Until 2028, the Russian Pacific Fleet will receive six corvettes capable of carrying Zircon hypersonic missiles. This was reported by Interfax with reference to the Ministry of Defense.
According to the contract with PJSC Amur Shipyard, the Pacific Fleet from 2024 to 2028 will receive two corvettes of project 20380 and four corvettes of project 20385.
The ministry said that these modern ships are equipped with the latest MFRLK radar system, the Redut anti-aircraft missile system, the Uran anti-ship complex, the Paket-NK anti-submarine missile system and universal launchers – they are capable of carrying Zircon missiles. In October, the American magazine Popular Mechanics wrote that the speed of the Zircon was terrifying, but the US Navy is looking into intercepting the weapon.
The amount of the contract is currently unknown, but earlier it was reported that 22.6 billion rubles would be spent on the manufacture of the lead ship of the project 20385 “Thundering”.
In October 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Project 20385 “Thundering” corvette, which is being built for the Russian Pacific Fleet, will receive the Zircon hypersonic missile. The patrol ships of the near sea zone (corvettes) of project 20380 are designed to combat surface ships and submarines, as well as for fire support during amphibious operations.
