The Warzone/The Drive: Russia's New Little Missile Packing Patrol Ship Is A Pretty Genius Design
The ships can carry containerized missile systems and can be outfitted with vertical launch surface-to-air missiles, but are half the size of an LCS.
Russia is constructing half a dozen Project 22160 patrol boats that leverage an innovative and compact design that provides a lot of capability and potentially a huge amount of combat punch in a relatively small seaframe. The concept is innovative enough that it should be studied by western navies as a source of inspiration for their own future multi-role combat vessels.
Displacing just 1,300 tons, and at 308 feet long, these vessels sport stealthy features and have a range of 6,000 miles. They can stay at sea for 60 days while housing a crew complement of approximately 80 people. They aren't slowpokes either and can hit speeds of up to 30 knots.
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WNU Editor: In short .... this patrol ship can challenge the U.S. Navy's LCS fleet, and it packs everything that this new U.K. patrol boat does not .... Royal Navy Has Received the First Of Five New Gunboats Built To Protect Britain's Fishing Waters (March 27, 2018). And although the cost of this Russian patrol boat has not been disclosed, my gut tells me that it is cheap.
