Naval Systems

Project 1265 Yakhont / Sonya-class minesweeper

Also known as
  • Project 1265 Yakhont
  • Sonya class
  • Sonya-class minesweeper
  • Sonya-class minehunter

The Project 1265 Yakhont, better known as the Sonya-class minesweeper, is a Soviet wooden-hulled coastal mine-countermeasure vessel family built for shallow-water sweeping and minehunting work. RussianShips.info traces the baseline and export lines through Avangard and Vladivostok shipyards, while USNI News identifies Ukraine's Sonya-class minehunter as one of the mine-warfare vessels lost during Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Project 1265 Yakhont / Sonya-class minesweeper, Coastal minesweeper / minehunter, Naval Systems
Image source: BT-232-2010-Vladivostok.jpg

Role in Conflicts

Crimea Mine-Countermeasure Loss Context

The Project 1265 loss fits a wider Ukrainian mine-warfare gap after Crimea. USNI News reported that Ukraine lost a Project 1265 Sonya-class minehunter, a Project 1258 Yevgenya-class minehunter, and two Project 266M Natya I-class minesweepers during the 2014 annexation.

Mine-countermeasure classUkrainian loss contextWhy it matters
Project 1265 Sonya-classOne Ukrainian minehunter lost in CrimeaConnects this class to Ukraine's 2014 naval losses rather than to later confirmed combat employment.
Project 1258 Yevgenya-classOne Ukrainian minehunter also reported lostShows that the loss affected both coastal and inshore mine-countermeasure capacity.
Project 266M Natya I-classTwo Ukrainian minesweepers also reported lostPlaces the Sonya-class loss inside a broader reduction of Ukrainian mine-warfare hulls.

Source: Eastern European Navies Expand as Russian Occupation of Ukraine Drags On.

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Soviet Union
Type
Coastal minesweeper / minehunter
Service note
1971-present
Produced
1971-1991
Number built
72 completed

Specifications

Displacement
400 tons standard; 450 tons full load
Length
48.8 m
Beam
8.8 m
Draught
2.1 m
Crew
43
Speed
15 knots
Range
3,000 nmi at 10 knots
Endurance
10 days
Propulsion
2 shaft diesel engines, 2,400 hp total
Sensors
Spin Trough radar and MG-89 sonar
Armament
Twin 30 mm guns, twin 25 mm guns, and mine-sweeping gear
Mine warfare equipment
GKT contact, acoustic, magnetic, and ST-series sweeps with KIU search-and-destroy equipment depending on hull and variant
Operator And Export Footprint

The class began as a Soviet coastal minesweeper design and later appeared across Russian, Ukrainian, Black Sea, Caspian, and export inventories. RussianShips.info records Project 1265 and Project 1265E hulls built at Avangard Shipyard in Petrozavodsk and Vladivostok Shipyard.

Operator groupDocumented connectionNotes
Soviet and Russian fleetsPrimary service lineageRussianShips.info lists hulls across the Baltic, Black Sea, Northern, Pacific, and Caspian formations, plus later decommissioning and coast-guard transfer notes.
Ukrainian NavyTwo former Soviet hullsMelitopol U330 and Mariupol U331 are listed as former Project 1265 hulls; RussianShips.info dates their decommissioning to 2013 and 2012 respectively.
Export usersProject 1265E and transferred hullsRussianShips.info lists Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Cuba, Syria, and Ethiopia among non-Russian operators or recipients.

Sources: Coastal minesweeper - Project 1265; Ukraine - Mine Warfare Ships.

Variants

Russian service and export references split the family between the baseline Project 1265 Yakhont and the Avangard-built Project 1265E export configuration, with several proposed derivatives left unrealized.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
Project 1265EExport configuration

RussianShips.info lists Project 1265E as an Avangard-built export configuration and notes differences in the sonar and sweep fit.

Sources: Coastal minesweeper - Project 1265

Project 1265P / 1265RP / 1265PTR / 1265KUnrealized derivative concepts

RussianShips.info lists several proposed patrol, transport, plastic-hull, and civil derivatives that were not completed as standard Sonya-class service variants.

Sources: Coastal minesweeper - Project 1265

Timeline

Project 1265 Yakhont / Sonya-class minesweeper Key Events

  1. Lead Project 1265 hull laid down

    RussianShips.info lists BT-123 at Avangard Shipyard as the first Project 1265 hull, laid down on September 1, 1971 and commissioned on December 31, 1972.

    Sources: Coastal minesweeper - Project 1265

  2. Project 1265E export line enters service

    RussianShips.info lists BT-737, the first Project 1265E hull in its export table, as commissioned on June 28, 1980.

    Sources: Coastal minesweeper - Project 1265

  3. Ukrainian hull identities recorded

    RussianShips.info identifies Ukraine's Melitopol U330 and Mariupol U331 as former Soviet Project 1265 hulls with Ukrainian names recorded from August 1, 1997.

    Sources: Coastal minesweeper - Project 1265

  4. Mariupol leaves Ukrainian service

    RussianShips.info lists Mariupol U331 as decommissioned on November 7, 2012.

    Sources: Coastal minesweeper - Project 1265

  5. Melitopol leaves Ukrainian service

    RussianShips.info lists Melitopol U330 as decommissioned on October 17, 2013.

