During a ceremony in which two new vessels were received, the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy announced that it had commissioned into service the latest of the new Buyan-M class corvettes, which will bear the name Stavropol and is distinguished by its missile strike capabilities. The event took place at the end of last August in the city of Baltiysk, with the presence, via videoconference, of the institution’s Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Alexander Moiseyev.
It should be recalled that the vessel in question was built by the Zelenodolsk Shipyard together with the patrol ship Viktor Velikiy, the other vessel presented in the context of the aforementioned ceremony. In the case of the Stavropol, it is a design developed by the Zelenodolsk Design Bureau and the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), which also designed the Typhoon corvette belonging to the Karakurt class, recently added to the institution.
On the other hand, reviewing some of the characteristics of the Buyan-M class corvettes, it can be noted that they were conceived as ships to be employed in littoral and coastal environments. This model displaces about 950 tons and has a length of 74.1 meters, marking a clear increase in size compared to the original Buyan class, which operated with a displacement of 560 tons and a length of 61.8 meters.
Regarding their combat capabilities, their main asset is the incorporation of vertical launch missile systems, which allow them to deploy Kalibr-NK cruise missiles and 3M55 Oniks anti-ship missiles; with previous reports indicating the potential future addition of 3M22 Tsirkon hypersonic systems. As for propulsion, corvettes such as the Stavropol are equipped with engines based on the CHD622V20 model from the Henan Diesel Engine Industry Company, which are of low reliability, given the impossibility of installing the originally intended MTU 16V4000 M90 engines due to sanctions imposed on Moscow.
Finally, it is useful to recall that the class in question consists of a total of twelve units, with the Stavropol completing the series. Among some of the vessels already in service, we can list the corvettes Zelenyy Dol, Serpukhov, Tarusa, and Naro-Fominsk. All of them are equipped with combat capabilities especially focused on anti-surface warfare.
*Image credits: Russian Ministry of Defense
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