The sixth in number and fifth in the series of project 22160 corvettes for the Russian Navy was laid on January 13 by the Gorky shipyard in Zelenodolsk in Tatarstan. It was named the Nikolai Sipyagin.
Keel laying ceremony of the sixth Project 22160 corvette. Picture: JSC «Zelenodolsk plant named after A.M. Gorky»
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said project 22160 was designed for counterterrorist operations and the fight against sea piracy which is widely spread in the Middle East area. "The project was designed to protect the seas without escorting civilian vessels and spending the resource of warships on that. We ordered six such corvettes," he said.
The corvettes of project 22160 were designed by the Severnoe (Northern) bureau in St. Petersburg to guard and protect the maritime economic zone. They also engage in escorts and anti-piracy activities and search-and-rescue missions. Autonomous navigation is 60 days. The corvettes develop a speed of 30 knots and have a displacement of 1700 tons. The crew comprises close to 80 men and the navigation range is 6000 nautical miles. The lead ship of project 22160, the Vasily Bykov, was laid down on February 26, 2014. Patrol boats the Dmitry Rogachev, the Pavel Derzhavin, the Sergey Kotov and the Viktor Veliky are at various construction stages.
Borisov said the Defense Ministry will supply orders to the Zelenodolsk shipyard during the whole state arms program for 2018-2027. "The supreme commander-in-chief approved the new state arms program late last year. Naval armaments occupy a worthy place in it and there will be work for you to do. Together with the leadership of the Zelenodolsk shipyard we have to work hard this year to provide orders for you for all the ten years," Borisov said at the laying ceremony of the Nikolai Sipyagin.
The shipyard is sustainably producing brown-water (close sea zone) warships. "Patrol boats, small missile ships, small corvettes comprise the pride of the armed forces and the navy," he said.
The Zelenodolsk-built warships excellently performed in Syria. "They are small but very effective with long-range Kalibr cruise missiles," Borisov said.
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