Unlike their predecessors, Sterkh satellites did not carry navigation systems, since this function had been taken over by GLONASS.
The first satellite in the series, Sterkh-1, was launched on 21 July 2009 aboard a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket along with a Parus.
Sterkh-1's flight control system malfunctioned, leaving the satellite unable to orient its solar panels toward the Sun, depleting its battery.
Sterkh-2's attitude control system was rendered inoperable due to the failed deployment of a stabilization boom.
These failures led Roscosmos to cancel the Sterkh program in November 2012, and follow-on search and rescue payloads were launched on GLONASS-K satellites instead.