Russia Equips Grachonok-Class Patrol Boats With Anti-Drone Nets

Russian forces have equipped Project 21980 Grachonok-class anti-sabotage boats with nets designed to counter Ukrainian drones.

Serhii Sternenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, published photos on social media.

These vessels are responsible for securing the waters around the illegally constructed bridge linking occupied Crimea with Russian territory.

Following a strike by a Ukrainian naval drone on the night of April 30, nine crew members aboard a Russian Grachonok-class boat were killed, and two others were wounded.

The boats are equipped with Kalmar hydroacoustic systems and Anapa stations to monitor underwater activity and detect combat divers and saboteurs.

The boat is armed with a 14.5 mm MTPU heavy machine gun, DP-65A and DP-64 anti-saboteur grenade launchers, as well as Igla and Verba man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS).

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet operates nine Grachonok-class boats, including the one destroyed in the April 30 attack. Another four boats serve with the Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation under the command of Russia’s Southern Federal District.