Project 22160 is a series of large

patrol ship A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

s being constructed for the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

. The vessels are primarily intended for duties such as patrol, monitoring and protection in open and closed seas. The first ship was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

in February 2014 and joined the Russian Navy in December 2018. By January 2018, six ships were under construction. Between 2017 and 2022, four ships had been launched. During the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

several of these ships were repeatedly attacked by Ukrainian

unmanned surface vehicle An unmanned surface vehicle, unmanned surface vessel or uncrewed surface vessel (USV), colloquially called a drone boat, drone ship or sea drone, is a boat or ship that operates on the surface of the water without a crew. USVs operate with v ...

s. On 5 March 2024, Ukraine spokespeople claimed they had sunk ''Sergey Kotov''.

Ships

Italics indicate estimates.

Design

The class's armaments include the Kalibr-NK cruise missile, the AK-176 76.2 mm dual-purpose naval gun, aerosol camouflage, two grenade launchers, and two machine guns. The class has a helicopter deck and hangar for one Ka-27 or Ka-226 helicopter, a landing speedboat, and provisions for drones, underwater unmanned craft, and unmanned boats. There are accommodations for an additional 60 sailors. In 2020 it was announced that the Russian Navy would begin trials to test the installation of module containers on patrol vessels permitting such ships to carry significantly upgraded armaments tailored to different missions. The containers were envisaged to carry various weapons including sonars and torpedoes or anti-ship and cruise missiles. The trials took place in the Arctic Sea from June 2020 and lasted two months. The Russian Navy planned to order six additional ships since 2014, but these plans were abandoned in June 2022 after dissatisfaction with the ships' performance during the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. Flaws include insufficient seaworthiness, light armour, and a lack of adequate air defences. After the sinking of ''Moskva'', the Russian Navy began attaching Tor-M2 km missile systems onto the helicopter decks of the patrol ships. On 17 August 2022, Ak Bars CEO Renat Mistakhov stated that further vessels can be constructed, which will be armed with new anti-aircraft missiles.

Operational history

''Vasily Bykov''

participated in the attack on Snake Island on 24 February 2022, the first day of the

, together with the Russian

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

. This confrontation ended in the Russian takeover of Snake Island. On 7 March 2022, Ukrainian sources claimed that the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

had hit ''Vasily Bykov'' with rocket artillery off the coast of

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

, possibly damaging it On 5 August 2022, one of the ships of the class was seen entering Sevastopol with fire damage to the stern, thought by an

open-source intelligence Open source intelligence (OSINT) is the collection and analysis of data gathered from open sources (overt sources and publicly available information) to produce actionable intelligence. OSINT is primarily used in national security, law enforceme ...

analyst to be the result of an attack the day before. On 13 August 2022, Russia announced that ''Vasily Bykov'' had opened warning fire from automatic weapons to stop the

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

an-flagged cargo ship ''Sukru Okan'', which was navigating through the Black Sea, after it failed to respond to a Russian request for an

inspection An inspection is, most generally, an organized examination or formal evaluation exercise. In engineering activities inspection involves the measurements, tests, and gauges applied to certain characteristics in regard to an object or activity. ...

''Dmitry Rogachev''

On 15 January 2021, ''Dmitry Rogachev'' moved from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, to strengthen the Russian Navy squadron.

''Pavel Derzhavin''

Ukraine reportedly attacked and damaged ''Pavel Derzhavin'' with Sea Baby

s (USV) on 11 October 2023.

''Sergey Kotov''

On 21 January 2021, it was reported that was operational and would join the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

. Ukrainian spokesmen said the ship cost about 65 million USD. The ship is named after Russian counter admiral (1912–1999). On 14 September 2023, Ukraine claimed to have damaged two ships with naval unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). Ukraine showed a video of a naval USV attacking ''Sergey Kotov''. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, said that it received damage to its propeller and a hole in its hull, which would require it to spend some time undergoing repair. On 5 March 2024, ''Sergey Kotov'' was again attacked by Ukrainian forces, this time using MAGURA V5 USVs while the ship was off the coast of Crimea near the

Kerch Strait The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is to wide and up ...

. Ukrainian military spokesmen announced the ship took damage to the stern, and later sank. Traffic to the Kerch Strait Bridge was stopped, but was not given a reason why. The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed the attack but did not comment on the damage to the ship. If confirmed, it would be the third notable Russian ship sunk by Ukrainian forces in 2024, after on 1 February and on 14 February.

Export

In April 2018, it was reported that negotiations are underway after Algeria showed interest in acquiring four project 22160 patrol ships, equipped with the Club-N missile system and the Palma anti-aircraft system which includes the Sosna guided missiles. The demand for ships armed with the Kalibr cruise missiles grew after Russia's use of these missiles in combat in Syria.

References

External links

*
Russian soldiers board helicopter from stopped ship
. Reuters. 30 November 2023. {{Soviet and Russian ships after 1945 Patrol vessels of the Russian Navy 2018 introductions Patrol ship classes