket-NK system can operate independently or be integrated into ship's antisubmarine/anti-torpedo defense system, solving a number of tasks in fully automatic or automated modes.

State commission on July 18 2014 in Baltiysk signed the acceptance / handover certificate for the newest corvette "Stoiky", the third serial corvette of project 20380 (Steregushchy class). The ship was built at St. Petersburg based Severnaya Verf (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation), the Corp. said in a press release.
The name of the third serial 20380-design corvette is inherited from its famous predecessors: the first of Baltic Fleet's 7U project destroyer that was defending Leningrad and Tallinn during WWII, the first serial destroyer of project 30 Bis and sixth serial 956-design ship, which had previously been built at the Russian shipyard.
The 20380.0 project flagship corvette Steregushchy became the first surface ship that entered service with the Russian Navy in the modern history of Russia, followed by its sister ships Soobrazitelnyy and Boikiy.
The Steregushchy class corvette was designed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau and is intended for littoral zone operations, engagement of enemy submarines and surface ships, and gun support of landing operations. Stealth technology was widely used during construction of the ships, as well as 21 patents and 14 new computer programs. Newest physical field reduction solutions were applied too. As a result, designers considerably reduced the ship's radar signature thanks to hull architecture and fire-resistant radar-absorbent fiberglasses applied in tophamper's design.
St. Petersburg-based Severnaya Verf (Northern Shipyard) is a leading shipbuilding company of the Russian defense industry. The firm has been part of Moscow-headquartered United Industrial Corporation since 2004. The shipyard specializes in building cruisers, destroyers, minesweepers, patrol vessels and antisubmarine, research and passenger vessels, timber cargo carriers, trawlers, container ships and ro-ro vessels for the Russian Defense Ministry and foreign customers.

MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novosti) – Russian-German naval exercises, codenamed PASSEX, will be held on Monday in the Gulf of Finland, the press service of Russia’s Western Military District said.

The exercises will involve Russia’s newest Baltic Fleet warship, the Project 20380 Boiky corvette and Germany’s Karlsruhe frigate.

«During the joint exercise in the Gulf of Finland the ships will test communication and train joint maneuvers,” the press service said in a statement.

The naval maneuvers will be the final part of the German frigate’s visit to St. Petersburg, which began on October 2.

La corvette Boïki a été admise ce jour au service actif de la flotte de la Baltique. Il s'agit de la troisième unité de ce type mise en service au sein de la marine russe.

La corvette Boïki est une corvette furtive appartenant au Projet 20380 élabloré par le bureau d'étude pétersbourgeois Almaz. Sa construction, comme celles des deux premières unités (Steregushchiy, ASA 2007 et Soobrazitelniy, ASA 2011) a été réalisée par le chantier naval du Nord (Saint-Pétersbourg). Ce type de corvette, qui avai d'abord été classé comme frégate, a été optimisée pour la lutte ASM (hélicoptère Ka-27 notamment), la lutte anti-surface (missiles anti-navires 3K24 Uran) et antiaérienne (système SAM Redut et 9K38 Igla). Les corvettes de ce type peuvent également être équippées de missile anti-navires Kh-35  et de missiles de croisières 3M-54 Klub, conférant à ces corvettes une puissance de feu considérable.

L'admission au service actif de cette unité a donné lieu à des déclarations émanant de sources industrielles sur l'état d'avancement de la construction d'autres unités au sein de la même unité industrielle. Ainsi, selon OSK (consortium des constructions navales russes), la quatrième corvette de ce type, la corvette Stoïki, devrait être remise au ministère russe de la Défense d'ici la fin de l'année, et également affectée à la flotte de la Baltique. Le chantier naval du Nord poursuit par ailleurs la construction de la corvette Gremyashy qui relève du Projet 20385, une version déclinée du Projet 20380 qui se distingue notamment par un armement plus conséquent. Néanmoins, le coût unitaire de ce dernier projet, jugé trop élevé par les militaires russes, laisse à penser que cette unité pourrait demeurer la seule et unique du Projet 20385.

Le directeur du chantier naval du Nord a également confirmé la mise à l'eau à l'automne prochain du navire de renseignement Youri Ivanov (Projet 18280) qui devrait une fois les essais en mer accomplis, être remis au GRU et être déployé dans le Pacifique.

