The frigate "Admiral Golovko" with hypersonic "Zircons" set out on its first long-distance campaign
History of the frigate
The frigate "Admiral Golovko" is the second Project 22350 ship. The lead ship of the series is the Admiral Gorshkov frigate, which has been part of the Navy since 2018. Work on the Admiral Golovko began in 2012 at the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg. The frigate was launched in May 2020 and, according to the plans, was supposed to be transferred to the fleet last year. However, due to delays in the delivery of the power plant, the ship went to sea for the first time only in the summer of 2022.
The main armament of the Admiral Golovko is the Caliber-NK and Onyx cruise missiles. The ship is also armed with the Pantsir-M anti-aircraft missile and artillery complex, the Paket-NK anti-submarine complex, and the A-190 artillery mount. In 2019, it became known that the Admiral Golovko, like the Gorshkov, would receive the latest hypersonic Zircon missiles in addition to all this.
Service in Pacific Fleet
On January 4, 2023, the Admiral Golovko was finally accepted into the Navy. The solemn ceremony took place at the Northern Wharf of Severnaya Verf. The ship will join the Pacific Fleet.
In 2013, Russia announced the creation of the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile. It was created within the framework of the Development and Deployment of Hypersonic Weapon Systems program. The missile flies at a speed of about 9 Mach - that is, about 11,000 kilometers per hour. At the same time, the Zircon actively maneuvers during the flight, which makes it almost invulnerable to modern air defense and missile defense systems.
For the first time, the Zircon was tested in 2016. The launches were carried out from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate. They all ended in success. According to open sources, the state tests of the missile should be completed no later than the end of 2023.
The Admiral Golovko will be the second ship in the Russian Navy to receive hypersonic weapons after the Admiral Gorshkov. According to the Ministry of Defense, the equipment of the Pacific Fleet with Zircons will significantly increase its combat capabilities.
How effective the new Zircon missiles will be in real combat conditions is still unknown. However, it is already clear that the very presence of hypersonic weapons on the Admiral Golovko is a serious challenge to potential adversaries. With the help of the Zircon, Russia will be able to strike enemy ships and land targets at great distances and with high accuracy. This means that any potential aggressor will now have to reckon with the fact that the Russian Navy has weapons that can overcome their defense systems.
