Will another Russian corvette make it to the Baltic?

We have repeatedly reported in Defence24 that, due to funding constraints, the implementation of Russian naval armament programmes is facing significant delays. This ceremony serves as another example. In 2014, the shipyard in Komsomolsk-on-Amur received an order for the construction of four Project 20380 corvettes. These were commissioned into the Pacific Fleet in 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2023, respectively (the latter two being the modernised variant). Organisationally, they were assigned to the 114th Water Area Protection Ship Brigade.

As early as 2020, the Russian Ministry of Defence ordered six additional corvettes from this shipyard: two of the modernised Project 20380 and four of Project 20385. Initially, work commenced with momentum, as three keels were laid in 2021, two more in 2022, and the final sixth keel in 2023. However, the shift in military spending priorities triggered by the war with Ukraine has significantly curtailed the pace of ship construction. The Russian Navy does not play a vital role in this war, and priority has decisively shifted towards land forces and unmanned systems. As a result, the launching operation for the first of the six ordered corvettes has only just begun. The remaining vessels are in various stages of construction within the shipyard workshops.

The keel of the corvette Grozny was laid on 23 August 2021. Its current launch indicates that its construction cycle within the workshop lasted five years and two months. For a vessel of this size, this is a bizarrely slow pace. To be precise, it should be noted that the ceremony on 23 October 2026 consisted of the ship’s naming and its symbolic roll-out from the workshop. The actual physical launching operation at this shipyard is conducted separately. The vessel is moved from the workshop onto a floating dock, from which it is then launched.

The hull number of the corvette Grozny suggests a possible change in assignment

In the released videos and photographs, the corvette Grozny has been assigned the tactical (hull) number 551. This is somewhat surprising, as the four ships of this type already built for the 114th Brigade received tactical numbers from a different series beginning with the digit 3. These include: Sovershenny (333), Gromky (335), Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii Aldar Tsydenzhapov (339), and Rezkiy (343). In Russia, tactical numbers are not assigned sequentially, but the Russians generally maintain the same first digit for a specific fleet or a particular ship division or brigade.

This is further supported by the tactical number of another Project 20385 corvette, also assigned to the 114th Brigade but built in the Baltic—specifically at the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg. This corvette was named Gremyashchiy and assigned the tactical number 337.

Conversely, corvettes built at the same shipyard for the Baltic Fleet received tactical numbers starting with the digit 5. These are: Steregushchiy (530, currently 550), Soobrazitelny (531), Boikiy (545), and Stoikiy (545). Meanwhile, the corvette Merkuriy, built for the Black Sea Fleet, was assigned the tactical number 735. It initially bore the number 535 and was likely intended for the Baltic Fleet. Despite the change to 735 and its official assignment to the Black Sea Fleet, it remains in the Baltic as there is no way for it to reach the Black Sea.

In summary, a total of 23 corvettes from this family have been ordered to date from shipyards in St. Petersburg and Komsomolsk-on-Amur, including 14 Project 20380 corvettes, 8 Project 20385, and one Project 20386. So far, only 10 have entered service: five with the Pacific Fleet (with numbers starting with 3), four with the Baltic Fleet (with numbers starting with 5), and one formally with the Black Sea Fleet (with a number starting with 7). Only two additional corvettes are currently in the water undergoing outfitting: the Project 20385 corvette Provorniy in the Baltic and the aforementioned corvette Grozny (551) in the Pacific.

Initial announcements suggested that both would be assigned to the Pacific Fleet. However, the painting of the number 551 on the hull of the Grozny may indicate that it will instead be sent to the Baltic. This will be confirmed in time—likely later rather than sooner, as outfitting and commissioning will take at least a dozen or so months. Given current Russian construction cycles, this process could even take several dozen months.