Enfin, toujours selon Severnaya Verf, la quatrième frégate du Projet 22350, l'Amiral Yumashev, devrait être mise sur cale fin 2013-début 2014.

Rappellons que la construction de la corvette Boïki a pris presque 8 années, et que les retards sont à imputer non seulement à l'irrégularité des financements, mais également aux équipementiers qui ont tardé à livrer les armements. Ainsi, la corvette Soversheny du Projet 20380, en cours de construction au chantier naval Amoursky depuis 2006, attendait encore son système Redut, pour poursuivre ses essais.

18.04.2013

Corvette "Boikiy" to be transferred to the Russian Navy at the end of May - beginning of June 2013, "Interfax", the press service of "Severnaya Verf".
To date, the ship completed the transition from the Baltic Sea to St. Petersburg after the success of the offshore portion of the state sea trials. Were held maneuvering and speed tests corvette test all assemblies, systems and components, navigation and radio equipment, and weapons corvette.
In particular, they made rocket and artillery fire on surface and air targets, a complex of torpedo firing and bombing deep, worked out the problem landing ASW Ka-27 helicopter on the deck of the corvette and tasks of air defense ship.
At this moment the ship is preparing for the revision of technical means, after which will be carried out to its final finishing and painting.
The second serial corvette "Boikiy" 20380 laid on "Northern Shipyard" in July 2005 and launched on 15 April 2011. The lead ship of the series - corvette "Steregushchiy" was handed over to the Baltic Fleet in 2007, the first production Corvette "Soobrazitelnyy" was passed October 14, 2011.
Ships 20380 designed for operations in the near maritime zone and combating enemy surface ships and submarines of the enemy, as well as artillery support for amphibious assault.
Shipyard "Severnaya Verf" - one of the largest shipbuilding companies in Russia, which is operated by JSC "United Shipbuilding Corporation".

Two new Steregushchy class corvettes based on the original design, the Project 20380, will be laid down for the Russian Navy at the end of February in St. Petersburg, according to TASS quoting the representative of the Ministry of Defense Igor Dygalo. This comes as a surprise because all future corvettes for the Russian Navy were expected to be Project 20385 (Gremyashchy-class), an improved version of Project 20380. The reason may be European sanctions.

"It is planned that in the last ten days of February the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg will start construction of two new Project 20380 corvettes on the same day", - said Dygalo.
Project 20385 has been criticized as being too expensive and redundant in its armament. Navy Recognition believes however that another reason for Russia resuming Project 20380 corvettes construction may be European sanctions following the crisis in Ukraine: The improved design is fitted with MTU engines (from Germany) instead of the Russian DDA12000 diesel units in the original vessels. The recent sanctions mean Russia can not take delivery of the German made engines anymore.
Only two Gremyashchy-class corvette (of Project 20385) have been laid so far: The first one, Gremyashchy, in February 2012 and the second one, Provornyy, in July 2013.
The Gremyashchy-class corvettes differ from their predecessors of the Steregushchy-class by greater dimensions and displacement. They have a steel hull and composite superstructure, with a bulbous bow and nine watertight subdivisions. Compared with the Soobrazitelny, Boiky, Sovershenny and Stoiky ships, which are fitted with Redut air defense VLS system of 12 launchers on the bow, these new ships are equipped with a UKSK VLS system comprising 8 launchers for SS-N-27 or SS-N-26 cruise missiles instead.
Currently, the Russian Navy has four Project 20380 corvettes, all of which are in the Baltic Sea. Two more ships are being built at the Amur Shipbuilding Plant for the needs of the Russian Pacific Fleet and should be commissioned this year.

Link to Project 20380 Steregushchy-class corvette technical datasheet

St Petersburg's Severnaya Verf shipyard delivered the fourth Steregushchiy-class multipurpose frigate, the Project 20381 variant Stoiky , to the Russian Navy in late May. Four additional units are in build, at Severnaya Verf and at the Amur shipyard on the Pacific coast.

Current Russian plans stipulate a requirement for 20 ships in the class, although industrial, financial, and technological challenges are complicating the completion of this programme.

