MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. The Russian Navy’s latest missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov held artillery firings against a naval target during drills in the Atlantic Ocean in its long-distance deployment, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Friday.
"The crew of the frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov belonging to the Northern Fleet held artillery firings against a naval target in the course of accomplishing long-distance deployment missions in the southern Atlantic as part of preparations for a joint naval exercise with the navies of the South African Republic and the People’s Liberation Army of China," the ministry said in a statement.
During the drills, the frigate’s crew conducted the fire from the 130mm AK-192M shipborne multi-purpose artillery system against a naval target simulating a notional enemy warship at a distance of over 10 km, it specified.
The shipborne command post’s team practiced issuing target acquisition for employing the warship’s artillery armaments. The frigate’s crew also exercised to generate electronic interference in order to counter the simulated enemy’s precision weapons, the statement says.
"The data-recording equipment confirmed that the target was successfully hit," the ministry said.
The frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov armed with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles embarked on its long-distance deployment on January 4. Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a command for the frigate’s deployment in distant waters.
The frigate Admiral Gorshkov earlier held air defense drills in the Norwegian Sea, following which it headed to the Atlantic Ocean for accomplishing assigned missions. Russia’s Defense Ministry earlier announced planned naval drills with the South African and Chinese navies off the coast of South Africa in February.
Admiral Gorshkov frigate
The Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov is the Project 22350 lead multi-purpose frigate designed to operate in distant waters. The warship was built at the Severnaya Verf Shipyard (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) and joined the Russian Navy in July 2018. In December 2022, the frigate conducted an inter-fleet transit and arrived at the Northern Fleet’s main naval base of Severomorsk after its routine maintenance at the Kronshtadt Marine Plant.
The frigate Admiral Gorshkov carries the Kalibr-NK missile system as its basic strike weapon. The warship was actively involved in testing Russia’s breakthrough Tsirkon hypersonic missile designed and produced by the Reutov-based Research and Production Association of Machine-Building (part of Tactical Missiles Corporation).
The naval task force consisting of the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the medium sea tanker Kama has been deployed in distant waters under the command of Northern Fleet Missile Ships Division Commander Captain 1st Rank Oleg Gladky. The warship’s deployment aims to ensure Russia’s naval presence in strategically important areas of the World Ocean.