41st Missile Ship Brigade
Unit Identification and Role
The 41st Missile Ship Brigade (military unit 72165) is a surface combatant formation of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet based principally at Sevastopol, Crimea. Its mission set centers on coastal defense, sea-denial within the northwestern Black Sea, and theater strike using cruise missiles, executed by small missile ships (MRK) and missile boats (RK). The brigade combines high-speed anti-ship platforms with vertical-launch cruise-missile carriers to provide layered offensive capability under the cover of shore-based air defense.
Organizational Structure
The brigade comprises at least two subordinate formations: the 166th Small Missile Ship Division (MRK) and the 295th Missile Ship Division (RK). The 166th fields Project 1239 Bora-class air-cushion missile ships and small missile ships of Projects 21631 Buyan-M and 22800 Karakurt; the 295th consolidates Project 1241 Molniya (Tarantul) missile boats. The brigade is subordinate to the Sevastopol Naval Base command within the Black Sea Fleet.
Basing and Facilities
Primary basing is at Sevastopol (Crimea), with mooring and support at facilities such as Karantinnaya and Severnaya bays and access to Sevastopol’s ship repair plants (including Sevmorzavod and the 13th Ship Repair Plant). Dispersal and auxiliary basing have been observed at Novorossiysk (Krasnodar Krai), Feodosia, and the Donuzlav/Novoozernoye naval area on Crimea’s western coast. Project 22800 units for the Black Sea Fleet were constructed at Kerch’s Zaliv shipyard and at Feodosia’s More shipyard. Crimea is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine; Russia has occupied and administers these facilities.
Order of Battle (as publicly reported)
166th Small Missile Ship Division: Project 1239 Bora-class Bora (hull 615) and Samum (616); Project 21631 Buyan-M small missile ships Vyshny Volochyok (609), Orekhovo-Zuyevo (626), Ingushetia (630), and Grayvoron (600); Project 22800 Karakurt small missile ships for the Black Sea Fleet include Tsiklon (commissioned 2023), Askold (launched and subsequently damaged in 2023), and Amur (under construction as of 2024). 295th Missile Ship Division: Project 1241 Molniya missile boats Shuya (962), R-60 (955), Naberezhnye Chelny (953), and Ivanovets (954; confirmed lost in January 2024). Ship assignments and painted hull numbers are subject to change in wartime; the above reflects widely reported dispositions through 2024.
Platform Capabilities — Project 1239 Bora-class
Project 1239 (Bora/Sivuch) are surface-effect air-cushion missile ships optimized for high-speed anti-ship strike in littoral waters. Typical characteristics include full load displacement around 1,050–1,260 tons, length about 64 meters, and speeds exceeding 45–50 knots. Standard armament comprises eight P-270 Moskit (SS-N-22) supersonic anti-ship missiles, one 76 mm gun (AK-176), close-in weapon systems (AK-630), and short-range Osa-MA surface-to-air missiles. The class’s high sprint speed and heavy anti-ship load provide rapid-reaction sea-denial capability, offset by limited endurance and sea-keeping in higher sea states.
Platform Capabilities — Project 21631 Buyan-M
Project 21631 Buyan-M small missile ships displace roughly 950 tons, are about 74 meters in length, and carry an eight-cell 3S14 vertical launch system (UKSK) able to fire Kalibr-NK land-attack and anti-ship variants and, in Russian service, P-800 Oniks. Additional armament typically includes a 76 mm AK-176MA gun, AK-630 CIWS, and a short-range MANPADS-based Gibka mount. Sensors include navigation and surface-search radars and the Mineral/Monolit target-acquisition complex. These ships have been used extensively for long-range Kalibr strikes, trading oceanic endurance and air-defense depth for significant precision-strike reach from coastal waters.
Platform Capabilities — Project 22800 Karakurt
Project 22800 Karakurt small missile ships are roughly 800 tons full load with an eight-cell 3S14 UKSK launcher for Kalibr-family and compatible missiles, a 76 mm A-190 gun, and, on later units, the Pantsir-M short-range naval air-defense system (earlier units carry AK-630). The class emphasizes improved seakeeping and speed relative to Buyan-M while retaining the same eight-tube strike battery. For the Black Sea Fleet, Tsiklon entered service in 2023; Askold suffered heavy damage in a November 2023 strike while fitting out at Kerch; Amur remained under construction through 2024.
Platform Capabilities — Project 1241 Molniya (Tarantul)
Project 1241 Molniya missile boats (various subvariants) displace approximately 500 tons, reach speeds above 38–40 knots, and are armed in Russian service with four P-270 Moskit anti-ship missiles on most Black Sea Fleet units, a 76 mm AK-176 gun, AK-630 CIWS, and Osa-MA short-range SAM. Their primary role is fast anti-ship attack and coastal patrol within defended littorals. Limited air-defense and sensor suites constrain independent operations in high-threat environments, anchoring them to shore-based air and electronic warfare support.
