Article Posted on : - Mar 31, 2010

Project 20380 - the newest corvette of the Russian Navy

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia is all set to roll out its second Project 20380 corvette featuring stealth technology, a media report said.

St. Petersburg's Severnaya Verf shipyard will float out the “Soobrazitelny” designed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau, on Wednesday, a Russian Navy spokesman said.

The new corvette features innovative solutions regarding hull design, armament, communications and electronics.

In October 2008, the Russian Baltic Fleet commissioned the first Project 20380 corvette, the Steregushchy. Two other ships of the same series, the Boyky and the Stoyky, are under construction, a report by Russian news agency Ria Novosti said.

The Project 20380 corvette can be deployed to destroy enemy surface ships, submarines and aircraft, and to provide artillery support for beach landings.

It uses stealth technology to reduce the ship's secondary radar field, as well as its acoustic, infrared, magnetic and visual signatures.

Russia plans to build 30 more vessels of this class to ensure the protection of its coastal waters, as well as its oil and gas transportation routes, especially in the Black and the Baltic seas.

Each corvette has a displacement of 2,000 metric tons, maximum speed of 27 knots, and a crew of 100, the report added.