KALININGRAD, November 12. /TASS/. Ka-27 helicopters of the Baltic Fleet’s naval aviation involved in the program of state trials of the Project 20385 lead corvette Gremyashchiy are practicing landings on the warship’s deck, the Fleet’s press office reported on Thursday.
"In the Baltic Sea, Ka-27 helicopters of the Baltic Fleet’s naval aviation are making landings on the deck of the corvette Gremyashchiy as part of its state trials. In addition to normal landings, the pilots of the 929th State Flight Test Center are practicing tasks in the conditions of maximum ship motions and winds at night and in the daytime," the press office said in a statement.
During the test flights, the pilots will make over 20 landings on the corvette’s deck while the warship is adrift and on the move, most of them at night, the statement says.
The corvette’s crew jointly with industry representatives earlier tested the warship’s radio-technical equipment, radars and air defense systems at Baltic Fleet naval ranges. This effort involved Ka-27 helicopters and Su-30SM, Su-27 and Su-24 aircraft of the Baltic Fleet’s naval aviation.
The Gremyashchiy is the Project 20385 lead corvette laid down at the Severnaya Shipyard 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.
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 launchers and Paket anti-submarine warfare technology.
Compared to the ships of the previous Project 20380, the Gremyashchiy carries Kalibr-NK and/or Oniks cruise missiles. The corvette is expected to enter service with Russia’s Pacific Fleet. Project 20385 envisages a hangar for a Ka-27 helicopter.
It was earlier reported that the corvette Gremyashchiy might be subsequently armed with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles.
The shipbuilders are set to deliver the cutting-edge corvette to the Russian Navy on December 25.