Russia: Almaz Shipyard Launches Corvette Makhachkala

On April 27th JSC Almaz Shipbuilding launched corvette Makhachkala of Project 21630. The vessel comes as the third and last Buyan-class corvette built by the shipyard. The ship was successful launched from the shipyard’s floating dock and moored into the outfitting quay for finishing touches.

The Project 21630 Buyan is a new generation of gunboat designed to protect Russia’s 200-mile maritime economic zone and provide naval gunfire support for counter-terrorist operations. The ships are designed by Zelenodolsk Design Bureau (Tatarstan, Russia). Considering latest scientific achievements and assigned mission, the hulls are built under stealth technology.

So far, the Russian Navy has commissioned three Project 21630 gunboats. The lead vessel Astrakhan entered active duty in 2008.

The Project 21630 vessels are equipped with radar and hull-mounted sonar. Their weapon system consists of a single A-190 100mm cannon and two AK-630 30mm anti-aircraft guns. The A-215 Grad-M artillery system with 40 122mm rockets is intended to provide fire support against positions onshore. Besides, these vessels are equipped with a variety of 14.5mm (2) and 7.62mm (3) machine guns.

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Source: Almaz Shipyard, May 1, 2012