MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/. The Northern Fleet’s latest missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov has crossed the equator for the second time in its deployment in distant waters, the Fleet’s press office reported on Friday.
"Today the frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov has crossed the equator in the Indian Ocean, moving northward," the press office said in a statement.
The Russian missile frigate crossed the equator for the first time in its long-distance deployment in February, it added.
Over the period of its long-distance deployment, the Russian warship has crossed three oceans, five seas and two strait zones, the press office said.
"The Russian sailors have covered a distance of over 16,100 nautical miles since they left the Northern Fleet’s main naval base of Severomorsk," the statement reads.
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 held air defense drills in the Norwegian Sea in January, following which it participated in the trilateral joint naval maneuvers codenamed Mosi held by the South African, Russian and Chinese navies 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).