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Russian latest corvette deploys to Gulf of Finland for final shipbuilders’ sea tests

The Merkury is the Project 20380 fifth corvette built at the Severnaya Verf Shipyard

ST. PETERSBURG, December 2. /TASS/. The Project 20380 missile corvette Merkury built at the Severnaya Verf Shipyard in St. Petersburg in Russia’s northwest has deployed to the Gulf of Finland for the final stage of shipbuilders’ sea trials, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Friday.

"The corvette Merkury built by the Severnaya Verf Shipyard has deployed to the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea for the final round of shipbuilders’ sea tests. Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov was briefed on the start of the trials at a meeting held in the Admiralty on the construction of surface ships," the ministry said in a statement.

In the next few days, the corvette’s crew will check the warship’s maneuverable characteristics and the operation of its systems, mechanisms and armaments, following which it will return to the Shipyard to remove last faults before state trials, it said.

The Merkury is the Project 20380 fifth corvette built at the Severnaya Verf Shipyard (part of Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation). As its main anti-ship weapon, it carries the Uran system of two four container-type launchers with an ammunition load of eight Kh-35U missiles with a strike range of 260 km.

The Merkury was laid down on February 20, 2015 under the name of Retivy. A decision was made on October 15, 2021 to rename the corvette into the Merkury in honor of the Black Sea Fleet’s sailing ship that gained its glory in the 1828-1829 Russo-Turkish War.

Project 20380 corvettes

Project 20380 corvettes are designed to accomplish green-water missions, fight enemy surface ships and submarines and provide artillery support for amphibious assault operations. The corvettes of this type incorporate the latest solutions for reducing their physical fields. In particular, the shipbuilders significantly reduced their radar signature during their construction, using radio absorption materials and specially designing their hull and superstructure.

Project 20380 corvettes are armed with Uran anti-ship missiles, Redut surface-to-air missile systems, A-190 artillery guns and Paket-NK anti-submarine warfare weapons. They can carry Ka-27 helicopters of any modification.