Project 22160-class

Project 22160 is a series of large patrol ships built for the Russian Navy, designed for patrol, monitoring and protection duties in open and closed seas. The first ship, Vasily Bykov, was laid down in February 2014 and joined the fleet in December 2018. The design emphasizes modularity: containerized mission modules can be embarked to tailor the ship for different tasks, from sonar and torpedo packages to anti-ship or cruise missiles, and there are accommodations for 60 additional personnel, a landing speedboat, and provisions for aerial, surface and underwater drones.

Baseline armament is light for the ships' size: a 76.2 mm AK-176MA dual-purpose gun, machine guns and anti-saboteur grenade launchers, with a helicopter deck and hangar for a Ka-27 or Ka-226. Proposed fits include Kalibr-NK cruise missile cells and the Shtil-1 air defence system, though these were not installed on the ships as delivered.

The class became one of the most visible Russian units of the war in Ukraine — and one of the most battered. Vasily Bykov took part in the attack on Snake Island on the first day of the invasion. Pavel Derzhavin was damaged in October 2023, and on 5 March 2024 Ukrainian Magura V5 unmanned surface vehicles sank Sergey Kotov near the Kerch Strait. After the loss of the cruiser Moskva, Tor-M2KM surface-to-air missile systems were strapped onto the helicopter decks of the surviving ships to compensate for their weak air defences.

The experience proved damning: in June 2022 the Russian Navy abandoned plans to order six additional ships, citing insufficient seaworthiness, light protection and inadequate air defences. The class nevertheless remains in service in the Black Sea Fleet, with additional hulls completing at a slow pace.