The Sonya class, Soviet designation Project 1265 ''Yakhont'', are a group of

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s built for the Soviet Navy and Soviet allies between 1971 and 1991.

Design

The Sonya-class ships are wooden hulled coastal

minehunter A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destroys individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines. A vessel that combines both of these roles is known as a ...

s, built as successors to the with new sweeps and more effective

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects on ...

. A central safe explosion proof area is fitted and all key systems can be remote controlled from there.

Operators

A total of 72 ships were built by Uliis yard in the

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

and Avangard yards in

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The populati ...

between 1971 and 1991. One ship, ''BT-730'', was lost in an accident in 1985. Another unit collided with a Swedish surveillance ship east of

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to th ...

in the Baltic Sea in November 1985. * c. 23 ships (2021).