The crew of the frigate Admiral Grigorovich is serving in the Mediterranean SeaTraditionally, the Day of the commander of the ship is celebrated in Russia on October 8.
The holiday was approved by the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy on September 18, 2007.
The right to wear the commander's badge, to stand on the commander's bridge or in the central post of the submarine does not go to everyone. It is given to those who are able to bear the heavy burden of responsibility for the decision made, for the ship and for the crew. The moment of appointment to the position of commander of the ship is preceded by the hardest work, which is associated with a constant increase in education, the hardships and deprivations of military service, with the acquisition of leadership experience. Today, ship commanders have to make responsible decisions related to the performance of tasks in various areas of the World Ocean. For Black Sea residents, these are the Azov and Black Seas, the waters of which are associated with a special military operation, as well as the far sea zone, including the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
The Black Sea Fleet (Black Sea Fleet), which is now commanded by Vice Admiral Viktor Sokolov, has many brave, competent, highly trained commanders of ships and submarines. The commander of the frigate Admiral Grigorovich, Captain 2nd rank Konstantin Aksenov, was recognized as one of the best. He has been commanding the ship since March 2019, he has more than one long-distance campaign behind him. And each of them is a landmark for the Black Sea Fleet and the Navy.
"Admiral Grigorovich" is the main body in the "admiral series" of warships built by the Baltic Shipbuilding Plant "Yantar" in Kaliningrad under the project 11356R. He joined the Russian Navy in 2016, and soon took part in the Syrian events. "Admiral Grigorovich" inflicted several strikes with long-range cruise missiles of the Kalibr complex on objects of illegal armed formations operating on the territory of the Arab Republic.
RELIABLE DEFENDERThe frigate participated in the international naval exercise "AMAN-2021", in the bilateral exercise "Arabian Monsoon", for the first time visited the Port of Sudan in the Red Sea.
"The AMAN-2021 exercise in the Arabian Sea took place from February 11 to 16," Konstantin Pavlovich said. – It was attended by ships and vessels from 11 countries of the world, with observers from 45 countries. The Russian navy was represented by a detachment of ships of the Black Sea Fleet, which included our frigate, patrol ship (PC) "Dmitry Rogachev" and rescue tug SB-739. The active phase of the exercises took place in the period from 15 to 16 February. For two days, the crews of the ships worked out issues of interaction in repelling attacks of high-speed small-sized targets, conducted joint maneuvering exercises with the formation of marching orders, practiced anti-piracy exercises with the execution of firing from naval artillery systems. Including – on surface targets of the type "Killer Tomato" at a distance of about 5 km."
Naval aviation was actively involved in the AMAN-2021 exercise. Including the crew of the Ka-27PS helicopter of the naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet, based on board the frigate Admiral Grigorovich. The helicopter crew was headed by Captain Denis Mavrodi. Both crews, the helicopter and the ship, were highly appreciated.
"The firing was carried out by both our frigate and the patrol ship Dmitry Rogachev," our interlocutor continues, "they were successful. The main objectives of the exercise were the development of military cooperation between the participating countries of the maneuvers in the interests of safety at sea, as well as the exchange of experience in repelling threats of maritime piracy in areas of intensive navigation and during search and rescue operations. The general management of the detachment of our ships was carried out by the division commander, Captain 1st rank Sergey Tronev.
Immediately after the AMAN-2021 exercise, a bilateral exercise "Arabian Monsoon" was held, in which the Russian Navy and the Pakistani Navy took part. As part of it, Pakistan involved the ships ALAMGIR and ASLAT, the frigate Admiral Grigorovich and the PC Dmitry Rogachev participated on the part of the Russian Federation. A little later, Pakistani Air Force aircraft joined the exercises. The task was to work out counteraction against a conditional enemy both in the air and at sea. The bilateral exercise was held to further expand cooperation between our countries.
MESSENGER OF PEACEThe Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Navy, Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niyazi, visited on board our frigate.
"Admiral Grigorovich" was then in the main base of the Pakistani Navy in Karachi. The commander-in-chief got acquainted with the frigate, expressed satisfaction with the maintenance of our ship, which turned five years old on this long voyage. He noted that the crew of the Russian frigate adequately represented our fleet at the exercises. On behalf of the President of Pakistan, he presented three thank-you addresses: to the crew, the commander of the frigate and the commander of the detachment of ships."
The lead ship of Project 11356R in the Atlantic. Photo of the author The commander of the frigate conducted a demonstration of the ship.
There was an exchange of souvenirs. The ship adequately solved not only combat, but also military and diplomatic tasks. Shortly after the exercises, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said at a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Islamabad: "Russia is a factor of stability. Not only at the regional level, it is a factor of stability in the international arena."
Qureshi noted that Pakistan wants to build trust and friendship relations with Russia and considers relations with Moscow one of its priorities. "Pakistan intends to build strong multi-vector relations with Russia, this is a priority for us. Today we are applying a new approach to Russia," he stressed.
