MOSCOW, May 11. /TASS/. The Severnaya Verf Shipyard has delivered the Project 20380 latest missile corvette Merkury to the Russian Navy, the Shipyard’s press office reported on Thursday.
"Chairman of the State Ship Acceptance Commission Captain 1st Rank Viktor Ivanov signed an acceptance certificate of the state tests of the Project 20380 corvette Merkury built at the Severnaya Verf Shipyard. After the acceptance certificate’s approval, Navy Commander-in-Chief Nikolay Yevmenov will set a date for hoisting the naval flag on the corvette," the press office said in a statement.
On May 10, the corvette’s delivery team and naval sailors wrapped up the tests and inspection of the warship’s systems, armaments and special equipment, carried out an inventory and prepared the Merkury for its handover, the press office said.
By order of Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Yevmenov, the corvette was assigned the name of Merkury in honor of the combat sailing ship that became a symbol of Russian naval sailors’ courage and skills.
The Merkury is the Project 20380 fifth corvette built at the Severnaya Verf Shipyard in St. Petersburg in Russia’s northwest (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) and engineered by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau. The previous four corvettes, the Steregushchiy, the Soobrazitelny, the Stoikiy and the Boikiy are in service with Russia’s Baltic Fleet.
The Merkury was laid down on February 20, 2015 under the name of Retiviy. A decision was made on October 15, 2021 to rename the corvette into 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 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.