With the launching of the Stavropol, The Zelenodolsk Shipyard celebrated the launch of the last of the new Buyan-M class corvettes destined to equip the Russian Navy. One of the peculiarities of this class of low displacement ship, following the line of Russian design and doctrine, is that it has the capacity to launch cruise missiles. Kalibr-NKproviding them with great capabilities for anti-surface warfare missions.
Based on the Project 21630/Buyan class, which consists of three ships, the Project 21631/Buyan-M class is constituted as a family of missile corvettes which can be used in littoral and coastal environments, possessing great combat capacity. This was due to the increase in displacement, which increased from the original 560 to 950 tons, and its dimensions, which went from 61.8 meters to 74.1 meters in length.
As for its combat capabilities, these rest on its universal vertical missile launch system, which can use Kalibr-NK cruise missiles and 3M55 Oniks anti-ship missiles. Although at the level of speculation, it is presumed to mention that the Russian Navy would have plans to equip them in the future with 3M22 Tsirkon hypersonic missiles.
However, this shipbuilding program was not without challenges and delays, as sanctions from Western countries affected the supply of certain components. In more detail to the propulsion plants, since the incorporation of MTU 16V4000 M90 diesel engines provided by Rolls-Royce Solutions was originally planned. The sanctions and restrictions caused a replacement of Chinese origin to be chosen, based on the CHD622V20 engines from the Henan Diesel Engine Industry Company, which proved to be unreliable. The official decision was the adoption of a local replacement for these components, with the last three corvettes of the class receiving Kolomienskiy Zavod 16D49 engines, along with gearboxes manufactured by Zvezda and control systems from NPO Avrora.
As for the Stavropol, it is the last, of a total of twelve units, of the Buyan-M class. Its construction began in July 2018, and it was launched by the Zelenodolsk Shipyard on June 12. Finally, it was confirmed by Admiral Alexander Moiseyev, Commander of the Russian Navy, that this corvette will be used to strengthen the combat capabilities of the Baltic Fleet. Looking ahead to the next few months, it is likely that work on the ship’s hull will continue without installing and integrating the rest of the systems and sensors in order to begin port and navigation tests as essential steps for its delivery.
Currently, this force, destined for an area of vital strategic importance for Russia, already has several units in service or about to be delivered belonging to the Buyan-M class. Among these the following units can be mentioned: Zelenyy Dol, Serpukhov, Tarusa and Naro-Fominsk.
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