Strike Capacity and Weapons Effects
Within the brigade, the principal land-attack capability resides in the UKSK-equipped Project 21631 and 22800 ships. Four operational Buyan-M hulls provide 32 vertical-launch cells collectively; an additional Karakurt adds eight more when available. The 3M14 Kalibr-NK land-attack missile has a reported domestic-range envelope exceeding 1,500 km, while export-limited variants are capped at 300 km; anti-ship options include 3M54 Kalibr and P-800 Oniks. The Bora and Molniya units furnish supersonic anti-ship strike via P-270 Moskit, optimized for maritime targets within several hundred kilometers depending on launch conditions. Actual salvo size at any given time depends on load-out, readiness, and platform availability.
Operational Employment since 2014
The brigade’s small missile ships have been integral to Black Sea Fleet operations since Russia’s 2014 seizure of Crimea and throughout the 2022–2024 war against Ukraine. Buyan-M units repeatedly conducted Kalibr strikes against targets in Ukraine from Black Sea and, at times, from protected berths. Bora-class and Molniya boats have patrolled and enforced sea-denial around Crimea and the northwestern Black Sea, including activity near Snake Island in 2022. Heightened threat from Ukrainian long-range fires and uncrewed surface/aerial systems has driven frequent dispersal, movement under darkness, and increased reliance on coastal air-defense coverage.
Losses and Damage (publicly documented 2023–2024)
The missile boat Ivanovets (Project 1241, hull 954) was destroyed on 31 January 2024 near the Donuzlav area of western Crimea in a multi-vehicle uncrewed surface attack; geolocated video evidence confirmed the loss. The Karakurt-class Askold suffered severe damage during a 4 November 2023 strike on the Zaliv shipyard at Kerch while still fitting out. On 14 September 2023, Ukrainian sources reported damaging the Bora-class Samum with a surface drone near Sevastopol; Russian authorities claimed the attack was repelled and the ship remained afloat thereafter; the extent of damage has not been independently verified. On 19 May 2024, Ukrainian authorities stated the Karakurt-class Tsiklon was destroyed in Sevastopol; subsequent satellite and imagery analysis indicated a Karakurt-class ship was heavily damaged at the site, though Russian officials did not confirm a loss.
Force Protection and Basing Adaptations
In response to persistent Ukrainian stand-off and uncrewed-vehicle threats, Black Sea Fleet units—including those of this brigade—have adopted layered harbor defenses (booms, nets, floating barriers), enhanced point air defense with systems such as Pantsir-S1 deployed ashore near piers, electronic warfare emitters around key approaches, and routine dispersal to Novorossiysk and intra-Crimea anchorages. Vessels commonly sortie under adverse weather or at night to reduce detection and attack risk, and many piers exhibit decoys and smoke-generation equipment in open-source imagery.
Constraints and Vulnerabilities
Small missile ships and missile boats have limited organic air defense and electronic-warfare depth, rendering them dependent on coastal integrated air defense for survivability. Seakeeping limitations restrict sustained operations in high sea states, particularly for the Bora-class at speed. Confined waters and predictable transit routes around Sevastopol and western Crimea increase exposure to mines and uncrewed surface attacks. Maintenance afloat, ammunition resupply for UKSK, and repairs are constrained by the capacity and vulnerability of Crimean shipyards under long-range strike threat.
Nomenclature and Data Notes
The label 'Tsirkon 633' in some open sources appears to conflate the 3M22 Tsirkon (Zircon) missile name with the Project 22800 ship Tsiklon assigned to the Black Sea Fleet. No Project 22800 unit named 'Tsirkon' is publicly listed for the Black Sea Fleet as of 2024. Painted hull numbers on Russian small combatants can change and may not be unique identifiers over time; wartime reassignments and repairs further complicate unit tracking.
Legal and Geopolitical Note
The brigade’s primary garrison and several support facilities are located in Crimea, a territory Russia has occupied since 2014 and whose annexation is not internationally recognized. This status affects external reporting, access, and the legal context of operations and basing, and it explains the scarcity of official Russian confirmations regarding losses or damage to units based there.
Intelligence Gaps and Confidence
Open-source details on exact manning, ammunition load-outs, readiness states, and current basing of individual hulls are limited and variable due to wartime operational security and rapid relocations. Most platform specifications are consistent with published class data. Loss and damage assessments for Samum and Tsiklon rely on Ukrainian official statements corroborated to varying degrees by imagery; absence of Russian confirmation necessitates cautious phrasing.