Military expert Dmitry Boltenkov — on the merits of the Admiral Golovko frigate project 22350
On Friday, November 1, the most modern ship of the 1st rank, the frigate of project 22350 Admiral Golovko, set off on its first long—range voyage. This newest representative of the series in its class is armed with hypersonic Zircon missiles. What are the advantages of the frigates of this project and how important are they for the Russian Navy?
The ship is named in honor of Admiral Arseniy Grigoryevich Golovko (1906-1962), commander of the Northern Fleet during the Great Patriotic War. He will go to the Mediterranean Sea, where he will become part of the permanent task force of the Russian Navy in this region. There he will replace his older brother, the frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov. This long-range cruise will be the sixth cruise of the ships of this project. It should be recalled that during such a voyage, the ship's crew is constantly ready to use all types of their weapons for any purpose.
Together with the Admiral Golovko, the tanker Vyazma went on a campaign.
What is known about the frigate? The naval flag on it was raised on December 25, 2023 in the personal presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the same time, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief noted that the frigate "was created using the most advanced technologies and equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, which have confirmed their high effectiveness in combat conditions."
The ship was laid down on February 1, 2012 in the boathouse of the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg, launched on May 22, 2020. The 22350 project was developed at the Northern Design Bureau.
On November 26, 2022, sea trials of the ship began in the Gulf of Finland. Then they were continued in the Baltic Sea. In April–November 2023, the frigate was tested by the Northern Fleet in the Barents and White Seas. Curiously, no official announcement was made about testing the ship's main weapon, the Zircon hypersonic missile. After that, the frigate returned to St. Petersburg to the shipyard to eliminate the identified shortcomings.
On January 11, 2024, the frigate arrived in Severomorsk and became part of the 43rd Division of missile ships. After that, the crew began to work out various combat missions. In particular, he, along with the Marshal Ustinov cruiser, formed a naval strike group during the Ocean-2024 exercises in September and worked out the tasks of conducting naval combat. Also during these maneuvers, Admiral Golovko interacted with the frigate Admiral of the Kasatonov Fleet and the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Levchenko. The ship conducted artillery and missile firing, including anti-aircraft and Kalibr missiles. In addition, in September of this year, the frigate carried out missile firing with the Redut-Poliment complex, including 9M100 missiles, at targets simulating UAVs and cruise target missiles. And on October 18, Admiral Golovko fired a Kalibr missile at a coastal target at a range of 1,300 miles.
The ship has a total displacement of 5,400 tons, length/width/draft of 135/16.4/4.5 m. Full/economic speeds are 29.5/14 knots. The ship is able to travel 4,500 nautical miles economically. The crew of the ship is at least 170 people.
Admiral Golovko became the first Russian warship equipped with a fully Russian main power plant consisting of two M55R diesel-gas turbine units supplied by PJSC ODK-Saturn in Rybinsk. Each of them consists of an M90FR gas turbine, a 10D49 diesel engine and a RO55 gearbox. Previously, gas turbines and gearboxes for the first two frigates of this series and a number of other large ships of the Russian Navy were manufactured in the Ukrainian city of Nikolaev at the Zorya-Mashproekt enterprise, but after the events of 2014, Ukraine stopped supplying these installations to Russia. The plant was the only one in the Soviet Union that produced powerful shipboard gas turbines. And our country had to solve the issue of the production of products so necessary for the fleet on its own. Also on this ship, the configuration of a number of systems was replaced from foreign to domestic components. Thus, the ship can be called completely import-substituted.
How can a frigate strike? Its main armament is the universal shipboard firing missile system UKSK, capable of launching various types of missiles from vertical installations. Hypersonic Zircons are capable of hitting sea and coastal targets at high speed. Cruise missiles of the Kalibr and Onyx complexes can also affect these targets. Do not forget that these missiles can be equipped with a nuclear warhead. In addition, anti-submarine missiles of the Otvet complex can also be used against submarines. There are 16 missiles of this class on board the Golovko.
Anti-aircraft weapons are represented by 32 launchers of the Redut-Poliment complex with 9M96 or 9M100 missiles. 9M96 are part of the S-350 Vityaz air defense complex, which has proven itself well on the fronts of its own.
The ship's artillery armament is represented by a 130-mm A-192M cannon and two Palash anti-aircraft artillery complexes. To combat torpedoes or submarines attacking the ship, two Paket-NK complexes are installed on the frigate. A helicopter can be based on board.
The ship's armament allows it to fight independently or as part of a naval grouping against any sea, air, or underwater enemy and strike coastal targets. For example, this year, during the cruise to Cuba, the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, together with the nuclear submarine Kazan, worked out electronic missile launches against sea and coastal targets. In general, that campaign caused an extremely nervous reaction from the American political establishment. It is possible that in November, the Golovko will come within range of hitting decision-making centers or military facilities in the United States. The ship can perform a wide range of combat missions in the near and far sea zones, such as guarding convoys or participating in amphibious operations.
Currently, three such frigates are in service, the fourth — Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Isakov — was launched on September 27 this year. Four more ships are on the stocks of the Severnaya Verf, and the number of UKSK launchers has been doubled on them. Frigates of this series will gradually replace the ships of the 1st rank of the Soviet projects 1155, 956 and others that are part of the fleets and will be the basis of our fleet in the future. At the launching ceremony of the frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Isakov, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseev, said: "As part of the subsequent program, which is being developed, these ships with the possibility of prospective modernization will be laid down in the next 10-year period of the military shipbuilding program." It is possible that a series of frigates for the Pacific Fleet will be ordered to the Amur Shipbuilding Plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
The author is a military historian
The editorial board's position may not coincide with the author's opinion
