The Russian Severnaya Verf Shipyard handed over Project 20380 corvette Merkury to the Russian Navy.

The Russian propaganda media reported this.

Project 20380 corvette was laid down in 2015 by order of the Russian Navy. According to plans, the warship was supposed to enter the service of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, but its current prospects are unknown.

The corvette Merkury was launched on March 12, 2020, after which the corvette and the test team underwent numerous sea trials.

On May 10, 2023, the act of acceptance of the state tests of the corvette built at the Severnaya Verf Shipyard was signed, which marked the successful passing of the tests and the transfer of the vessel to the service of the Russian Navy.

The corvette’s team and military sailors recently finished testing and checking the ship’s systems, including weapon systems and special equipment, conducted the inspection, and prepared the corvette Merkury to be handed over to the crew.

The Mercury is the Project 20380 fifth corvette. The previous four corvettes – Steregushchiy, Soobrazitelny, Stoikiy, and Boikiy – are in service with the Baltic Fleet.

Project 20380 Steregushchy Class Corvettes

The Mercury is a multirole vessel of the Project 20380 Steregushchy Class Corvettes, designed by the Russian Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau.

Corvettes with a displacement of 1,800 tons are designed to detect and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships, provide support for amphibious assault operations, and solve various tasks in the near sea zone.

Project 20380 corvettes, including the Mercury, are armed with the Redut surface-to-air missile system, which ensures the interception of air targets at a distance of up to 150 kilometers and at an altitude of up to 30 kilometers. The ammunition of this air defense system also includes 9M96 and 9M100 missiles, capable of shooting down ballistic missiles at ranges of up to 30 kilometers.

The Uran missile system with 8 Kh-35 anti-ship cruise missiles with a range of up to 260 km is mounted on the ship of this project for anti-submarine warfare.

The main forward-fitted gun is an Arsenal A-190 100mm naval gun, with a rate of fire of 80 rounds per minute.

The anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the corvette are provided by the Packet-NK torpedo system. It consists of two 324-mm torpedo tubes located on the sides of the ship. A Ka-27 helicopter is also used to search for and destroy an enemy submarine.

The corvette’s crew consists of 100 people, including 14 officers. The ship’s endurance is 15 days.