The Buyan-M Corvette, or Project 21631, has a shallow draught so it can sail the Caspian Sea. However, this compact new-generation ‘hell-raiser’ is incredibly flexible for today’s changing warfare conditions. Equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, the Buyan-M is surprisingly versatile and has allowed it to be deployed in the Syrian war.
With Combat Approved, climb on board the Grad Sviyazhsk to test the Kalibr, A-190 100 mm guns, and the Duet double-barrelled 30 mm defence system during exercises with the Caspian Sea Fleet. Visit the design bureau and plant that make the Buyan-M. And learn more about the extra stealth and defensive features that make it effective against adversaries on land and sea, and in the air.
This ship of Project 21631 is dedicated to the defense of national economic zones and its main purpose is engagement of surface warships. This is going to be an up-to-date ship armed with missile and artillery weapons, and equipped with electronic countermeasure equipment. The Buyan-M class corvettes are said to be armed with nuclear-capable Kalibr cruise missiles (NATO code name Sizzler) with a claimed range of at least 1,500 km. The ships’ small size and displacement enable them to operate within inland river systems, including traversing the Moscow Canal which allows them to deploy to various seas around western Russia.
This is a particular advantage for the Buyan-M series, because while the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty prohibits long-range cruise missiles from operating on land they can operate from ships, so a river-based corvette can deploy missiles without being subject to restrictions.The yard will build five ships including the lead one, since a contract was approved by the Russian defense ministry on 26 May 2010. One of the export variants of Project 21630, called Project 21632 “Tornado”, will be purchased by Kazakhstan.
