Project 20385 Lead Corvette to be armed with Tsirkon Hypersonic Missiles

The lead corvette of Russia’s Project 20385, Gremyashchiy, will be armed with Tsirkon hypersonic anti-ship missiles, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

“It will certainly have Tsirkon,” Putin said while inspecting the boat, reports TASS. In February, Putin asserted work on the advanced Tsirkon, with maximum speed of about Mach 9 and range of 1000km, will be completed as per schedule, without any delays.

Pointing at the bow section of the vessel where launch containers of Kalibr cruise missiles are located, the corvette’s commander, Captain 2nd Rank Roman Dovgailov, suggested that the Tsirkon missiles could be placed there.

The warship will become the first in the Pacific fleet to be equipped with Kalibr missiles when it enters service by the end of 2019. In addition, the boats of this class will have Redut anti-aircraft missile complexes and Paket anti-submarine warfare technology.

Project 20385 envisages a hangar for a Ka-27 helicopter. The corvettes displace 2,200 tonnes, have an operating range of 3,500 miles and their sea endurance is 15 days.