Russian Navy Commissions 2 Warships And 1 SSBN Before The End Of 2022

NavalNews ^ | 02 Jan 2023 | Tomasz Grotnik

[Steven Scharf]

On December 29, 2022, the Russian Navy commissioned three new vessels (Project 955A Borey-A class submarine Generalissimus Suvorov, Project 12700 Alexandrit-class MCM ship Anatoliy Shlemov, Project 21631 Buyan-M class Grad). The fourth vessel was also rolled out of the shipyard hall at Sevmash Shipyard on the same day. Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu attended the events via video link.

. . .

More Kalibr missiles in the Baltic Sea On December 29, the flag was raised on the tenth Project 21631 Buyan-M corvette of the Baltic Fleet, the Grad. These undersized vessels (949 tons, 74.1 m) carry the 3R14 Kalibr-NK system and can fire 3M14 cruise missiles against long-range land targets, as well as supersonic anti-ship 3M55 Oniks. They are fired from an eight-cell UKSK 3S14 (Universal’nyy korabel’nyy strel’bovyy complex, Universal Ship Launching System) launcher. Four Buyan-M-class corvettes, part of the Black Sea Fleet, are currently deployed to launch 3M14 Kalibr missiles against critical infrastructure in Ukraine.

Russia is building two more Buyan-Ms, which will most likely be the last. The manufacturer is Zelenodolsk Shipyard, based in Zelenodolsk, Tatarstan. The production rate is low due to problems with the propulsion system. The Small Grad has been under construction for more than five years (keel laid in April 2017). European Union sanctions are also the reason. The first ships have Rolls-Royce MTU engines and ZF Friedrichshafen gearboxes. After their deliveries were stopped, Chinese Henan Diesel Engine engines began to be installed, but they proved unreliable and unsustainable. The latest Buyan-M has Russian Kolomienskiy Zavod engines, but the company is slow to produce them.

[Steven Scharf]

I was watching one of the many propaganda videos claiming one side over the other is winning the war in The Ukraine. The commentator noted that the Russians had commissioned a new ship that could be a problem in the Black Sea defense. So I did a search on this ship and found this information on it.

My question here is how the hell are the going to get a 949 tons, 74.1 meter/242 foot long ship from Zelenodolsk, Tatarstan to the Black Sea? The shipyard is on the Volga River, but it is 877 miles from the Caspian Sea (which interestingly is 28 meters (92 ft) below sea level) and then needs to get from the Caspian Sea, but there is no sea route. How do they get this boat to the Black Sea?

[Steven Scharf]

I meant to note that The Volga freezes for most of its length for three months each year.

[Repeal The 17th]

Sail up the Volga River to Volgograd.
Enter the Volga-Don canal at Sarepta.
The canal needs nine locks to raise ships out of the Volga Basin
and four to lower them down to the Don River.
From there, sail downstream to the Sea of Azov
and through the Kertch Strait into the Black Sea.
This portage route is thousands of years old.
The Volga–Don Canal takes boats up to 140m x 16.5m x 3.5m.

[BobL]

“How do they get this boat to the Black Sea?”

Canals.

[Steven Scharf]

Thanks, I did not realize the canal being referred to was at Volgograd.

Sail up the Volga River to Volgograd.

I assume you mean sail down the Volga as the water flows to the Caspian Sea.

[Repeal The 17th]

I used a primitive version of Artificial Intelligence to
compose my answer to you.
You should try it out.
Just use the “search” feature in your favorite search engine.

[NorseViking]

You can sail to Moscow in a destroyer. It is not called a “port of seven seas” for no reason.

[popdonnelly]

We are falling way short in defending this country. It costs money, and we don’t want to spend it.

[silverleaf]

Thanks