Preparing for the construction of a new Russian class of corvettes

According to newspaper Kommersant, the corvettes currently in use in the Russian Navy, the project 20380, do not meet modern standards and a new type of ship is needed. That new ship might see the light in the not too distant future. Kommersant writes that the Ministry of Defence will hold a tender of the selection of a design bureau for the project already next month.

A total of five bureaus are preparing bids in the tender, of them three which are part of the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation. Also a foreign company might hand in a bid, while the last participating bureau remains unknown.

The new corvette will help Russia strengthen its protection of its coastal waters, fight foreign submarines, convoy ships, fight pirates and engage in mine clearing.

As previously reported, it is only two years since Russia built its last corvette, the “Steregushchii”. The ship of the 20380 project was constructed at the Northern Yard in Sankt Petersburg and has since been engaged in fighting pirates off the coast of Somalia