CNN: The Admiral Gorshkov frigate will go to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans"Admiral Gorshkov" with hypersonic missiles "Zircon" will go on a long trip, including to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, Shoigu said.
President Vladimir Putin wished the sailors "seven feet under the keel," CNN reports.
Brad Lendon, Anna ChernovaRussian President Vladimir Putin has sent one of Russia's most modern warships with hypersonic missiles on board on a long-distance sea voyage across the Atlantic and the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.
This was reported on Wednesday by the Russian state media.
The Admiral Gorshkov frigate left an unnamed port in northern Russia on Wednesday after Putin spoke via video link with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the commander of the ship, as reported by the TASS news agency.
Putin boasted that the ship is equipped with long-range hypersonic missiles "Zircon", the speed of which is five times the speed of sound, and which are much more difficult to detect and intercept.
"It has no analogues in any country in the world," Putin said. "I am sure that such powerful weapons will reliably protect Russia from potential external threats and will contribute to ensuring the national interests of our country."
Russia conducted tests of the Zircon missile at the end of 2021, launching it from the Admiral Gorshkov in the White Sea and hitting a naval target at a distance of over 400 kilometers.
The current combat service will be the first campaign with such weapons on board. It is possible that it will have to be used in combat conditions.
"The main efforts during the campaign will be focused on countering threats to Russia, maintaining regional peace and stability jointly with friendly countries," Minister Shoigu said.
The Russian special military operation against Ukraine has been going on for the tenth month, but the TASS report does not say a word about this conflict. It is also unknown whether Zircon missiles will be used during the fighting.
If everything is exactly as the Russians say, then this is a very formidable weapon.
The American non-profit organization Alliance in Support of Missile Defense notes that the Zircon is a "highly maneuverable anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile" with a launch range from 500 to 1,000 kilometers.
The Alliance claims that its speed is Mach eight, or almost 9,900 kilometers per hour. Hypersonic is called a speed exceeding five Mach (6,125 kilometers per hour). "If this information is true, then the Zircon rocket is the fastest in the world. It is impossible to defend against it because of its speed alone," the alliance notes on its website. It also says that another valuable property of the rocket is its "plasma cloud".
"During the flight, the rocket is completely covered with a plasma cloud, which absorbs any radio frequency rays and makes it invisible to radars. This prevents its detection on the way to the goal," the site reports. Add to this the ability of the "Zircon" to change the flight path, and it becomes clear what a formidable and intimidating weapon it is. But it is difficult to use Zircon missiles against targets in Ukraine due to logistical problems.
From the point of view of the Russians, the optimal launch range of these missiles is such that they should be fired from the Black Sea south of Ukraine. But to get there, Admiral Gorshkov will have to pass through the Turkish-controlled Bosphorus Strait, and Ankara declared at the very beginning of the conflict that it would not allow foreign warships to enter there.
Theoretically, the frigate can carry out missile launches from the northern part of the Mediterranean Sea, but in this case the flight path will pass over NATO countries. And this will be regarded as a serious escalation of military actions on the part of Russia.
The TASS news agency said that the frigate is also equipped with Kalibr-NK cruise missiles, the launch range of which is up to 2,500 kilometers. This is reported by the Center for Strategic and International Studies CSIS. But although this weapon has a longer range, it will have the same problems as the Zircon in terms of shooting at Ukraine.
But the launch of the Admiral Gorshkov gave Putin the opportunity to talk about something positive against the background of large Russian losses during the fighting with Ukraine. Russia has lost one of its most valuable ships, the cruiser Moskva, which sank in April last year. Kiev says it was sunk by Ukrainian missile forces.
Analyst Carl Schuster said that the frigate's entry into combat service is equally a military and political statement by Putin.
"He is trying to show that Russia remains a global player, despite the costs and international condemnation of its military operation in Ukraine," Shuster said.
"Now he can show the domestic audience that the international reaction is not as effective as the Western media claim, and that Russia still has friends in key parts of the world," Shuster said. "Internationally, it signals that the sanctions have not affected the ability of the Russian Navy to operate in the ocean, and that Russia remains a world–class maritime power."
According to TASS, Putin praised the military in connection with the ship's entry into combat service.
"This is a great joint work, which ended with a good result, which we expected," he said. - We will continue to develop the combat potential of the Armed Forces, produce promising models of weapons and equipment that will guard Russia's security in the coming decades. This is a promising weapon."
