Today, the Russian group includes frigates armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles
The intensification of hostilities in Syria has drawn attention to the combat capabilities of the permanent operational connection of Russian ships and submarines in the Mediterranean Sea. So, during the exercises in this area, the frigates Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko fired hypersonic Zircon missiles for the first time. What is included in the composition and what are the combat capabilities of the Russian Navy group in the Mediterranean Sea — in the Izvestia material.
Exercises of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean Sea
The Navy and the Aerospace Forces have completed exercises that took place in the eastern Mediterranean, the Russian Defense Ministry said. They involved more than a thousand military personnel, 10 ships of various classes, 24 aircraft and helicopters.
The crew of the Ka-27 helicopter of the frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov is practicing tactical techniques for searching and tracking submarines
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Such a grouping of troops can independently solve a wide range of tasks — starting with anti-submarine defense and fighting ships and ending with supporting an amphibious operation or organizing strikes deep into the territory of a potential enemy. At the same time, the ships can issue target designations to long-range aircraft that will operate from airfields located on the territory of Russia.
During the exercises, the Russian military fired sea-launched cruise missiles Onyx, Zircon and Kalibr, a hypersonic aeroballistic missile Dagger from a MiG-31I carrier aircraft, as well as a supersonic cruise missile of the Bastion coastal missile system. All launches were successful. The basis of the Russian grouping in the Mediterranean Sea today consists of three ocean-class ships: These are two frigates of project 22350 "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov" (the lead ship of the project series) and "Admiral Golovko", as well as the frigate of project 11356 "Admiral Grigorovich" (the lead frigate of the project).
Frigate Admiral Grigorovich
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Alexander Polegenko
The Russian connection of ships in the Mediterranean Sea is capable of influencing the whole of Europe in the event of a major conflict, military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia.
"During the last exercises, we demonstrated our capabilities to a potential enemy," the expert noted. — The navy also has tasks to counter terrorist groups in Syria. Cruise missiles of the ships of the compound have repeatedly struck them with precision strikes. The presence of ships in the Mediterranean has always been given special attention: this region of geopolitics was called the soft underbelly of Europe, implying that from there large territories on the continent could be controlled by missile forces. The USSR had a famous Mediterranean squadron there, which was succeeded by the current combination of ships.
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Frigates of project 22350 and 11356
The frigates of Project 22350 are ships of the first rank designed for operations in the far sea zone. Such a frigate is the most powerful and most modern ship of our fleet, which carries all types of modern weapons systems — the Kalibr-NK universal missile system with the possibility of using Zircon missiles, the 3K96 Redut anti-aircraft missile system with 9M96 missiles, the A-192M Armat universal 130mm artillery installation and two modules of the Palash anti-aircraft artillery system. The ship has powerful anti-submarine and electronic weapons. It is capable of conducting independent combat operations with any enemy.
The frigate of project 11356 Admiral Grigorovich is the lead of a series of ships for the Black Sea Fleet, which also includes Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov. These are modern-built ships equipped with the Kalibr-NK complex with Kalibr and Onyx missiles, several artillery and anti-aircraft complexes, and an anti-submarine complex. Ships of this type represent a significant force that can both ensure the defeat of ground targets at very significant ranges, and conduct combat operations against naval or air forces.
Frigates of project 22350 are being built in St. Petersburg at the Severnaya Verf. By the end of the 2020s, a series of more than ten ships will be built for all fleets of the Russian Navy. Frigates of project 11356 are being built in Kaliningrad, and it is likely that their construction in an upgraded version can also be continued for the country's Navy.
The Russian naval grouping in the Mediterranean includes the submarine B-261 Novorossiysk of project 06363. This is a non-nuclear submarine equipped with the Kalibr-PL missile system, which can use Kalibr missiles from torpedo tubes. Today, boats of this type are part of all Russian fleets and are the lowest-noise submarines that can defend the areas of strategic missile carriers, as well as perform any other tasks inherent in modern submarines.
The first launch of the Zircon from the frigates Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko
For the first time in the Mediterranean, the leaders of the Russian grouping of ships in this region — the frigates Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko — fired hypersonic Zircon missiles. One more point: video footage has been published for the first time on these launches, which allow us to get a more accurate idea of the device of the Zircon rocket and, accordingly, to assess its technical and combat capabilities. Many experts noted that the missile was shown in all its glory not by chance — this can be regarded as another signal to our potential opponents. A more detailed picture gives a more accurate assessment of the missile's capabilities and increases awareness of the complexity of its interception.
Launch of the Kalibr cruise missile from the frigate of the Northern Fleet Admiral Golovko
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/The press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
In fact, a rocket with a slightly larger diameter than the already familiar "Calibers" and "Onyx" with a powerful solid-fuel launch engine, which looks more like the first stage of a rocket, comes out of the launch vehicle. The aerodynamic surfaces are folded, and they are not particularly needed at the initial stage of the flight. The task of the first stage is to accelerate the missile as much as possible when launching it on a ballistic trajectory towards the target. The rocket goes up into the more rarefied layers of the atmosphere. Next, the first launch stage is fired, small wings open, and the main flight stage begins to work, which accelerates the rocket to hypersonic speeds of Mach 10.
At the final stage of the flight, the Zircon descends into the dense layers of the atmosphere and can maneuver both in search of a target and to evade the enemy's air defense and missile defense systems. The speed remains hypersonic, and it is impossible to shoot down a maneuvering missile with such flight parameters. Hitting a Zircon even in a large ship will almost certainly take it out of the battle: even if the ship does not sink, it will deal with issues of its own survivability and will cease to participate in a naval battle. Therefore, such missiles are sometimes called anti-aircraft missiles. They can hit even the most protected modern aircraft carriers.
Dmitry Kornev
