Forget aircraft carriers or battlecruisers: Russia just deployed its most dangerous warship

What you need to know: The Russian Navy has deployed its advanced Project 22350 frigate, Admiral Golovkowhich represents a significant addition to the Navy’s capabilities amid upgrades on older ships.

-As the first frigate equipped with the hypersonic Tsirkon missile, Admiral Golovko poses a formidable threat with versatile strike capabilities, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and advanced missile systems, including Kalibr-NK and Oniks cruise missiles.

-Despite the need for tanker support Vjazma during long missions, Golovko shows Russia’s emphasis on maintaining its naval presence and projecting power in strategic regions, boosting the country’s maritime ambitions in the Atlantic Ocean and beyond.

Russia’s most dangerous frigate: Admiral Golovko leaves for the Atlantic Ocean

Even as the flagship aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy Admiral Kuznetsov and Kirov class cruiser Admiral Nakhimov both sidelined and undergoing their respective refits, the Kremlin deployed its most dangerous warship this week. Instead of a floating joke like its aircraft carrier or an outdated ship — which is really the best way to describe a battlecruiser in the 21st century — the Russian Navy’s Project 22350 frigate became Admiral Golovko is a surface combatant to be feared.

The Russian state media company Tass reported on Friday That Admiral Golovko – the third Admiral Gorskhkov class guided-missile frigate named after Soviet Navy Admiral Arseny Grigoryevich Golovko began its first overseas deployment.

“Today a group of ships from the Northern Fleet left the Severomorsk roadstead and began its long-range deployment. The group’s ships set sail for the Atlantic Ocean via designated areas in the Barents Sea. The group consists of the frigate Admiral Golovko with long-range precision weapons and the medium tanker Vjazma. For the frigate commissioned into the Russian Navy in December last year, this is the first long-range deployment,” the press service of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy said in a media statement.

Showing the flag of St. Andrew

The Kremlin has released the itinerary or planned port visits, but in the coming months Admiral Golovko will take part in a long-range mission intended “to demonstrate the Russian flag and ensure the presence of the Russian Navy in operationally important areas of the World Ocean,” Tass said.

The crews of the frigate and the tanker have prepared for this deployment for several months, and in May it conducted land-to-air missile exercises and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises in the Barents Sea.

“During the period of the ship’s service within the fleet’s armed forces, it has been deployed at sea on numerous occasions and the frigate’s equipment and armament have proven their reliability,” Frigate said. Admiral Golovko Commander, Captain 2nd Rank Andrey Slavin. “The frigate has successfully tested all types of armaments, including long-range precision missiles. Currently, the crew is ready to fully achieve all assigned objectives in any area of ​​the World Ocean.”

The ship was launched in February 2012 and launched in May 2020, and was the first ship in the class to be equipped with a domestic power plant, rather than one imported from Ukraine. Admiral Golovko was commissioned into the Russian Navy on December 25, 2023, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Small but capable Russian warship

Designated as frigatesthe Project 22350 warships displace 5,400 tons under full load and can reach speeds of 29.5 knots. The warships carry a crew of 210 sailors, but have an endurance of only 30 days. Admiral Golovko will undertake the world trip, accompanied by the tanker Vjazma.

Despite the apparent Achilles heel of tanker dependence, the Admiral Gorskhkov-class guided-missile frigates should still be viewed as highly capable warships.

The Project 22350 frigates are designed for multiple roles and are capable of conducting long-range strikes, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and escort missions of larger ships. The frigates are armed with Kalibr-NK and Oniks cruise missile systems as their basic assault weapons and each has sixteen (2 x 8) 3S14 VLS cells.

The VLS cells can also be used to launch the Otvet anti-submarine missile. In addition, the frigates are equipped with thirty-two (4 x 8) Redut VLS cells capable of launching the 9M96 and updated versions of surface-to-air missiles. Future ships will see that number double to thirty-two (4 x 8) 3S14 VLS cells, turning the frigates into floating missile trucks.

Other armament includes a pair of Palash close-in weapon systems (CIWS), each with Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30 6-barrel 30mm rotary cannons; and 2 x 4 torpedo tubes of 330 mm for the Paket-NK anti-torpedo/anti-submarine torpedoes.

In addition, Admiral Golovko is the first frigate of the class to be armed with the Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic missile. That would be one terrifying opponentand one that should be taken seriously.

Experience and expertise of author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a writer from Michigan. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites with more than 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He writes regularly about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics and international affairs. Peter is also one Contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can send the author an email: (email protected).

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