Russian Navy Scraps 'Breakthrough' Stealth Warship
Plans by Moscow to build a series of stealth warships for the Russian Navy have been scrapped due to cost, according to reports.
Project 20386 was aimed at constructing at least 10 corvettes based on the Steregushchiy and Gremyashchiy classes of the vessel, but larger and with a stealthier design.
The lead ship of the class was laid down in October 2016. Construction at the Severnaya Verf (Northern Shipyard) in St Petersburg was expected to be completed for it to be in service by 2020.
After significant delays, the shipyard received the superstructure of one vessel, which was named Derzky, in July 2021.
However, on Friday, a Russian defense ministry source told the state-run news agency Tass that Derzkiy will remain would be the only corvette from the project in its class and no further construction of other vessels would continue.
The source told the agency that the "estimated cost" of the plans for several vessels would not allow the corvettes to be produced in the same numbers as other projects.
"Further laying of Project 20386 corvettes in their current form is not planned. The program for their construction will be closed," said the source.
However, Tass reported that the shipyard and the Amur Shipbuilding Plant would continue with other projects.
The project had aimed to build a modern and versatile warship that could engage surface targets with guided missiles, detect submarines with torpedoes and conduct patrol and surveillance missions, Naval News reported.
The corvette had stealth technology, including reduced radar cross-section and infrared signatures, enhancing its survivability and reducing detectability, Naval News added. Newsweek has emailed the Russian defense ministry for comment.
What role Russia's naval capabilities will play in the war it started in Ukraine remains unclear. In the invasion's early stages, Russia suffered significant blows, such as the destruction of the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva in April 2022, which Ukraine claimed was due to missiles it had fired.
Major General Vadym Skibitsky, deputy chief of Ukraine's military intelligence, said in May that Russia had moved most of its Black Sea Fleet warships from its primary base in Crimea to safer waters away from maritime drones.
Meanwhile, Russia's Navy is set to gain another two nuclear submarines by the end of this year. Aleksey Rakhmanov, head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation told Tass in June that a Borei-A class and a Yasen-M class submarine will enter service within the next six months. Russia's submarine fleet is considered superior to its surface naval fleet.
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