Karakurt (Project 22800)

Project 22800 Karakurt is a Russian small missile ship and corvette program designed to add sea-based cruise-missile firepower in a compact hull. It followed the operational visibility of Buyan-M ships but was intended to offer better sea-keeping and a more dedicated naval combatant design.

Karakurt ships are small by frigate standards but can carry Kalibr-capable launch systems, gun armament, and point-defense weapons depending on variant. Their combat value comes from missile reach rather than endurance or layered fleet air defense. This gives Russia a way to distribute strike capability across many smaller platforms.

The class is important in Russian fleet planning because it can be built by yards that cannot produce large destroyers. Its limits are equally important: small ships have constrained sensor, air-defense, and damage-control margins, making them vulnerable if operating without wider protection.