The Iranian Navy deployed the destroyer "Deylaman," the patrol ship "Shahid Nazeri," and the missile boat "Joshan" to patrol the northern and central parts of the Caspian Sea. According to the Ministry of Defense, the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy was represented by small artillery ships of Project 21630, "Volgodonsk" and "Astrakhan."
The military sailors jointly addressed tasks related to protecting key maritime communications, controlling shipping, and combating piracy.
Over the course of the day, elements of joint maneuvering, defense, and protection of a group of warships at sea were practiced, with sequential transfer of control from the Russian side to representatives of the Iranian Navy and back. At the conclusion of the patrol, the crews of the Russian and Iranian ships performed a farewell ritual on reciprocal courses and headed to their bases.
Earlier in the summer of 2024, Russian naval sailors had already conducted a Russian-Chinese maritime patrol and, together with Indian colleagues, conducted exercises in the Gulf of Finland.
Project 21630
Project 21630 (code "Buyan") is a development of FSUE "Zelenodolsk Design Bureau." The ship was designed with high seaworthiness and the ability to navigate in the shallow depths of the Volga and Caspian Sea.
The characteristics of the ships of the project are as follows:
- displacement — from 420 t (standard) to 508 t (full);
- length — 61.8 m;
- width — 9.6 m;
- height — 6.57 m;
- speed — from 12 knots (economic) and 26 knots (full);
- range — 1500 miles (at a speed of 12 knots);
- endurance — 10 days.
From the military equipment, the following should be noted:
- Orlan-10 UAVs;
- missile armament — 3M-47 Gibka SAM, Igla-S or Igla-1M SAMs, Grad-M MLRS, as well as unguided M-21OF rockets;
- anti-aircraft artillery — 30-mm AU AK-306;
- artillery — 100-mm AU A-190 "Universal", 14.5-mm MTPU KPV, as well as UOF-58 and UZS-58R rounds;
- electronic warfare equipment — GAS OPD "Anapa-M" and 120-mm PU PK-10 "Smely".
Also, the ships of the project have the Pozitiv radar and the Vympel radar, and the Sigma CICS.
Currently, Russia has three such small artillery ships in the Caspian Flotilla: "Astrakhan", "Volgodonsk", and "Makhachkala."
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