The Steregushchiy vessels are the first new class of surface combatants to enter series production for the Russian Navy since 1991. Lead ship Project 20380 variant Steregushchiy was laid down at Severnaya Verf in December 2001. The St Petersburg-based Central Maritime Design Bureau developed the Steregushchiy class as a flexible, multipurpose platform with anti-surface, anti-submarine, and anti-air warfare capabilities. The frigates will operate in coastal waters and 'near ocean zones' across all four Russian fleets.

The first four Steregushchiy units - commissioned between 2007 and 2014 - have joined the Baltic Fleet. Two Project 20380 ships remain under construction (one since 2006) at the Amur shipyard. Two units, Provorny and Gremyashchy , laid down at Severnaya Verf in 2011 and 2012, will be improved Project 20385 variants of the class. The busy Severnaya Verf yard expects to build about ten Project 20385 ships by 2020, although how many of this variant will be built in the future remains unclear.

Amur shipyard is facing continued funding challenges. State-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation bought the yard for a nominal price in 2009. During a 2014 visit, Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu criticised Amur's management, stating that the "tempo and order of work organization existing in [the yard's] enterprise [did not] satisfy the Ministry of Defence." He called for the addition of second and third labour shifts, and ordered the navy's Pacific Fleet commander to exercise "strict control" over Amur's fulfillment of its naval contracts. At the same time, Shoigu provided additional funds for the yard to support the completion of the two Project 20380 ships.

At about 2,200-tonnes displacement, 104.5 m long, and featuring a composite superstructure, the Steregushchiy vessels are compact with fairly low observability. Their maximum speed is reported to be 26 kt, with a 3,500 n mile autonomous cruising range at 14 kt. The ships have a stern flight deck and hangar for a Ka-27 Helix helicopter. They are armed with eight Kh-35 (SS-N-25 'Switchblade') anti-ship cruise missiles, mounted amidships.

Some of the combat systems to be fitted to the ships have faced delays. First-of-class Steregushchiy entered service with a short-range Kortik (Kashtan or CADS-N-1) hybrid gun-missile air-defence system because of delays in fielding the advanced shipborne Redut surface-to-air missile system. Second ship Soobrazitelny has a 12-tube vertical launch system (VLS) for Redut missiles, and fired the weapon against a cruise missile target during testing in early June 2014, according to state news agency ITAR-TASS.

Reports suggest that Project 20385 variants will be larger, and have an eight-cell UKSK VLS launcher for SS-N-27 missiles, providing an improved anti-surface capability and the possibility of striking targets ashore. The Redut VLS may also be expanded to 16 tubes.

The first three Steregushchiy vessels took part in major exercises in the Baltic Sea in mid-June. The Defence Ministry reported that Steregushchiy fired its new Paket anti-submarine/anti-torpedo system as part of the training.

ST. PETERSBURG, July 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russia’s Severnaya Verf laid down a new Gremyashchy class corvette Thursday at its St. Petersburg shipyard, the company said.

The corvette Provorny is the second warship of the Project 20385 class, which is a derivative of the Steregushchy class (Project 20380) corvette, featuring better electronics, air defenses and extended operational range, the shipbuilder says.

The first vessel in the class, the Gremyashchy, was laid down in February 2012 and it is expected to join the Russian Navy in 2015.

Severnaya Verf will build at least 10 Gremyashchy class corvettes for the Russian Navy under a contract with the Defense Ministry.

The Gremyaschy class corvette has a displacement of 2,200 metric tons, maximum speed of 27 knots, operating range of 4,000 nautical miles and a crew of 100.

The ship's armament includes Uran-E 3M24 (SS-N-25 Switchblade) anti-ship cruise missiles, a 100-mm gun, a variety of air defense and anti-submarine systems and a Ka-27 Helix ani-submarine helicopter.

Advanced stealth technology is used to reduce the ship's radar signature, as well as its acoustic, infrared, magnetic and visual signatures, Severnaya Verf claims.

The Steregushchy and Gremyashchy class corvettes can be used against enemy surface ships, submarines and aircraft, and provide naval gunfire support for shore operations.

