Grachonok-class (Project 21980)

Project 21980 Grachonok is a class of anti-saboteur and guard boats built for the Russian Navy and the National Guard of Russia. Developed to secure naval bases and assist the FSB Border Service of Russia in state border protection, the class entered production in 2008 at the Zelenodolsk Shipyard. Production was subsequently expanded to the Vympel Shipyard and Vostochnaya Verf. The first vessel entered service in 2009, and construction has continued with subsequent orders, including a 2017 procurement of four boats for the National Guard and an August 2024 contract for additional navy vessels.

The class is designed to detect and combat underwater sabotage forces and conventional threats in the waters immediately surrounding naval bases and their approaches. To perform these tasks, the vessels are equipped with navigational radar, optoelectronic television monitoring systems, and both hull-mounted and towed sonar systems designed for anti-saboteur detection. Standard armament consists of a heavy machine gun, manual and remotely-controlled grenade launchers, and man-portable air-defense systems. Propulsion is provided by twin diesel engines driving two shafts.

Grachonok-class boats are deployed across the Baltic Fleet, Black Sea Fleet, Northern Fleet, Pacific Fleet, and the Caspian Flotilla. The National Guard of Russia operates its units in the Black Sea, where they are designated for the protection of the Crimean Bridge.

During the Russo-Ukrainian War, several vessels of the class were involved in active operations and sustained damage. In August 2023, the Black Sea Fleet vessel P-349 Suvorovets was reportedly damaged during a drone attack near the port of Novorossiysk. On approximately 18 April 2026, a drone attack conducted by the Ukrainian Alpha Group in occupied Crimea likely damaged another Grachonok-class boat. In other regional deployments, the Black Sea Fleet vessel P-191 Kadet operated in the Mediterranean Sea, where it was stationed at the Tartus naval base in Syria.