Posted on 08/07/2016 11:11:06 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
© Photo: Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau
The Black Sea Fleet is expected to receive a batch of five new Project 22800 'Karakut' ('Black Widow') warships, classified as both 'small missile ships' and 'small corvettes'. Commenting on the prospects for the new vessels, military journalist Boris Stepnov suggested that the new ships will allow the Navy to turn the Black Sea into a fortress.
The Zelenodolsk Plant shipyard has received another order, this time for five small multipurpose Project 22800 missile ships. The next-generation vessel has a displacement of 800 tons, is 65 meters long, 10 meters wide, and has a draught of 4 meters. The vessels have maximum speed of 30 knots, a cruising range of up to 2,500 nautical miles, and can stay at sea for up to 15 days at a time.
By all indications, the new vessels will be assigned to the Black Sea Fleet. The first of them will be handed over to the Navy in 2018, the last in 2021. The ships, equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, are designed to complement the Project 21631 Buyan-M ('Brawler') missile ships, also built at Zelenodolsk.
The latter vessels, also a recent development, are designed specifically for the Caspian Sea and the lower reaches of the Volga.
© PHOTO: ZELENODOLSK SHIPYARD
Project 21631 (Buyan-M) corvettes
Commenting on the defense order in a piece for the independent news and analysis hub PolitRussia, defense commentator Boris Stepnov suggested that compared to the Buyan-M, "the Karakut is more seaworthy and has a number of tactical and technical advantages."
"For instance, to protect themselves from enemy air power, the Buyans feature a 30 mm Ak-630M-2 Duet machine gun, which is adequate for use on rivers and in the Caspian. But operations at great distance from its home territory require more powerful protection. The Karakut is equipped with the Pantsir-M," a naval version of the Pantsir-S1 combined surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery system produced by the KBP Instrument Design Bureau.
It's known that the Karakut uses the 3S13 launcher, allowing the vessel to use both the Onyx anti-ship and Calibr-NK cruise missiles.
© TOPWAR.RU
Area covered by the Kalibr-NK class cruise missiles based on maximum range; the circle on the left indicates range from the Black Sea, the circle on the right that of ships in the Caspian.
Pointing out that the cruise missiles onboard have an effective range covering much of Europe and most of the Middle East, the journalist suggested that while "the ability to 'Kalibrate' the enemy from a distance…is certainly important, it is not the direct function of small corvettes. This class of ships is used for escort and patrol missions, for anti-ship warfare and to defend the airspace around naval bases. They are not destroyers of course, but for tactical operations, they are optimal."
At the same time, the ships' modular design allows for the construction of several different versions. "It is logical to assume designs including a 'shock unit', a patrol vessel and an anti-ship model. The order we are discussing obviously does not apply to the anti-ship modification, but is great for patrol functions, which are extremely important in the waters of the Black Sea. With a speed of 30 knots, the Karakut is a sufficiently fast ship, and will be able to cause serious problems for the enemy with the help of its P-800 Onyx medium-range anti-ship missiles." Meanwhile, Stepnov added, "the ship's 100 mm automatic naval gun (likely to be the A-190 Burevestnik) has implications for any conflicts over water boundaries; here we can recall the feat of the Bezzavetniy and SKR-6, which successfully kicked the American cruiser USS Yorktown and the destroyer USS Caron out of Soviet waters in 1988, after these ships blatantly cruised 7 miles into our territorial waters."
The Karakut may be small, but will certainly be able to "bite" even cruiser-sized vessels, the journalist suggested.
"At the same time, small missile ships are suitable for patrolling precisely due to their small size, which provides for a low profile and high maneuverability. Therefore, the Karakut is effective both as a patrol vessel, and as a platform for the Kalibr, which does not fall under any international restrictions on the limitation of missile weaponry."
Ultimately, Stepnov noted, "Russia, as usual in recent years, is building weapons which are of very high quality from the technical standpoint, but also very practical in terms of their application."
I’ve always wanted to get a fishing boat and have it pounded out to look like a modern naval destroyer.
I want one with a split rear window.
And yet, they share the same vulnerability that all naval surface ships have today.
They can be taken out from hundreds of miles away, with little effort.
As a “Police Corvette” this is a hell of a design. For a “Surface Warship”, not so much.
Meanwhile, our little boy of a president cuts our navy to bare bones.
It don't even matter what we got or anyone else got. Russia can have it's stupid little boats, because we are about to elect our chyampion!
She has been fighting her whole life to fill her bank account, and now she wants to fight for us!
No one can stand up to Super Seizure Depends Carpet Munching Valium Shooting Alcy Psycho Granny!
GO, AMERICA!
or something
Know nothing about ship design, but is sure looks like those little beauties should be able to go a lot faster than 30 kts. Maybe not for long, depending on fuel load..................
You got it.
Look at how the antiship missiles the Iraqis fired at
the Wisconsin in the first Gulf War sent that ship to
the bottom from far away.
I das vidania tovarich
When did Russia adopt a new paint scheme? They used to employ a grey/green color.
see map.
I’d love to see an ad just like that in the same spot with the LA car of today.
I don’t know about outside colors, but much of their naval stuff with respect to equipment/enclosures is painted a real pukey yellow color like Grey Poupon or something.
Los Angeles??? Louisiana?
What does LA car mean? ( I’m getting old....so don’t take offense.....I have no idea what that means)
Los Angeles. Because the Corvette ad was shot at the Los Angeles Airport which you can tell from it’s unique control tower structure. In this case LA car would be “what kind of car do you normally see in Los Angeles today?”
Never been west of AZ.....recognize the building but not sure from where....till now. Thanks for the info.
To answer Your question? Same as NY.... Priuses, Hondas, Lexus, VW, Audis, BMWs, Mercedes etc.
I own a Ram truck a 2006 Mustang and a 71 Cutlass ( just for fun). So I don’t fit in......thank God!
I have never had a taste for Soviet/Russian naval design from an appearance perspective, except perhaps the Kirov class which are nice looking, but...that is good looking little vessel.
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