L'Etat-major de la marine russe a refusé de poursuivre le programme de construction des corvettes furtives du Projet 20385 qu'il juge trop onéreux et inutile.

La corvette Gremyaschy devrait donc rester l'unique exemplaire du Projet 20385. L'Etat-major de la Marine russe a en effet décidé de stopper la poursuite du programme de construction de ces corvettes furtives, car il lui reproche son coût trop élevé et juge son inutilité somme toute limitée. Toujours d'après la source citée par Izvestia, les deux unités suivantes, Provorny et Spossobny, dont la mise sur cale était prévue au chantier naval du Nord (Saint-Pétersbourg), devraient être converties en un autre type de corvette. Le coût unitaire d'une de ces corvettes a été estimé par l'Etat-major de la flotte entre 14 et 18 milliards de roubles (€350 millions et €450 millions), ce qu'il trouve trop onéreux pour un bâtiment disposant d'un déplacement de 2 200 tonnes (pleine charge) et destiné à opérer à proximité immédiate des côtes russes. En comparaison, une frégate du Projet 11356, dont 3 unités sont actuellement en cours de construction pour la flotte de la mer Noire, coûte le même prix, dispose d'un déplacement de près de 4 000 tonnes, et peut en outre affronter la haute-mer, ce qui n'est pas le cas des corvettes du Projet 20380 et dérivés.

C'est dans la conception même de ces corvettes que réside toute la problématique. Conçues par le bureau Almaz (Saint-Pétersbourg), les corvettes polyvalentes du Projet 20385 sont des évolutions du Projet 20380, dont 2 unités sont en service dans la flotte de la Baltique (Stereguschy, photo ci-dessus et Soobrazitelny), et dont 4 autres unités sont en cours de cnstruction à Saint-Pétersbourg (chantier naval du Nord) et à Komsomolsk-sur-l'Amour (chantier naval Amoursky). Disposant de lignes furtives et de matériaux composites, les corvettes du Projet 20385 sont de fait plus des frégates lance-missiles que de simples corvettes. Elles sont en effet équipées d'un lanceur polyvalent Kalibr-NK qui permet de traiter des cibles en surface et à terre. Or, un tel armement a été jugé inutile par la Marine qui compte employer ces bâtiment dans les "eaux brunes" des côtes russes, afin de protéger les approches maritimes en assurant des missions de lutte ASM (deux sonars, hélicoptère Ka-27, système lance-torpilles Paket), des missions d'escorte et de patrouille. Selon la source citée par Izvestia, le système Kalibr fait inutilement "grimper la note" alors que les missions de destruction de cibles terrestres grâce à ce système devraient être prochainement mise en oeuvre dans de bien meilleures conditions par les submersibles classiques du Projet 636 actuellement en cours de construction (6 unités pour la flotte de la mer Noire)....

En savoir plus :

http://www.rusnavyintelligence.com/article-l-etat-major-de-la-marine-russe-mecontent-des-nouvelles-corvettes-furtives-115804152.html

4.01.2013 New Project 20380 corvette Boiky being built by Severnaya Verf shipyard for Baltic Fleet (BF) casted off from the fitting-out berth and sailed to Kronshtadt, as the source from the shipbuilding yard reported.
Second phase of sea trials and governmental tests will take place in Baltiysk.
Considering difficult ice conditions, it is expected that icebreakers will convoy the corvette.
Boiky successfully completed main systems tests in its initial sea trials in Novembre 2012.
Severny Verf is due to build six of the 20380 and 20385 classes for the Russian Navy by 2018, and six larger 22350 class frigates by 2020. The 20380 class, designed by the Almaz naval design bureau, are optimised for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare and support for land operations. The class incorporates stealth technology, which has considerably reduced its radar and infra-red signatures. The 20380 class can be equipped with Kh-35 anti-ship missiles and 3M54 Klub cruise missiles, Kashtan anti-aircraft gun/missile systems, a main 100-mm gun, two 30-mm close-range air defense guns, and torpedo tubes, according to naval-technology.com. It also has a hangar and deck for operation of a Kamov Ka-27 anti-submarine warfare helicopter, and is fitted with a Vinyetka-EM towed-array sonar.