The Nanuchka I class was a series of missile corvettes built for the Soviet Navy and export customers between 1969 and
1981. These ships were designed around the SS-N-9 antiship missile, while export versions used the SS-N-2 of inferior
prestations. The SS-N-9 has a range of 150 nautical miles and it requires mid-course guidance to strike targets "beyond
the horizon". These ships served as complement of the antisubmarine corvettes of the classes Grisha I and Grisha II,
being an adequate mobile defense of the Soviet/Russian coasts until their retirement in the 1990s.
These ships took into account the lessons learned in occassion of the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1973. It was required a
larger ship equipped with electronic devices of higher quality and more sophisticated missiles. With a much larger hull
than the patrol boats of the Osa class, they carried not only a much more effective missile but also artillery armament.
The larger hull should allow to operate in rougher waters and the wide beam would allow for a stable firing platform.
In the illustration the SA-N-4 pop-up launcher is not visible, being hidden on its "silo" at prow.
Nanuchka I class: 17 units (Grad, Grom, Groza, Metel, Molniya, MRK-3, MRK-7, Musson, Raduga, Shkval, Shtorm, Tayfun,
Tsiklon, Vikhr, Volna, Zarnitsa, Zarya); 10 units for export (MRK-9, MRK-15, MRK-21, MRK-22, MRK-23, MRK-24, MRK-25, Priboy, Priliv, Uragan)
Type: Missile corvette/patrol boat
Length: 59.3 meters
Beam: 12.6 meters
Draught: 3 meters
Displacement (standard): 569 tonnes
Propulsion: 3 x shaft, 3 x Diesel engine M-507, 30000 horsepower
Speed: 35 knots (64.8 kilometers/hour)
Range: 3400 nautical miles (6300 kilometers) at 12 knots
Complement: 60
Armament (Nanuchka I): 6 x SS-N-9 surface-to-surface missile launcher, 1 x twin SA-N-4 surface-to-air missile launcher, 1 x twin AK-257 57-millimeter dual-purpose cannon
Armament (Nanuchka I export): 4 x SS-N-2 SSM launcher, 1 x twin SA-N-4 SAM launcher, 1 x twin AK-257 57-millimeter DP cannon
Armament (Nanuchka III): 6 x SS-N-9 SSM launcher, 1 x twin SA-N-4 SAM launcher, 1 x AK-176 76-millimeter DP cannon, 1 x AK-630 CIWS 30-millimeter cannon
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