Article Posted on : - Jul 26, 2013

A Project 20380 class corvette. A Severnaya Verf photo

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia's Severnaya Verf shipyard has laid down the second Gremyashchy class corvette for the Russian Navy at its St. Petersburg facility on Thursday, according to a media report.

The new warship, to be named Provorny, is being built under Project 20385, which is an improved variant of the Steregushchy class (Project 20380) corvette and features better electronics, air defenses and extended operational range.

The lead ship of the class, named Gremyashchy, was laid down in February 2012 and is expected to join the Russian Navy in 2015.

The Severnaya Verf shipyard has been contracted by the Defence Ministry to build at least 10 Gremyashchy-class corvettes for the Russian Navy, according to Ria Novosti.

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 warship can be armed with 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 anti-submarine helicopter.

The corvette would feature advanced stealth technology to reduce its secondary radar field, as well as its acoustic, infrared, magnetic and visual signatures, the report said.