Russian Navy Commissions Last Buyan-M Class Corvette
The Russian Navy officially commissioned the missile corvette Stavropol (hull 555) into the Baltic Fleet on 28 August. Admiral Aleksandr Moiseev directed the raising of the St. Andrew’s naval ensign during a ceremony in Baltiysk and signified Stavropol’s entry into service. Stavropol is the 12th and final ship of the Project 21631 Buyan-M class, completing the program of this upgraded corvette series. The ceremony also included other new ships, but Stavropol’s acceptance into the fleet is highlighted as the last Buyan-M to be built.
Stavropol is a small missile warship designed for coastal (littoral) and inland waterways operations. These corvettes were developed by the Zelenodolsk Design Bureau and built at the Zelenodolsk Shipyard in Tatarstan. The Buyan-M class are 74 meters long with about 950 tons of displacement and are larger than the original Buyan class. Their official role is to protect and patrol Russia’s coastal and river waters, including exclusive economic zones. They can operate close to shore or even sail through Russia’s inland waterways (like the Moscow Canal) to redeploy between seas.
Construction of Stavropol began under a 2016 contract. Its keel was laid on July 12, 2018, and it was launched on June 11, 2024. The build ran into delays due to international sanctions. Originally intended to use German MTU diesel engines, the shipbuilders first switched to Chinese engines, and eventually to new Russian Kolomna diesels. Stavropol was transported by river barge to the Baltic Sea after launch and underwent sea trials in December 2024. It was formally handed over to the Navy in mid-2025 with the flag-raising ceremony in August 2025 marking its full commissioning.
Stavropol’s weapons and systems give it a punch for its size. Its main vertical launch system (VLS) has eight missile cells capable of firing a mix of cruise missiles like the Russian Kalibr missiles for land strikes and Oniks anti-ship missiles. Stavropol carries a 100mm A-190 naval gun for surface targets, an AK-630M-2 close-in weapon system (CIWS) against incoming missiles or aircraft, and two 3M-47 Gibka launchers for short-range air defense (firing Igla or Verba missiles) for direct combat and defense. It even has mounts for machine guns and can launch small surveillance drones to extend its radar horizon.
Smaller ships like Buyan-M corvettes are more affordable and faster to build than larger surface combatants. Stavropol provides Russia with a mobile missile platform capable of patrolling coastal areas. The commissioning of Stavropol marks the completion of Russia’s planned Buyan-M series and highlights a naval strategy centered on agile and heavily armed corvettes instead of larger surface ships.