During the last days of last week, the British Royal Navy announced that the Type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke (F234) monitored the Russian Navy frigate Admiral Golovko and its support vessels in the English Channel. Prior to this, the units had conducted exercises in the Barents Sea, Norwegian Sea, and North Sea.
In line with this, it is noteworthy that the vessels had departed from the Northern Fleet in Severomorsk on November 1, as part of a global deployment that the naval units will carry out in the Atlantic. In addition to the RFS Admiral Golovko, the medium tanker Vyazma and the research vessel Yantar were also present.
On that note, after departing, the frigate conducted a series of preparatory exercises in the Barents Sea on November 4 in preparation for its upcoming months-long deployment, during which it will visit various foreign ports, although no further details have been provided about which ones.
As part of other deployments already carried out by units of this same class in the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea, the lead frigate of this class, the Admiral Gorshkov, made a protocol visit to Havana, Cuba, in July, accompanied by the nuclear submarine SSGN RFS Kazan. It later set sail for the Mediterranean, recently visiting Tunisia.
RFS Admiral Golovko Frigate
The frigate is the newest of the Admiral Gorshkov class (Project 22350) and was delivered in December 2023 in the presence of President Vladimir Putin. This third unit, which was received by the Russian Navy, began construction in 2012 with keel-laying and was launched in 2020. It is currently based in the Northern Fleet.
With a displacement of 4,500 tons, the Admiral Golovko is equipped with modern missile attack systems such as the Kalibr and Onyx, in addition to anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems. The lead unit of the class has undergone upgrades to deploy the modern 3M22 Zircon hypersonic missiles, a capability that could be incorporated into ships currently under construction. These units have been designed for oceanic deployment, featuring a stealthy design and significant surface-to-air and surface-to-surface combat capabilities.
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