Karakurt-class (Project 22800)

Summary

Description

The Karakurt-class corvette, designated Project 22800 Karakurt in Russia, represents a new class of small missile ships in the Russian Navy. Introduced into service since 2018, these corvettes are designed to be a more seaworthy, blue-water complement to the littoral zone-oriented Buyan-M-class corvettes. They serve in Russia's Caspian Flotilla, Baltic Fleet, and Black Sea Fleet.

The design of the Karakurt-class was influenced by Project 12300 Skorpion and Project 21631, the Buyan-M corvettes. These ships feature a stealth-shaped superstructure with an integrated mast carrying four phased array radar panels. The primary armament includes Kalibr cruise missiles or P-800 Oniks supersonic anti-ship missiles, carried in eight UKSK VLS cells. The corvettes are equipped with a 76.2 mm AK-176MA automatic dual-purpose gun, with some ships featuring the 100 mm A-190. The first two ships carry a pair of AK-630M gun-based CIWS, while starting from the third ship, they are equipped with Pantsir-M, a naval version of the Pantsir surface-to-air missile system. Notably, the project 22800 is not designed for anti-submarine warfare.

The first two ships, Uragan (now Mytishchi) and Taifun (now Sovetsk), were laid down at the Pella Shipyard in Saint Petersburg on 24 December 2015. By August 2016, a total of seven ships were ordered from the Pella Shipyard, with additional orders from the Zelenodolsk Shipyard. The first ship of the class was launched on 29 July 2017. The Russian Defence Ministry signed contracts for several more vessels, including orders for construction at the Vostochnaya Verf, Vladivostok, and the Amur Shipyard, Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

Mytishchi, the lead ship, underwent sea trials in 2018 and officially entered service in December of the same year. One notable incident in the class's history occurred on 4 November 2023, when the Zalyv shipyard, where some of the ships were being built, was targeted by Ukrainian forces. The attack resulted in significant damage to the ship Askold, which was probably hit by a SCALP-EG air-launched cruise missile.

The construction of these corvettes has faced challenges, including delays in the supply of domestically-produced engines and disruptions caused by the threat of international sanctions, particularly affecting construction at the More shipyard in Feodosia, in occupied Crimea, Ukraine.

Technical specifications