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Russian corvette to get Kalibr cruise missiles after upgrade — source

It is noted that the ship’s air defense will also be strengthened: the Kortik-M surface-to-air missile/artillery system will be replaced by the 9K96 Poliment-Redut shipborne complex with 16 launch cells

MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/. The Project 20380 lead multi-purpose corvette Steregushchiy will get a new Kalibr-NK strike missile system and strengthen its air defenses with the Poliment-Redut system during its heavy upgrade at the Kronshtadt Marine Plant (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation), a source in the shipbuilding industry told TASS on Tuesday.

"The corvette Steregushchiy has arrived at the Kronshtadt Marine Plant for major repairs and upgrade, during which the ship will renew its strike missile system and the main powerplant," the source said.

The lead corvette’s combat power will be significantly augmented, he said.

"The ship will get a multi-purpose shipborne launching system for Kalibr-NK missiles. The ship’s air defense will also be strengthened: the Kortik-M surface-to-air missile/artillery system will be replaced by the 9K96 Poliment-Redut shipborne complex with 16 launch cells," the source said.

TASS has no official confirmation of this information yet.

Steregushchiy corvette

The corvette was named after the torpedo boat Steregushchiy, which heroically perished in an unequal battle with the Japanese forces on February 26, 1904. The ship was built at the Severnaya Verf Shipyard under a project engineered by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau.

The corvette was delivered to the Russian Baltic Fleet on November 20, 2007. The Project 20380 lead ship carried an Uran anti-ship system to engage surface combatants, Kortik and Igla systems to strike air and naval targets. Certain changes were made to the Project starting from the second corvette Soobrazitelny.

The Kronshtadt Marine Plant celebrated 165 years since its establishment on March 4. Over these years, the plant that was originally devised "to repair the steam fleet" has restored the combat potential of over 10,000 ships and vessels of various designation, including the first domestic armor-clad battleships, the first seagoing torpedo boat Vzryv, the cruisers Avrova and Varyag, the battleships Sevastopol and Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya, Novik-type destroyers, submarines, the icebreakers Yermak and Krasin and many other vessels.

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