MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. The Russian Navy’s Project 22350 frigate Admiral Amelko, launched on August 14, is a "sea terminator" and a sort of "universal soldier" capable of striking both aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered submarines, a military expert told TASS on Friday.
"Project 22350 frigates are the carriers of high-precision missile weapons - not only Kalibr [cruise] but also Tsirkon [hypersonic] missiles. The frigate is a sea terminator, a universal soldier that can hunt down enemy nuclear-powered submarines from a safe distance," Alexander Stepanov of the Institute of Law and National Security within the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration said.
The Project 22350 frigate is a modular launcher platform that can address the tasks of detecting and destroying priority targets in the coastal area and elements of carrier strike groups, including aircraft cruisers, the expert explained.
The warship is outfitted with 24 cells of multipurpose shipborne launching systems. Moreover, Project 22350 frigates of the 2nd series will get 32 launching system cells while Project 22350M warships will be capable of carrying at least 48 cells. These cells are also intended for Tsirkon hypersonic anti-ship missiles with an operational range of 400 km to 1,500 km capable of penetrating onboard and coastal anti-missile and air defense systems of a potential enemy, the military expert said.
In addition, the frigate Admiral Amelko is outfitted with the advanced Otvet (Response) anti-submarine warfare system, capable of destroying enemy nuclear-powered submarines if detected beyond the operational range of their onboard systems. The anti-submarine warfare system employs a 91RE2 ballistic missile that delivers a 324mm MPT-1UM torpedo to a distance of up to 40 km. The frigate also carries a deck-based Ka-27 helicopter with anti-submarine warfare capabilities, he elaborated.
The launch of the frigate Admiral Amelko can be seen as a response to the active deployments of US Arleigh Burke-class destroyers with precision weapons - Tomahawk multipurpose cruise missiles on board in Pacific waters, the expert said.
"We see that these systems are being placed on combat duty to guarantee the security of our waters. In coordination with the navies of our key allies, they will ensure consistent maritime patrols and safeguard marine navigation, including trade and economic routes, which the collective West is attempting to blockade," the expert concluded.
The Project 22350 frigate Admiral Amelko was put afloat at the Severnaya Verf Shipyard in St. Petersburg in northwestern Russia (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) on August 14. The warship was named after Soviet naval commander, Admiral, Candidate of Naval Sciences Nikolay Amelko (1914-2007). The frigate was laid down on April 23, 2019 in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.