Home Europe Russia’s lead Project 20385 corvette starts acceptance trials

Russia’s lead Project 20385 corvette starts acceptance trials

Photo: Russian defense ministry

Gremyashchy, the lead ship of a new class of Russian Navy Project 20385 corvettes, started state and acceptance trials on December 7.

The ship began the latest round of tests after first heading out to sea in April this year. The ship transited from the Baltic to the Northern Fleet ranges in the White Sea in November. The crew will test the ship’s systems and undertake first firings from its main missile system.

Also referred to as Gremyashchy-class corvettes, after the lead ship, the ships are an advanced variant of Steregushchy-class (Project 20380) multi-purpose corvettes in service with the Russian Navy since 2007.

Severnaya Verf started construction of Gremyashchy in May 2011 and the keel-laying ceremony was held in February 2012.

The ship received Russian-built turbine engines in 2016 which were delivered after sanctions on Russia prevented German company MTU from delivering the original engines.

Project 20385 corvettes displace 2,200 tonnes and measure 104 meters in length.

They are equipped with Kalibr-NK cruise missiles, the Redut air defense system and the small-size anti-submarine torpedo system Paket. The corvettes also feature a hangar and flight deck for the Ka-27 naval helicopter.