68th Coastal Defense Ship Brigade - Georgiy Kurbatov

Georgiy Kurbatov - Pennant 631 Project 12700 Alexandrit class is one of the latest class of Russian minesweepers. This vessel was designed by Almaz and built at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard for the 68th Coastal Defense Ship Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. The main feature of the Project 12700 is a monolithic fibreglass hull which provides the vessel with a lighter hull and therefore a longer service life. The vessel has a maximum speed of 16.5 knots (31km/h) and a range of 1,600nmi (3,000km/1,800mi) at 10 knots (19km/h/12mph). The vessel is armed with 1 x 6 barreled 30mm AK-630 normally mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and directed by MR-123 radar for detection and tracking of targets. The main purpose of this armament is defense against anti-ship missiles and other precision guided weapon systems. The AK-630 can also be used more offensively against fixed/rotary wing aircraft and other targets.