Project 20385 Lead Corvette to Begin State Tests

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the commencement of tests of Gremyashchiy, the lead corvette of Project 20385, on Thursday.

“The lead corvette of project 20385 built at the Northern Shipyard in St. Petersburg, will undergo state tests in the White Sea. The ship has already arrived at the White Sea Naval Base,” the MoD said in a statement. 

The boats are set to armed with Tsirkon hypersonic anti-ship missiles. “It will certainly have Tsirkon,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month. In February, Putin asserted that 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.

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.