Patrol ship of project 22160 "Pavel Derzhavin" went to sea for factory tests. This was reported by the press service of the Black Sea Fleet.

“At the exit to the sea, adjustment and testing of the functioning of all systems of the ship will be carried out, the operability of the main power plant in different operating modes will be checked, backup mechanisms and various equipment will be tested, including when switching to emergency power supplies, and also the operation of in-ship communication facilities will be checked. ", - the message says.

After the completion of the sea trials, the specialists of the Zelenodolsk plant named after A.M. Gorky, on which the ship was built, together with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, will revise the ship's systems and mechanisms, and will also continue to prepare Pavel Derzhavin for the next stage of testing.

In parallel with this, the crew is mastering ship management and studying the features of its operation and maintenance.

The ship was named after Captain 1st Rank Pavel Derzhavin, who commanded a brigade of armored boats during the Great Patriotic War.

From 1941 to 1943, his squadron managed to escort over 1.2 thousand transports and repel 1545 air attacks, while shooting down 24 and knocking out 19 German planes. During the landing operations, Derzhavin's boats carried over 8,000 paratroopers and evacuated 3,000 wounded soldiers.

During the Kerch landing operation, Derzhavin ensured an uninterrupted ferry crossing the Kerch Strait for 165 days. For this he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Black Sea patrol

Project 22160 was developed at the Severnoye Design Bureau. These vessels are designed to patrol a 200-mile exclusive economic zone in the open and closed seas, suppress smuggling and piracy activities, search for and assist victims of maritime disasters and environmental monitoring of the environment.

In wartime, they carry out the tasks of protecting ships and vessels at sea crossing, as well as naval bases and water areas in order to warn of an attack by various enemy forces, according to the website of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC).

The displacement of such ships is 1,500 tons, the length is 94 m, the width is 14 m, and the draft is 3.4 m. They can be autonomous for 60 days and reach speeds of up to 30 knots. The maximum cruising range reaches 6 thousand nautical miles. The vessel provides space for 80 crew members. In this case, the actual number of the crew is determined by the task assigned to the vessel.

The patrol ships are armed with a 57-mm automatic artillery mount AU A-220M (developed by the Central Research Institute "Burevestnik") and two naval pedestal machine gun mounts of 14.5 caliber of the Plant named after V.A. Degtyarev. The vessel is protected from air strikes by the Gibka anti-aircraft complex and Igla MANPADS.

The ship can conduct electronic warfare using the PK-10 passive jamming system and the TK-25E shipborne electronic jamming system.

“The ship provides for the possibility of basing the Ka-27PS helicopter. The ship is equipped with the most modern complexes of radio-technical and hydroacoustic weapons, ”the Defense Ministry's website says.

  • The Ka-27PS helicopter of the Pacific Fleet lands on the deck of the cruiser Varyag during the exercise
  • RIA News
  • © Vitaly Ankov

The defense department also noted that during the construction of Project 22160 ships in Russia, for the first time, they began to use a modular concept that allows you to quickly change the set of weapons. Including, as noted by some media outlets, launchers of Kalibr cruise missiles can be installed on ships.

“These are ships of the near sea zone. They are designed mainly for patrolling and protecting state borders, including the ability to arrest violators. The modular system allows you to expand the range of weapons. Including, according to the media, due to the installation of Caliber missiles, which seriously increases their combat potential, "military expert Yuri Knutov told RT in an interview.

The Pavel Derzhavin ship was laid down in February 2016. The launching ceremony took place on February 21, 2019. After the completion of state tests, the ship will enter service with the Black Sea Fleet to guard the water area of ​​the Novorossiysk naval base of the Black Sea Fleet.

The lead ship of the project was the Vasily Bykov. It was laid down in 2014 and handed over to the Navy in December 2018. The second vessel of this class was Dmitry Rogachev, which joined the Black Sea Fleet last year. As previously noted by representatives of the Zelenodolsk plant, the company plans to build the patrol ships Sergei Kotov, Viktor Veliky and Nikolai Sipyagin.

The production of "Sergei Kotov" is at the final stage: it is planned to launch it this year. According to experts, judging by the interval between the launching of ships of this series on the water and their transfer to the customer, "Sergey Kotov" can replenish the Russian Navy in 2021.

"Will reliably enter the structure of the Navy"

All six ships of Project 22160 are intended for the Black Sea Fleet. The region has traditionally been challenged in terms of security, analysts say. The main reason for this state of affairs is NATO's constant attempts to increase its presence here.

So, in the first half of July, the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Andriy Taran and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, during a telephone conversation, agreed to expand the presence of "forces and means" in the Black Sea. At the same time, warships of NATO countries, including the United States, regularly enter the Black Sea waters.

  • Patrol ship of project 22160 "Vasily Bykov"
  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

“The Black Sea Fleet is in a rather difficult situation. He constantly has to come into contact with NATO combat ships, which regularly indicate their presence there and conduct exercises, including with the participation of Ukraine. At the same time, they do not particularly hide who it is directed against, "Knutov explained.

According to experts, strengthening the composition of patrol ships is also relevant in light of a possible repetition of provocations like the one that Ukrainian sailors staged in the Kerch Strait in 2018. We will remind, then three Ukrainian ships tried to illegally cross the border of Russia, after which they were detained by Russian border guards.

In turn, the former deputy commander-in-chief of the Navy, Admiral Igor Kasatonov, in an interview with RT, noted that such ships are generally quite in demand in the Russian fleet.

“These ships have great autonomy, are equipped with a helipad, have modernization potential due to the modular system ... I think that due to its qualities this class will reliably enter the structure of the Navy, where it will be able to solve a wide range of tasks,” the analyst concluded.