Steregushchiy-class (Project 20380)

The Steregushchiy class, designated Project 20380, is a series of multipurpose corvettes designed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau for the Russian Navy. Developed to replace the Grisha class, these vessels are constructed at the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg and the Amur Shipyard in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The class includes the Project 20381 domestic upgrade, the Project 20385 and 20386 developments, and the Project 20382 Tigr export variant.

The design utilizes a steel hull with a composite material superstructure and a bulbous bow. The internal structure is divided into nine watertight subdivisions. To reduce radar signature, the designers employed specific hull architecture and fire-resistant radar-absorbent fiberglass in the tophamper design. The vessels include a combined bridge and command center and a hangar for a Ka-27 helicopter. Mission capabilities encompass littoral zone operations, engagement of surface ships and submarines, and gun support for landing operations. The sensor suite has transitioned during production; starting with the Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov, ships received an upgraded mast containing the Zaslon radar system. While the lead ship carried the Kashtan CIWS, Project 20381 vessels transitioned to the Redut vertical launch system. Subsurface defense is provided by the Paket-NK anti-torpedo and anti-submarine system.

The lead ship, Steregushchiy, entered service with the Baltic Fleet in 2007. Baltic Fleet units have since conducted deployments to the Mediterranean and Red Seas and have operated in the North Sea and English Channel. In 2020, multiple units from this class participated in large-scale Russian Navy maneuvers alongside the Northern and Black Sea Fleets. Pacific Fleet vessels, including Sovershennyy and Gromkiy, operate in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk. These units have participated in bilateral exercises, including joint drills with the Chinese Navy in the East China Sea in 2022 and Exercise INDRA with the Indian Navy in 2025. In late 2024, Pacific Fleet corvettes conducted a port call in Malaysia to commemorate the Battle of Penang.

The Russian Navy has stated a requirement for at least 30 ships of this class to be distributed across all major fleets. Several hulls remain under construction or are in the process of being laid down, with some existing units reported to be undergoing modernization and refit. On 3 June 2026, Ukrainian long-range drones struck the Project 20380 corvette Boikiy in dry dock at Kronstadt, hitting her at least twice amidships, bringing down the integrated mast carrying her primary radar and electronic warfare systems and setting her ablaze; it was the first Ukrainian drone strike on a Baltic Fleet warship, mounted from more than 1,100 kilometres away. While an export contract for the Tigr variant was signed with Algeria in 2011, the status of those vessels remains unconfirmed in official service listings. Interest in the design has also been expressed by Indonesia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.