Russia Set to Float out 2nd Stealth Corvette

St. Petersburg's Severnaya Verf shipyard will float out on Wednesday a new corvette featuring stealth technology, a Russian Navy spokesman said.

The Soobrazitelny is the second Project 20380 corvette designed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau.

"The corvette features innovative solutions regarding hull design, armament, communications and electronics," the spokesman said.

The first Project 20380 corvette, the Steregushchy, was put into service with Russia's Baltic Fleet in October 2008, and two other ships of the same series, the Boyky and the Stoyky, are under construction.

The Project 20380 corvette can be deployed to destroy enemy surface ships, submarines and aircraft, and to provide artillery support for beach landings. It uses stealth technology to reduce the ship's secondary radar field, as well as its acoustic, infrared, magnetic and visual signatures.

Russia plans to have up to 30 vessels of this class to ensure the protection of its coastal waters, as well as its oil and gas transportation routes, especially in the Black and the Baltic seas.

Each corvette has a displacement of 2,000 metric tons, maximum speed of 27 knots, and a crew of 100.