The Czilim-class ACV (Project 20910) is a small patrol
hovercraft
A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces.
Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...
operated by the
Border Guard Service of Russia
The Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (PS FSB Rossii) (russian: Пограничная служба Федеральной службы безопасности Российской Федерации ( ...
.
Configuration
The Czilim class is the first new class of military hovercraft developed for the Russian military since the fall of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. It is based on an Almaz design and was ordered from Jaroslawski Sudostroiteinyj Zawod in the late 1990s. It is roughly the same size as the British
SR.N6
The Saunders-Roe (later British Hovercraft Corporation) SR.N6 hovercraft (also known as the ''Winchester'' class) was essentially a larger version of the earlier SR.N5 series. It incorporated several features that resulted in the type becoming ...
hovercraft.
The Czilim class was designed for border patrol duties on the
Amur River
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
on the border with China, and is expected to be used entirely by Russian Border Guards. It is intended as a smaller replacement for the Soviet . The first craft was laid down on 24 February 1998 and entered service in early 2001. Three further craft were built at Yaroslavl between 1997 and 1999. Four were in service in 2004, though none are believed to be currently operational.
The Czilim class is capable of carrying six Border Guards and their equipment.
See also
*
List of ships of the Soviet Navy
This is a list of ships and classes of the Soviet Navy.
Corvettes
In the Soviet Navy these were classified as small anti-submarine ships (MPK) or small missile ships (MRK).
* (projects 122A, 122bis)
* (project 204)
* (project 1124 ''Al'bat ...
*
List of ships of Russia by project number
The list of ships of Russia by project number includes all Russian ships by assigned project numbers. Ship descriptions are Russian assigned classifications when known. (The Russian term "проект" can be translated either as the cognate "pr ...
References
*
All Czilim class ACV - Complete Ship List
{{Soviet and Russian ships after 1945
Ships of the Border Guard Service of Russia
Military hovercraft