TARTUS /Syria/, October 154. /TASS/. The Russian Navy’s missile frigate Admiral Makarov held a gunnery exercise in the East Mediterranean, Ship Commander Captain 2nd Rank Anton Kuprin said on Monday.
The sailors fired a 100mm artillery gun, launching 80 shells at the target in less than in a minute, the ship commander said.
"All the ship’s armament was tested in battle in the previous two years. Specifically, the crew fired Kalibrs [cruise missiles] and anti-aircraft missile systems. The ships of this type numerously accomplished missions in the Mediterranean and today this is, perhaps, Russia’s most advanced weapon," the captain said.
The frigate Admiral Makarov called at the Russian Navy’s Tartus logistics base in Syria. While on its way to the designated point, the frigate delivered the Russian Navy’s main icon, the image of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called, to the Greek Island of Corfu, which hosted Russian Week festivities.
The Admiral Makarov is the third Project 11356 blue-water frigate named after Imperial Russian Navy Commander, Oceanographer and Vice-Admiral Stepan Makarov. The latest frigate was delivered to the Navy and the naval flag was hoisted on the warship on December 27, 2017. The frigate arrived in Sevastopol for the first time in early October 2018 after accomplishing missions in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Project 11356 frigates have a displacement of 4,000 tons, a length of 124.8 meters, a speed of 30 knots and sea endurance of 30 days. They are armed with Kalibr-NK cruise missiles, Shtil-1 surface-to-air missile systems, A-190 100mm artillery guns, air defense artillery, rocket launchers and torpedoes and can also carry a deck-based Kamov Ka-27 (or Ka-31) helicopter.
The Russian Navy’s logistics center at Tartus in Syria was opened in 1971. In 2017, Russia and Syria signed an agreement on the Tartus base for a term of 49 years with an option of its extension. Under the document, the Tartus base can accommodate up to 11 warships, including nuclear-powered vessels. On July 28, 2019, which was celebrated as Russia’s Navy Day, the Tartus base held a naval parade that involved the frigate Admiral Grigorovich, the guard ship Pytlivy, the small missile ships Veliky Ustyug and Uglich, the conventional submarine Stary Oskol and other vessels.