Construction of patrol ships pr. 22160
Laying down of the ship "Victor the Great", November 25, 2016
The Russian shipbuilding industry continues to build for the naval fleet modern patrol ships/corvettes of Project 22160. Currently, two further hulls of this type are on the slipways at different stages of construction. In the foreseeable future, they will be launched, carry out the remaining activities and be accepted into the Navy. The new ships will have to strengthen the surface component of the Black Sea Fleet.
Work in progress
The construction of patrol ships pr. 22160 is currently being carried out by the Zelenodolsk plant named after. A.M. Gorky since 2014. The fifth corvette of this type (the fourth production one) was laid down in November 2016 and received the name “Victor the Great”. Due to objective factors, this building is still in the assembly shop, but construction is moving forward successfully, and news about him.
On April 2, a conference call was held at the Ministry of Defense with the leadership of the armed forces, the main topic of which was issues of military development, implementation of the state defense order, etc. In particular, in his opening speech, Minister Sergei Shoigu raised the topic of building new warships for the Navy.
The minister recalled that the Zelenodolsk plant named after. A.M. Gorky carries out several large fleet orders. Thus, the company continues the serial construction of small missile ships, Project 22800 Karakurt. Within a year, the enterprise must complete, test and transfer to the Navy three new pennants of this type.
The plant is also engaged in the construction of patrol ships, Project 22160. The construction of the fifth corvette of this type, Victor the Great, has been successfully completed. However, in the open part of the meeting, the minister did not clarify the details of the ongoing work, the timing of their completion, etc.
During the conference call, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the contractor discussed the construction of two types of ships. In particular, we paid attention to the implementation of the established work schedule and its possible optimization. What ideas were discussed and what results were reached is not reported.
The exact timing of the completion of the Victor the Great construction remains unknown. However, it was previously reported that the ship could be launched before the end of 2024. After this, the remaining construction work and tests will be completed within a year or more, and then the ship will replenish the KChF's combat strength.
Representative of the series
Let us recall that the project of the patrol ship/corvette “22160” was developed in the early tenths at JSC “Northern Design Bureau” (St. Petersburg). The objective of the project was to create a warship with missile and artillery weapons, capable of protecting shipping, fighting terrorists or pirates, protecting water areas and solving other problems in the near and far sea zone.
The first order for the construction of new ships was received by the Zelenodolsk plant named after. Gorky. After the return of Crimea, the Zaliv enterprise (Kerch) was involved in the construction program. However, the main production remained in Zelenodolsk, and only two ships were built at the Crimean site.
The lead corvette of a new type, "Vasily Bykov", was laid down at the plant named after. Gorky in February 2014. Construction continued until August 2017, when the finished hull was launched. The following activities took more than a year, and in December 2018 the customer accepted the new ship. In July 2014, the first production ship under the name “Dmitry Rogachev” was laid down in Zelenodolsk. It was launched in April 2018 and accepted into the KChF in June of the following year.
"Vasily Bykov" - the lead corvette of the series
In February 2016, the keel of the corvette Pavel Derzhavin, the first ship of the series built in Crimea, took place at the Zaliv plant. In February 2019, it was launched and handed over to the customer in November 2020. The second “Crimean” ship under the name “Sergey Kotov” was built from May 2016 to January 2021. In July 2022, he joined the fleet.
In November 2016, construction of the Victor the Great, the fifth ship of Project 22160, began in Zelenodolsk. It is reported that it is in the final stages of construction on the stocks, and launching should be expected in the near future. Considering the pace of work on previous pennants, it can be assumed that the ship will be delivered to the customer no earlier than the end of this year.
In January 2018, the sixth ship of Project 22160, Nikolai Sipyagin, was laid down. For now it is in the assembly shop and is far from being launched. It is unknown how soon the current stage of work will be completed and moved on to the next one. Apparently, everything depends on when the resources and personnel involved in the construction of the Victor the Great will be freed up.