    Sources: Coastal minesweeper - Project 1265

  6. Ukrainian Sonya-class minehunter lost in Crimea

    USNI News reported that Ukraine lost a Project 1265 Sonya-class minehunter during Russia's annexation of Crimea.

    Sources: Eastern European Navies Expand as Russian Occupation of Ukraine Drags On

Media

Project 1265 Yakhont / Sonya-class minesweeper Images

Project 1265 Yakhont / Sonya-class minesweeper, Coastal minesweeper / minehunter, Naval Systems - view 1
Source: Priboy-2005-Burgas.jpg
Project 1265 Yakhont / Sonya-class minesweeper, Coastal minesweeper / minehunter, Naval Systems - view 2
Source: BT-232-2010-Vladivostok.jpg
Related Weapon Systems
Project 10750 Sapfir / Lida-class inshore minesweeper, Inshore minesweeper class, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsProject 10750 Sapfir / Lida-class inshore minesweeperInshore minesweeper classProject 10750 Sapfir, known to NATO as the Lida class, is a Soviet and Russian inshore mine-countermeasures vessel class built for mine clearance in port approaches, naval-base waters, coastal shallows, and rivers. The design combines a fiberglass hull, mine-search sonar, sweep and mine-destruction gear, a 30 mm AK-306 gun, and an Igla-1 self-defense missile fit; RT-233's 2023-2024 fleet movement gives the class a sourced but limited 2014 Russia-Ukraine War connection rather than confirmed combat-loss evidence.
Alexandrit class / Project 12700, Coastal mine countermeasures vessel, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsAlexandrit class / Project 12700Coastal mine countermeasures vesselThe Alexandrit class, Russian Project 12700, is a Russian mine-countermeasures vessel class designed by Almaz and built by Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard for the Russian Navy. The class combines a monolithic fiberglass vacuum-infusion hull with trawls and unmanned mine-hunting vehicles, and it entered the Russia-Ukraine war record when Ukrainian intelligence said it disabled the Baltic Fleet lead ship Aleksandr Obukhov at Baltiysk in October 2024.
Type 082 / 082I / 082II mine countermeasure vessel, Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy minesweeper and mine countermeasure vessel family, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsType 082 / 082I / 082II mine countermeasure vesselChinese People's Liberation Army Navy minesweeper and mine countermeasure vessel familyThe Type 082 family is a Chinese PLAN mine countermeasure line spanning the original Wosao coastal minesweepers, the enlarged Type 082I Wosao II, and the more modern Type 082II Wozang minehunter. Open sources describe the family as a close-range mine-warfare force built around mechanical, magnetic, acoustic, and infrasonic sweeping, with the Wozang generation adding mine-hunting sensors, ROV-style neutralization vehicles, and remotely controlled Type 529/Wonang inshore minesweeping craft.
Project 1400M Grif / Zhuk-class patrol boat, Coastal patrol boat / border guard patrol craft, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsProject 1400M Grif / Zhuk-class patrol boatCoastal patrol boat / border guard patrol craftProject 1400M Grif is the updated Soviet Grif coastal patrol-boat design known in NATO reporting as the Zhuk class. Built for border-guard and coast-guard work, the small aluminium-hulled craft carries heavy machine-gun armament, simple navigation or surface-search radar, and enough speed for short-range littoral security rather than open-ocean combat. Ukrainian Sea Guard and Navy examples remained visible after independence, and several Project 1400M boats entered the Russia-Ukraine War record as captured or destroyed Ukrainian maritime-security craft in 2022.

Sources

Sonya-class minesweeper - WikipediaPublisher: Wikipedia | Note: Supports the class name, operators, service history, production period, dimensions, propulsion, sensors, armament, and the broad Soviet/Post-Soviet background used for the entry. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Sonya-class: Mine warfare Specs & History (2026)Publisher: GlobalMilitary.net | Note: Supports the Project 1265 Yakhont designation, manufacturer context, service period, dimensions, propulsion, and the class's mine warfare role. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Coastal minesweeper - Project 1265Publisher: RussianShips.info | Note: Supports Project 1265 and Project 1265E designation structure, shipyard split, selected timeline dates, operator/export context, specifications, and mine-countermeasure equipment. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Ukraine - Mine Warfare ShipsPublisher: The Searchers | Note: Supports Ukrainian mine-warfare background for Project 1265/Sonya-class vessels, including Ukrainian service period context and retired status before the 2014 loss discussion. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Eastern European Navies Expand as Russian Occupation of Ukraine Drags OnPublisher: U.S. Naval Institute | Note: Supports 2014 Russia-Ukraine War direct conflict-use/loss: the Ukrainian Navy lost a Project 1265 Sonya-class minehunter during the 2014 annexation of Crimea, alongside other mine-countermeasure vessels. | Accessed: 2026-07-01BT-232-2010-Vladivostok.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports primary image provenance and reuse context for a Project 1265 Yakhont minesweeper photo. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Priboy-2005-Burgas.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance and reuse context for a Project 1265E Yakhont minesweeper photo. | Accessed: 2026-07-01«Герман Угрюмов»1.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance and reuse context for another Sonya-class minesweeper image. | Accessed: 2026-07-01