All small missile ships of the Russian Navy will be armed with Pantsir-M anti-aircraft missile systems which has already successfully passed tests on the ship of the Karakurt project.

The first ship of the project named the Cyclone was handled to the Russian Navy this month at the Butoma Shipbuilding Plant in Kerch (part of the Ak Bars Corporation). According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov who headed the ceremony, “the ship will strengthen the surface component of the Black Sea Fleet and will effectively fulfill the tasks for its intended purpose as part of the detachments and naval units.

Earlier, the Ak Bars shipbuilding corporation CEO Renat Mistakhov stated “the Cyclone would be the first vessel of Karakurt project 22800, armed with a naval version of the Pantsir-M anti-aircraft missile and gun system”. According to him, the corporation is to fulfill a state order for the construction of five ships of the project 22800. Cyclone was the fourth in the series.

The small missile vessels of the Karakurt project 22800 are designed to perform tasks both as part of naval formations as well as solely. They are armed with the Kalibr (Caliber) high-precision long-range supersonic cruise missiles designed to destroy sea and coastal targets. The Pantsir-M anti-aircraft missile and gun system is to provide the ship’s air defense from all types of the targets including smart weapons. (Yury Laskin - Laguk-Media; Photo: The Pantsir-M Anti-Aircraft Missile-Gun System onboard the Karakurt Small Missile Vessel © Yury Laskin)