Karakurt corvette fires cruise missiles

According to the Russian Navy, the corvette Sovietsk fired a Kalibr NK missile. The successful test took place in the White Sea. It hit a coastal target around a thousand kilometres away at a test site in the Arkhangelsk region. Before the test firing, the corvette had travelled from its home base in Baltiysk on the Baltic Sea into the northern sea. On the way, the crew prepared for their task with around 30 exercises. These included manoeuvring in narrow waters, navigation exercises and defence against sabotage attacks. In total, the Sovietsk travelled more than 3300 miles.
The Sowjetski is a corvette of project 22800, also known as the Karakurt-class. The boats are built at various Russian shipyards, including the Pella shipyard near St. Petersburg. With a length of 65 metres, they displace 800 tonnes. In addition to a 76-millimetre cannon on the forecastle, the type is equipped with eight Kalibr cruise missiles or Oniks anti-ship missiles. A total of 16 units of the Karakurt-class was launched. The second boat in the class to be launched in 2019 was the Sovietsk into service.

Text: mb; Photo: MoD Russia