Grachonok to Join Black Sea Fleet on May 7

17.04.2012 The ensign-hoisting ceremony on special-purpose boat Grachonok will be held on May 7, a source in Black Sea Fleet HQ told Central Navy Portal.

Project 21980 anti-terror boat Grachonok (serial number 982) is the second vessel in the series. The boat was built in Tatarstan at JSC Zelenodolsk Shipyard.

Lead boat of the project – P-104 – has been serving in Leningrad Naval Base since 2009. She took part in the International Maritime Defense Show 2011 and aroused great interest of experts and guests.

Main purpose of Grachonok-class boats is countering terrorist forces and facilities in basing sites of Russian Navy.

The project developer is Vympel Design Bureau (Nizhniy Novgorod). Up-to-date equipment and perfect navigability make those boats capable to perform wide range of tasks typical for larger vessels.

At present, Zelenodolsk Shipyard constructs the third Project 21980 boat meant for Black Sea Fleet.

Project 21980 anti-terror boat (serial number 982) was laid down in Zelenodolsk on May 7, 2010; launched in July 2011 and transferred to Novorossiysk for delivery trials. The acceptance certificate was signed in Oct 2011.

Basic characteristics of Project 21980 special-purpose boat:

Displacement: 139 tons
Dimensions: length – 31.05 meters; beam – 7.4 meters; draft – 1.85 meters
Full speed: 23 knots
Operating range: 200 miles
Endurance: 5 days
Armament: Igla SAM system (4 surface-to-air missiles), 14.5-mm pedestal machine gun mount, DP-65A counter-terror grenade launcher, DP-64 grenade launcher
Radioelectronics: MR-231 navigation radar, MT-201 optoelectronic observation system, Calmar sonar, Anapa counter-terror dipping sonar
Crew: 6 men