With the advent of rocket weapons, the confrontation at sea has acquired completely new accents. The rocket equalized the chances of the opponents, making both the sea giants and the ships of smaller classes equally vulnerable to a missile strike. For many countries, small rocket ships have become a real find, allowing for a short period to substantially increase the combat capabilities of their own fleets. Nor did the fleet of the Soviet Union stand aside. A whole subclass appeared in its composition - the ISC, which became for many years an effective means of countering the ships of the NATO countries in the Baltic and the Black Sea.
In modern conditions, the combat weight and importance of small ships have not lost their relevance. In the current Russian Navy of Russia are rocket ships of different classes that perform various combat missions. However, one of the leading places in the combat readiness of fleets today is occupied by small rocket ships. The most modern and promising in this direction is the project 21631. These ships have powerful rocket weapons and are capable, in spite of their small size, to carry out a huge amount of combat work. A vivid confirmation of this is the shooting of the ships of the Caspian military flotilla of the "Buyan-M" type with the "Caliber" missiles in the fall of 2018 at the targets of the terrorist group "ISIL" in Syria. Small ship onboard №023 "Velikiy Ustyug" made two combat launches of missiles, which are at a distance of 2000 km. exactly hit the target in the North-East of Syria.
Having powerful rocket armament on equipment, possessing other excellent tactical and technical characteristics, the new ships represent today the strike link of small surface forces.
Small missile ships IRAs Buyan M - a new concept of fleet development
The ship project 21631 received its real shape at the end of the first decade of the new century. By this time, the construction concept for the needs of the fleet of small displacement rocket ships had finally matured. The prototypes of the new ships were small missile ships of the Buyan type project 21630, which are in service with the Caspian military flotilla. According to the NATO classification, the courts received the cipher "Buyan class corvette".
Initially, warships were created as fleet combat units for action in the coastal maritime zone. Despite the fairly successful combat operation, ships of the "Buyan" type are mainly designed for operation in closed water areas. Small displacement of ships (no more than 500 tons) does not provide them with good seaworthiness. The modernization of the main project, which would give the ships not only improved seaworthiness, but also significantly increase the combat capabilities of ships of this class, was brewing. The first ships were built at the St. Petersburg shipyard "Almaz".
An improved project appeared within the walls of the Zelendol Design Bureau. The new project received the index 21631 and the cipher "Buyan-M". Shipbuilding plant in Zelenodolsk was chosen as the base enterprise for the project implementation.
Construction of the ships MRK Buyan M project 21631
Small military ships for the needs of the domestic navy, first in the Soviet Union, and later in Russia, were built at two enterprises, the St. Petersburg Almaz and the Zelenodolsk Shipbuilding Plant. These two enterprises have vast experience in the construction of small military vessels, which today are on the equipment of military fleets and flotillas. Currently, the factory capacity of the Zelenodolsk shipyard is working at full capacity. It is planned to add four new vessels at once to the five warships in the fleet over the next three years. The ninth ship of the project 21631 "Grayvoron" was laid quite recently, in April 2018. There is information that another tenth IRC "Grad" was founded in the spring of 2018. The entry of both ships is scheduled for 2019.
In total, the terms of the contract stipulate the construction of 12 ships of this class. The last two warships are still in the design documentation stage.
New project 21631 is a conceptually new technical solution. Rocket ship "Grad Sviyazhsk", which marked the beginning of a new successful series of warships, has a displacement of 1000 tons. The design of the ship is made using stealth technology, and the onboard armament complex has been significantly increased. The vessel was designed taking into account climatic and hydrographic features of the Caspian Sea and the Volga River system. At the same time, special emphasis in the creation of ships is given to the seaworthy qualities of ships. The MRK type "Buyan-M" increased the cruising range. The crew of the ship remained at the same level - 30-36 people. The autonomy of the vessel has remained - 10 days.
Water jets are specially installed on the ships, thanks to which the free action of warships in the conditions of shallow river and coastal marine zone is ensured.
Basic rate on "Caliber"
As a result of the creation of the project 21630 and its subsequent modernization, the concept of creating a seaworthy launch platform for Caliber cruise missiles was adopted as the basis. The increased seaworthiness of the new ships allowed them to perform combat missions in remote maritime theaters. Accordingly, the armament of the ships should have improved in quality. All five ships currently in service are armed with the Caliber long-range missile system equipped with ZM-14 cruise missiles. The rocket can be used as a sea and land shock complex.
The range of the Caliber cruise missiles installed on the new ships turns them into an effective strategic deterrent. The ship is able to hit targets at a distance of up to 2500 km, while in the waters of the Caspian and Black Sea. New ships, ships of the "Buyan-M" type "Orekhovo-Zuyevo", "Ingushetia" and "Grayvoron", which are planned to be put into operation in 2019-2020, should be supplied to the Black Sea Fleet and the Caspian military flotilla. Changes will be made to the structures of the remaining three vessels, hulls will be given shapes and contours, designed for difficult ice conditions.
Combat service of the MRK type "Buyan-M"
The first ship of the series was launched and delivered to military sailors in 2013. Behind him, two ships arrived in combat service with a difference of five months in 2014: the MRK Uglich and a ship of the same type, called the Great Ustyug. New ships have joined the Caspian military flotilla. Together with their older brothers, the MKR Project 21630 "Astrakhan," Makhachkala "and" Volgodonsk ", the new ships formed the shock detachment of Russian ships in the Caspian Sea.
Following the first three ships, it was decided to transfer the following new ships of the Buyan-M type to the Black Sea Fleet. The southern flank of Russia badly needed new ships that could take control of the entire Black Sea region and, if necessary, carry out military service at some distance from the main bases. The ship of the project 21631 "Green Dol" together with its fellow rocket ship "Serpukhov" in December 2018 joined the Black Sea Fleet, adding to the 41 brigade of missile boats.
Throughout 2018, the missile ship onboard number 603 "Serpukhov" performed combat missions as part of the operational unit of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean Sea. Together with the Zeleniy Dol, a similar type of radio communications company, the Serpukhov carried out in the summer of 2018, launching combat missiles from the Eastern Mediterranean region for terrorist targets in the territory of the Syrian Republic. However, the service of the Serpukhov interregional company as part of the Black Sea Fleet was short-lived. After a successful operation in the Mediterranean, it was decided to send a combat unit to the Baltic. Now the ship is based in Baltiysk and is part of the Baltic Fleet.
The construction ships of project 21631 "Ingushetia", "Grayvoron" and "Grad" decided to complete and hand over to the fleet. This was facilitated by the successful construction of previous vessels and the project that was developed on a production basis. The fate of the further construction of ships of this type is questionable. The next step is the new project MKR 22800 "Karakurt" - more powerful warships.
Small missile ships of the project 21631 type "Buyan-M" have become today one of the most massive projects. Despite its small size, the rocket ships turned out to be the most efficient and easy to use. Constructed as ships of the "river-sea" class and designed to operate in the coastal zone, the new ships proved their suitability for solving broader tactical tasks.
