The Admiral Amelko is the fifth of 10 planned Project 22350 frigates, the only ocean-going warships to be produced in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The Russian Navy has no plans to operate an aircraft carrier in the immediate future, as it now appears that the Admiral Kuznetsov will head to the scrap heap rather than back to sea. Instead, the Kremlin may be focused on how to combat America’s carriers, with far smaller surface combatants that could be deployed as “sea terminators” to hunt down the flattops.
Just as the carrier proved to be deadly to the one-feared battleship, a Russian official is claiming its Project 22350 frigates, Admiral Gorshkov-class, could be just the platform to send the US Navy’s nuclear-powered supercarriers to the bottom of the sea.
“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 told Russian state media news agency TASS on Friday.
Russia’s Project 22350 Frigates Specialize in Area Denial
Designated as frigates, the Project 22350 warships displace 5,400 tons under full load and can reach speeds of 29.5 knots. The warships carry a crew of 210 sailors but have an endurance of just 30 days, a deficiency highlighted last year when a tanker escorted the frigate Admiral Golovko during its globe-trotting journey.
However, the small warships would serve well in an anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capacity, as TASS further explained that the frigates were designed to be a “modular launcher platform,” equipped to detect and destroy “priority targets in the coastal area and elements of a carrier strike group.
The Russian Navy Has Big Plans for the Admiral Amelko
The newest “sea terminator,” the frigate Admiral Amelko, was launched earlier this month at the Severnaya Shipyard in St. Petersburg and was outfitted with the Otvet (Response) anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platform. Named for Soviet Admiral Nikolay Amelko, it is purported to be “capable of destroying enemy nuclear-powered submarines if detected beyond the operational range of their onboard systems.” It utilizes a 91RE2 ballistic missile, which can deliver “a 324mm MPT-1UM torpedo to a distance of up to 40 km.”
This newest frigate is also among the first to see double the number of 3S14 VLS cells, essentially turning the frigates into floating missile trucks. Other armaments include a pair of Palash close-in weapons systems (CIWS), each with Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30 6-barreled 30mm rotary cannons; and 2 x 4 330mm torpedo tubes for the Paket-NK anti-torpedo/anti-submarine torpedoes. It can also carry a deck-based Ka-27 helicopter, which can carry out additional ASW operations.
“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,” Stepanov added.
Admiral Amelko is the fifth of 10 planned Project 22350 frigates, the only ocean-going warships to be produced in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and it will eventually serve in the Pacific, with plans for it to enter service next year. Three more are now under construction, while the final two are on order.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
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