The frigate Admiral Golovko came from the Baltic to Severomorsk
A message from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (MO RF) dated January 11 tells about the arrival of the newest frigate Admiral Golovko in Severomorsk. It was built at the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg. There, during a working trip on December 25, the ship was inspected by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Head of State attended the solemn ceremony of raising the St. Andrew's flag.
Admiral Golovko is the third ship of Project 22350, completed by the Northern Design Bureau (SPKB). Frigates of this type have a displacement of about 5 thousand tons with a length of 135 m and a width of 16 m. The main armament is the subsonic cruise missiles of the Kalibr complex (3M14, 3M54, 91R), supersonic Onyx and hypersonic Zircon.
Currently, the frigates of Project 22350 are the only carriers of hypersonic strike weapons in the Russian Navy. They are designed for operations in the far sea and ocean zones.
In early January, the Golovko moved from the Baltic to its permanent base, Severomorsk, demonstrating the reliability of the ship's systems. The command of the Northern Fleet (SF) of the Russian Navy confirmed that the forces subordinate to it "have been replenished with another combat unit."
A solemn ceremony of welcoming the new frigate was held on the territory of the main base of the SF. The commander of the ship, Captain 2nd rank Andrey Slavin, reported to the commander of the SF Admiral Alexander Moiseev on the successful completion of the tasks of the inter-fleet transition. He wished the crew good health, the ship a happy voyage and seven feet under the keel.
"This is the most modern ship, representing the basis of the ships of the far sea zone," Moiseev said. "He will have to solve tasks in areas of the World Ocean that are operationally important for our state, which is normal practice for the use of such ships." As you know, the same type of frigates "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov" and "Admiral of the Fleet Kasatonov" are already operating in the SF.
According to the commander-in-chief, the accession of Admiral Golovko to them marks "a significant increase in the combat power of both the unit he joined and the grouping of heterogeneous fleet forces, the basis of which he will represent."
The press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation emphasizes that the 22350 project was carried out using the most advanced technologies, including those in the field of high-precision weapons. "The new hypersonic weapon raises the combat capabilities of our surface forces to a fundamentally new level," the commander of the SF said in his speech. "Ships of this class will represent the interests of our state in the waters of the World Ocean."
The compliance of the new frigate with all the declared characteristics was confirmed during state tests that took place in the waters of the landfills of the Baltic, Barents and White Seas.
The message of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation dated January 8 announces the actions of the Russian Navy in the near future, citing the words of the Commander-in-chief of the SF in confirmation. "In 2024, the Northern Fleet will continue its active and purposeful activities to ensure a naval presence in strategically important areas of the World Ocean," Moiseev said.
Over the previous 12 months, more than 20 warships, submarines and SF support vessels performed long-range navigation tasks. A landmark event was the march of a detachment of warships led by the frigate Admiral Gorshkov lasting 263 days, during which, for the first time in the history of the Russian navy, patrols with hypersonic missile weapons on board were carried out.
Another memorable moment was the ice voyage of the detachment, led by the large anti-submarine ship Vice Admiral Kulakov. An exit was made to the eastern Arctic sea zone, where the sailors solved the tasks of ensuring the safety of Russia's maritime economic activity and demonstrating its military presence.
Despite the increasing importance of surface ships in connection with the replenishment of their number by Zircon carriers, nuclear-powered submarines (APCs) remain the main striking force of the SF. Accordingly, in a message from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation dated January 4, it is stated that in the coming year "ice navigation will be one of the most important tasks of submariners of the Northern Fleet."
As part of the efforts in this area, submarine crews will receive appropriate theoretical and practical training during the next academic year, which began in December. Special attention will be paid to the work under the ice when improving the naval training of the crews of the APC.
According to the winter training plan, an educational and methodological gathering will be held on the basis of the SF submarine forces to summarize the best practices of nuclear-powered ships under the Arctic ice cover. Special attention will be paid to the methods tested last year by the strategic missile submarine Tula. Fulfilling the tasks of the campaign, its crew launched for the first time in one of the new ice navigation areas in the Laptev Sea, which confirmed the ability of the naval strategic nuclear forces to solve tasks for their intended purpose from any area of the Arctic.
The experience of the crew of the Generalissimo Suvorov APC, recently built by the Northern Machine-Building Enterprise (Sevmash Software), also deserves attention. In due time, the cruiser was prepared for long-range navigation and conducted an Arctic route under the ice to a permanent base in the Pacific Fleet.
