A new ‘Stupinets’ corvette of the Molniya Project 12418 has been launched in Russia at the Vympel shipyard in Rybinsk.

This is reported by Media Deck.

The boat was named after the town of Stupino, near Moscow.

The new boat shares its name with the Russian Navy’s long-standing Project 1241.1T corvette, which has been stationed in the Caspian Sea.

According to the Russian version of Wikipedia, the Project 12411T corvette of the same name was decommissioned in 2023. However, no sources were cited for this information.

The corvette has been in service since 1985, was laid down in 1982, and was launched in 1984 at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard in St. Petersburg.

This means that the new ‘Stupinets’ missile boat is intended to maintain continuity with previous missile boats of the same name.

It is claimed that the designers from the Almaz design bureau have modified the Project 12418, which is apparent even when comparing the boats built for Vietnam and Turkmenistan.

This is also reflected in the altered placement of the anti-ship missile complex launchers and the number of launchers for anti-ship missiles.

The missile boats of the Vietnamese and Turkmen navies each have 16 anti-ship missile launchers, whereas the Russian version features only 8. Additionally, on the Russian boats, the launchers are positioned perpendicular to the hull, necessitating changes in the ship’s architecture.

It is claimed that they also improved living conditions for the team, installed a new artillery unit, and provided navigation and communication equipment.

These missile systems, armed with Kh-35 anti-ship missiles, are designed to combat surface forces, but during the large-scale aggression, there were cases of Russians using them against ground targets.

They were launched from airborne carriers over the territory of our country. Its characteristics can be compared to the Kh-59 aircraft missile.

As for the launch of the ‘Stupynets’ missile boat of the Molniya project 12418, it is worth recalling that two hulls—01301 and 01302—were laid at the Rybinsk plant back in 1991–1992.

They were built under the export Project 12421, but because no customer was found, they remained idle at the plant for more than 20 years.

In 2016, it was decided to complete them according to an updated design for the needs of the Russian Navy.

Initially, it was stated that they would be commissioned in 2018, but as of 2019, this has not been done, and the work has effectively stopped.

In 2020, it was reported that work on the boats was actually stopped due to the lack of M-507A diesel engines. At the same time, forecasts were made that the launch would take place in 22-23. Even those deadlines were not realized, and the launch took place only in the second half of 2024.