MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. The Project 20385 missile corvette Gremyashchiy has left the fitting-out quay of the Severnaya Shipyard in northwest Russia and headed for the Baltic Sea to complete the shipbuilders’ trials, Shipyard spokeswoman Olga Danilevskaya said on Tuesday.

"The shipbuilders’ sea trials will last about three months. Specialists aboard the Gremyashchiy will check the operation of all the shipborne systems and special equipment in the operational and combat modes," the spokeswoman said.

Specifically, the Shipyard’s specialists will test radar and sonar systems, hold the trials of the aerial platform, special equipment and armament, the spokeswoman noted.

Several days later, the corvette will be joined by the frigate Admiral Kasatonov. At the stage of shipbuilders’ sea trials, the main goal of the warships’ delivery teams comprising the Shipyard’s representatives, the designers of the frigate and the corvette and basic contractors, is to find and eliminate flaws and prepare the warships for state trials scheduled for December.

After the shipbuilders and state trials are over, the warships will be delivered to the Russian Navy. The corvette Gremyashchiy will enter service with Russia’s Pacific Fleet while the frigate Admiral Kasatonov will join the Northern Fleet.

New warships

The Gremyashchiy is the Project 20385 lead corvette laid down on February 1, 2012 and floated out in June 2017. The corvettes of this Project developed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau are designated to detect and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships, provide for troop landing and cope with numerous green-water tasks.

The corvette Gremyashchiy will become the first warship in the Pacific Fleet to carry Kalibr cruise missiles. The warship is expected to enter service by the end of 2019. Project 20385 envisages a hangar for a Ka-27 helicopter.

Project 20385 corvettes displace 2,200 tonnes, have an operating range of 3,500 miles and their sea endurance is 15 days. They are armed with Kalibr-NK universal missile systems, Redut anti-aircraft missile complexes and Paket anti-submarine warfare technology.

The frigate Fleet Admiral Kasatonov is the second built (the first serial-produced) Project 22350 warship constructed at the Severnaya Shipyard (part of Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation). The cutting-edge frigate was laid down on November 26, 2009 and floated out on December 12, 2014. The first stage of the shipbuilders’ sea trials was completed in late 2018. The Project 22350 frigates feature as their main striking firepower two universal shipborne systems each carrying eight Kalibr-NK and/or Oniks missiles.

Project 22350 frigates are expected to become the Russian Navy’s most advanced warships in their class. These frigates displace 4,500 tonnes and can develop a speed of 29 knots. In addition to Oniks and Kalibr missiles, they carry the Poliment-Redut air defense missile systems.