It is impossible not to say about the arrival of the Admiral Grigorovich in Port Sudan. The Black Sea Fleet's warship paid a visit to this port in the Red Sea for the first time. Recall that under the agreement of Russia and Sudan, a logistics point of the Russian Navy will be created in this port. Our first ship to come here was the frigate of project 11356R. "During the visit, the frigate's material reserves were replenished, as well as the rest of the crew after participating in the exercises," the commander said.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stressed that the presence of a logistics point of the Russian Navy on the territory of Sudan "meets the goals of maintaining peace and stability in the region, is defensive in nature and is not directed against other states."
In Oman, the frigate called at the port of Sultan Qaboos, and this also contributed to the establishment of friendly relations between our country and the southern regions. Several times the Admiral Grigorovich entered the Syrian Tartus, perfectly familiar to the crew from his previous combat service, when he performed tasks in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and traveled a total of more than 24,000 miles. In short, the frigate has repeatedly acted as an envoy of peace and friendship, demonstrated the St. Andrew's flag at different latitudes of the World Ocean.
COMBAT SERVICEAdmiral Grigorovich, as part of the permanent grouping of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean Sea, also took part in the control check of the fleet forces for the winter period.
An episode was worked out to repel the impact of cruise missiles fired by aircraft at a ship at sea. During the exercise, the calculation of the ship's combat information post detected and classified simulated targets, and the calculation of air defense when approaching conditional air targets at a distance of destruction destroyed them with electronic launches.
For Konstantin Pavlovich, this was already the third long-distance trip as a ship commander. "This combat service was a good naval school for our crew," he says, "a real school of military skill. We performed many tasks, including tracking the US Navy carrier strike group led by the aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower, which was guarding a cruiser and three destroyers. In the far sea zone, being part of the permanent grouping of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean, we worked closely with the ships and vessels of the three fleets. If we talk about the Northern Fleet, these are the frigate "Admiral of the Fleet Kasatonov", the large landing ships (BDK) "Alexander Otrakovsky" and "Kondopoga", the rescue tug "Nikolai Chiker", the tanker "Vyazma". If we talk about the ships of the Baltic Fleet, these are the Kaliningrad and Korolev BDK, the Stoyky corvette and the Lena tanker. And, of course, the ships and vessels of the Black Sea Fleet, of which there were many."
This was the year 2020 for the commander and his frigate. But the years 2021-2022 have become even more stressful. It's time to talk about a record hike. For almost a year, the frigate Admiral Grigorovich performs the tasks of a long-distance campaign while in the Mediterranean Sea.
"From November to December 2021, the frigate took part in two international exercises," says the commander of the ship. – One of the exercises was held jointly with the Algerian Navy, up to seven ships of various classes participated in it. Elements of coordination have been worked out, communication and maneuvering exercises have been conducted for ships of the two states.
The second international exercise took place off the coast of Egypt. More than ten ships took part in the Russian-Egyptian exercises. Exercises were performed during the marine phase of the exercises, as well as during practical shooting at sea targets. According to the exercise, the actions of the anti-terrorist units of the two states during the seizure of the vessel were worked out."
In March 2022, the frigate Admiral Grigorovich was supposed to return to the permanent base city of Sevastopol. But due to the special military operation and the aggravation of the military-political situation in the region, it was decided to extend the combat service of the ship.
Currently, the ship has traveled more than 53 thousand nautical miles. This is a huge figure. According to the distance traveled, "Admiral Grigorovich" has twice rounded our planet and goes to the third circle. He broke records for finding ships of the Black Sea Fleet of this class in combat service. In total, during the long voyage, the ship spent more than 300 days at sea.
In the crew, the commander of the ship singled out the foreman of the command of automated control systems of the radio engineering combat unit, senior midshipman Sergei Dubtsov, the turbine group technician, the foreman of the 1st article Ishtugan Kaskinov, the senior engineer of the bilge group, senior midshipman Dmitry Vinnikov, the chief ship's petty officer Beslan Hapsirokov from the radio engineering combat unit. All sailors of the crew are contractors, high–level professionals.
The frigate Admiral Grigorovich continues to fulfill its tasks and worthily carries the St. Andrew's flag, representing the Russian Navy in the far sea zone.
Thus, his crew continues the glorious traditions of the Russian fleet. It is appropriate to recall that the Day of the commander of the ship was chosen by the Navy command in honor of the victory in the Navarino naval battle of 1827. It was fought between the combined squadron of Russia, England and France against the Turkish-Egyptian fleet. The Allies defeated the Ottoman navigators, which had a decisive influence on the outcome of the struggle of the Greek people for their independence. Since then, Russian ships have been private guests in the ports of Greece, solving issues including military diplomacy.
Vladimir PasyakinVladimir Mikhailovich Pasyakin is a retired captain of the 1st rank.
