The Tsaplya class LCAC (Project 1206.1, Murena) is a medium size assault hovercraft operated by the Russian Navy.

History

These crafts are a lengthened version of the

Lebed class LCAC The Kalmar class (Project 1206, NATO reporting name Lebed) are a class of medium-sized assault hovercraft designed for the Soviet Navy. The few remaining craft are operated by the Russian Navy. Designed by the design bureau wing of Almaz shipbu ...

hovercraft, which is the Russian Navy equivalent to the U.S. Navy LCAC. They were also meant to replace the smaller

Gus class LCAC The Gus-class LCAC code Project 1205 Skat was a medium-sized assault hovercraft operated by the Soviet Navy from 1969 until the early 1990s. Configuration The Gus class was a military version of the Soviet Skate class 50 passenger hovercraft, a ...

. The prototype was built at

Feodosiya Feodosia (russian: Феодосия, ''Feodosiya''; uk, Феодо́сія, Теодо́сія, ''Feodosiia, Teodosiia''), also called in English Theodosia (from ), is a port and resort, a town of regional significance in the Crimea on the coast ...

and entered service in 1982. The second was completed in 1987. By the early 1990s ten ships had been produced. Like the Lebed they could be transported by the

Ivan Rogov The ''Ivan Rogov'' class, Soviet designation Project 1174 ''Nosorog'' (Rhino), is a class of landing ships (large landing ship in Soviet classification) built in the Soviet Union. The ships were built as a part of expansion of the Soviet Navy' ...

class assault transport. The ships had a bow ramp with a gun on the starboard side and the bridge to port. They were more heavily armed than the Lebed class and were probably used as patrol craft in addition to troop and equipment transport duties. The Tsaplya class was built for

Border Guards A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diff ...

service along the

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China ( Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long ...

and

Ussuri River The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the ...

borders with China, and all served in the Amur/Ussuri River Flotilla. The type began to be withdrawn following the fall of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Three ships have been scrapped, and by 1995 none were observed to be operational in the Russian Navy. In 2003 the ROK Navy ordered three vessels from Russia. According to a source from the Russian delegation to the IndoDefence 2014 exhibition, the ROK Navy is interested in purchasing several more upgraded Murena-E vessels and in the repair of its current trio of vessels. On 10 January 2023, it was reported that the

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of th ...

shipbuilding plant is planning to resume construction of a modernised version of the Tsaplya class in 2023.

References

* Sharpe, Richard (RN) (ed.) ''Jane's Fighting Ships 1990-91'' {{Soviet and Russian ships after 1945 Amphibious warfare vessels of the Soviet Navy Amphibious warfare vessels of the Russian Navy Military hovercraft Landing craft

History

See also

References