MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. The cruiser Marshal Ustinov has fired its main missile system to hit sea targets at the Northern Fleet’s practice ranges in the Barents Sea, Fleet spokesman Captain 1st Rank Vadim Serga said on Thursday.
"During the combat exercise, the combat team of the missile and artillery unit of the cruiser Marshal Ustinov was assigned the task to deliver a missile strike against a grouping of a notional enemy’s warships. The fire was delivered against a complex target position installed in the designated area of the Barents Sea," the spokesman said.
The missile firing area was closed for shipping and aviation in advance. The firing exercise was held successfully, he noted.
"The crew of the cruiser Marshal Ustinov will soon practice assignments to rescue personnel at sea in interaction with the crew of the sea tug MB-100, and will also hold drills for replenishing all types of stocks in a sea voyage jointly with the crew of the medium sea-going tanker Dubna. After accomplishing missions at sea, the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov will return to the Northern Fleet’s main naval base of Severomorsk," the spokesman said.
The Marshal Ustinov is a Project 1164 missile cruiser. The warship was laid down on October 5, 1978 at the Nikolayev Shipyard and floated out on February 25, 1982. The missile cruiser entered service with the Northern Fleet on November 5, 1986. The warship is 186 m long and 20.8 m wide. It develops a maximum speed of 32 knots and has a crew of about 500 men. The cruiser’s basic armament comprises 16 launchers of supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles. The warship is also armed with air defense missile systems, artillery guns and the anti-submarine warfare complex.
The Russian Navy operates three such missile cruisers: the Moskva in the Black Sea Fleet, the Varyag in the Pacific Fleet and the Marshal Ustinov in the Northern Fleet.