Initially, the Ministry of Defense and the Navy planned to build six ships of a new type. Subsequently, a proposal was discussed to double the series in order to correspondingly improve the potential of the surface fleet. However, it was decided to maintain the planned volumes of the series. Thus, the already laid down “Nikolai Sipyagin” should become the last representative of Project 22160. However, it cannot be ruled out that the Ministry of Defense will change its mind and in the future will place additional orders to increase the series.
Technical features
Corvette pr. 22160 is a ship of traditional design with a length of approx. 94 m and a width of up to 14 m with a total displacement of 1800 tons. Crew - 28 people. with the possibility of increasing to 75-80 people.
"Dmitry Rogachev" - the first production ship
The hull and superstructure are made using stealth technologies and have appropriate contours. An interesting design feature is the availability of space for placing an additional load module - this could be strike weapons, special equipment, etc.
The ships have a diesel power plant. The head hull was equipped with four MTU 20V4000G63L engines with a power of 3670 hp each. The serial ones are equipped with a pair of domestic 16D49 diesel engines with a power of 6000 hp. every. Power is supplied to two propeller shafts. The power plant also includes several diesel generators. The corvette reaches speeds of up to 25 knots and has a cruising range of 6 thousand nautical miles. Navigation autonomy – 60 days.
Project 22160 is distinguished by a specific composition of weapons corresponding to the tasks of patrolling and combating pirates or other poorly equipped enemies. The Positive-NK radar is used to illuminate the situation and search for targets. The search for underwater objects is carried out by the Ariadne hydroacoustic complex. There is a TK-25 electronic warfare system and a PK-10 jamming system.
On the deck of the ship in front of the superstructure there is a 76-mm AK-176M artillery mount with 304 rounds of ammunition. There are also two pedestal installations with 14,5-mm KPV machine guns and DP-64 and DP-65 grenade launchers. Air defense is provided by cannon weapons and several Igla or Verba MANPADS. The superstructure has a hangar to accommodate one helicopter, and the hull has space for a motor boat. The ship can also transport and use UAVs of the Orlan-10 type.
As an additional load, the corvette project 22160 can transport the Tor air defense system and various auxiliary equipment. It was reported about the possibility of introducing containerized strike and defensive missile systems, but so far such ideas remain unrealized.
"Pavel Derzhavin" - a ship built by the Zaliv shipyard
Experience of application
Since entering service, the ships of Project 22160 regularly participated in various exercises, and their crews practiced searching for and hitting various targets. In addition, over the past two years, existing corvettes have been actively involved in combat work as part of the current Special Operation. They are responsible for protecting coastal facilities, escorting merchant ships and fighting various threats.
Considerable experience in combat use has been accumulated, which allows us to draw conclusions about the further development of such ships. Thus, it is shown that patrol corvettes need to strengthen the standard air defense system and introduce new weapons. The enemy is actively using various UAVs and aviation means of destruction, and the ship must be able to fully defend itself against such threats. For this purpose, corvettes previously began to carry the Thor module on deck, and new solutions in this area are expected in the future.
Ukrainian formations have repeatedly tried to attack our patrol ships using unmanned kamikaze boats. To protect against such equipment, standard artillery and machine guns are used. An obvious step is to increase the number of surveillance equipment, incl. all-day and barrel weapon systems. This will increase the likelihood of timely detection and destruction of an approaching boat and reduce the risk of it breaking through to the ship.
Ships in service
To date, the industry has built and transferred to the Black Sea Fleet several patrol ships, Project 22160, and now they are actively operating and solving various tasks. During combat use, certain difficulties and risks arise, and in addition, ships are criticized due to certain features.
However, the command believes that the corvettes of Project 22160 are needed by the fleet, as a result of which the operation of existing pennants continues and new ones are built. As the Ministry of Defense recently reported, the fifth building of the series is already at the final stage of construction, and the moment of its commissioning is approaching. Perhaps, at the current stage, measures will be taken, and the fifth and sixth ships of the series under construction will receive an updated composition of weapons and equipment, modified taking into account the experience of combat operations.
Information