“Russia showed its teeth.” What weapons is he particularly afraid of in NATO?

MOSCOW, January 25 – RIA Novosti, Andrey Kots. The frigate “Admiral Gorshkov” conducted exercises in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship attacked a sea target 900 kilometers away with a Zircon hypersonic missile. In the material of RIA Novosti about why this event is so important for the Russian “defense industry”.

“Admiral Gorshkov” is currently located somewhere in the western part of the Atlantic – in an area that the NATO bloc considers his own. The frigate went on a long journey at the beginning of the month; The President and the Minister of Defense personally accompanied him on his way to war service.

The ship’s movement in neutral waters received wide coverage in the Western media. In fact, the British Navy officially announced that they were watching the ship.

Of course, the practice of shooting aroused unprecedented interest among Western intelligence agencies. Therefore, the crew of Admiral Gorshkov, so as not to show too much, conducted electronic launches instead of combat launches in the “computer simulation mode”.

There is a reason why the West fears frigates. This is the first naval ship of Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missiles, the capabilities of which NATO is well aware of. Charles Richard, head of the US Strategic Command, agreed that the current ground-based and space-based sensor system will not track missiles. He emphasized that while these weapons are at sea, any ship of the alliance is vulnerable.

Most of the tactical and technical characteristics of the Zircon cruise missile are classified. But some things are known. The speed is a record, more than ten thousand kilometers per hour, or about nine Mach. The range is a thousand kilometers. Flight in the cruise section – at an altitude of 30-40 kilometers, where air resistance is low. The mass of the warhead is about 450 kilograms.

Ship-borne air defense systems of Western countries are designed for subsonic and supersonic missiles and are absolutely powerless in the face of hypersonic. And a long firing range will allow the Russian fleet to destroy surface and ground targets with almost impunity, without entering the affected area.

An important point: Zircon is capable of launching from the same launchers as the P-800 Onyx and Caliber anti-ship missiles. Theoretically, small missile carriers of the Buyan-M and Karakurt projects can also be carriers. So even small pennants would pose a threat to an aircraft carrier. Striking a warhead below the waterline is enough for the floating airspace to roll over and fail.

A new automatic control system (ACS), recently tested in large-scale exercises of the Northern Fleet, will direct the attack complex to enemy ships. According to Izvestia, citing sources in the military department, two crews of the Tu-142 reconnaissance and anti-submarine aircraft transmitted information about a fake enemy and targeted missiles at a distance of hundreds of kilometers.

At the same time, the ACS independently determined the most important targets and chose the appropriate weapon. Besides zircons, ships under the control of the system can use previous generation fin systems such as Yakhont, Vulkan and Caliber.

The Project 22350 Admiral Gorshkov frigate is the most technologically advanced frigate in the Russian Navy. Almost all new items were tested on the lead ship with a displacement of 5400 tons, from radio-electronic equipment to anti-aircraft missile systems and artillery installations.

“Unique,” believes Vladimir Maltsev, head of the All-Russian Fleet Support Movement. “In terms of armament it is unmatched in the world. Many ships of the higher class are much weaker armed. The other cruise missiles on it are a universal fighter jet.”

Under cruise missiles – 16 cells of the ZS14 firing system. All control systems are digital. In fact, this is a floating computer that works with little or no human intervention. The new on-board information and control system connects all equipment in a network, and the radio-electronic complex for illuminating surface and underwater situations makes it possible to detect the enemy from a great distance.

Frigates reach speeds of up to 30 knots, autonomous navigation – about a month. The Navy now has two ships of this type, with two more to be completed this year. Also, a modernized project 22350M is under development. The total displacement of the updated frigates will increase to seven thousand tons, which will allow them to dominate the sea.