Project 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.
Ukrainian State Border Service Project 1400M boats were documented among vessels captured by Russian forces at Berdyansk in February-March 2022, including BG-118 Arabat; open sources also list other Ukrainian Project 1400M losses or captures in Mariupol and Berdyansk.
Role detailsProject 1400M is a compact coast-guard craft, not a missile boat or corvette. Its conflict relevance in Ukraine comes from identifiable Ukrainian Border Guard and Navy hulls captured or lost during the 2022 coastal campaign.
WeaponSystems.net describes the Zhuk family as a rugged coastal patrol craft for coast-guard and border-guard duties, with limited coastal endurance rather than blue-water reach.
The Project 1400M fit used an aluminium hull, shallow draft, two 1,000 hp diesels, and two propellers in the SpetsTechnoExport archived product sheet and RussianShips.info data.
The updated 1400M model is primarily a heavy-machine-gun patrol craft. RussianShips.info lists a twin 12.7 mm Utes-2M fit for many Project 1400M boats, while WeaponSystems.net notes a single bow Utes-M turret on the 1400M and a frequent second aft turret on 1400ME export craft.
Wikimedia Commons identifies BG 101, BG 106, BG 109, and BG 111 as Ukrainian Border Guard Project 1400M/Zhuk boats photographed in Odesa in 2010; RussianShips.info later lists multiple Ukrainian hulls by BG number and fate.
Sources: WeaponSystems.net: Project 1400 Grif; RussianShips.info: Project 1400 Grif; SpetsTechnoExport archive: Project 1400M; Wikimedia Commons: Ukrainian Project 1400M boats.
Open sources use Project 1400 Grif as the family name and Zhuk as the NATO reporting name; Project 1400M is the updated Grif-M model, with Project 1400ME as its export derivative.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Project 1400 | Original Grif model | WeaponSystems.net describes the original model with 14.5 mm 2M-7 or 12.7 mm 2M-1 twin mounts before later Project 1400M changes. Sources: WeaponSystems.net: Project 1400 Grif |
| Project 1400A | Special-service coast guard boat | RussianShips.info and WeaponSystems.net identify the 1400A as an Almaz-built special-service coast-guard variant able to carry passengers. Sources: WeaponSystems.net: Project 1400 Grif, RussianShips.info: Project 1400 Grif |
| Project 1400M Grif-M | Updated patrol boat | The updated model used M-401B diesels and a bow Utes-M/Utes-2M twin 12.7 mm gun fit, with some boats receiving improved navigation radar and IFF equipment. Sources: WeaponSystems.net: Project 1400 Grif, RussianShips.info: Project 1400 Grif |
| Project 1400ME Grif-ME | Export derivative | WeaponSystems.net describes the export model as generally similar to Project 1400M, with many export boats receiving a second aft Utes-M twin 12.7 mm turret. Sources: WeaponSystems.net: Project 1400 Grif |
RussianShips.info lists Project 1400M construction from 1976 at Morye in Feodosia and at Batumi Shipyard, separating it from the earlier Project 1400 and Project 1400A runs.
Sources: RussianShips.info: Project 1400 Grif
RussianShips.info lists Ukrainian Project 1400-family holdings after independence, while Wikimedia Commons documents Ukrainian Border Guard Project 1400M boats photographed in Odesa in 2010.
Sources: RussianShips.info: Project 1400 Grif, Wikimedia Commons: Ukrainian Project 1400M boats
RussianShips.info lists BG-114 and BG-118 Arabat as captured by Russian troops in Berdyansk on February 28, 2022; VPK.name's March 2022 report separately described two Ukrainian State Border Service Project 1400M boats left in Berdyansk.
Sources: RussianShips.info: Project 1400 Grif, VPK.name: Captured Ukrainian ships in Berdyansk
RussianShips.info lists one Ukrainian Project 1400M boat captured in Mariupol, another sunk in Mariupol by Russian artillery, and BG-114 and BG-118 captured in Berdyansk; these records support treating the class as conflict-linked captured or lost Ukrainian maritime equipment.
Sources: RussianShips.info: Project 1400 Grif
