Russia is sending its newest frigate carrying cruise missiles to Syria
Russia will reinforce its flotilla which is currently located near the shores of Syria with its newest frigate from the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Grigorovich.
This was reported by Russian RIA news agency citing an informed source in the Russian military in the Crimea. According to the source, the ship was preparing to sail from the port of Sevastopol on Thursday.
“The newest rocket frigate of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Grigorovich, is leaving its base in Sevastopol today and is heading for the Mediterranean where it will join the flotilla of the Russian ships stationed near Syrian shores,” the source rold RIA Novosti.
According to him, the Admiral Grigorovich will be a “considerable reinforcement “ to the Mediterranean flotilla of the Russian Navy.
“This is a multi-purpose ship, it can strike very remote targets both in the sea and on the ground. It will also be integrated in the unified air defense system of the Russian military in Syria. This will be a very good real life combat experience for the crew of the ship, “ stated the source of the agency.
“Before the beginning of the mission the crew of the ship tested the work of the onboard artillery, its ability to repel the air attacks. The crew also practiced integration with the marine aircraft and anti-submarine helicopters,” the source added.
According to open military sources, the Admiral Grigorovich is capable of carrying up to 8 Kalibr class cruise missiles and also up to 36 Shtil-1 missiles, which is a Navy version of BUK missiles.
Frigates of Russia’s Project 11356 have a displacement of 4000 tons, maximum speed of 30 knots, endurance of 300 days and the crew of 200 servicemen.
Apart from the missile systems it also has 100 mm artillery unit, Smerch-2 anti-submarine rocket launcher, 533 mm torpedoes and Ka-31 helicopter.
In June 2016, Admiral Grigorovich arrived in Sevastopol and became a part of the Black Sea Fleet.