Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich

Admiral Grigorovich is the lead ship of the Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates of the Russian Navy. She is part of the Black Sea Fleet, and is based at Sevastopol.

Admiral Grigorovich in 2016
History
Russia
NameAdmiral Grigorovich
NamesakeIvan Grigorovich
BuilderYantar Shipyard
Laid down18 December 2010
Launched14 March 2014
Commissioned11 March 2016
Identification745
StatusActive
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiral Grigorovich-class frigate
Displacement
Length124.8 m (409 ft)
Beam15.2 m (50 ft)
Draught4.2 m (14 ft)
Propulsion
  • 2 shaft COGAG;
  • 2 DS-71 cruise gas turbines 8,450 shp (6,300 kW);
  • 2 DT-59 boost gas turbines 22,000 shp (16,000 kW) ;
  • Total: 60,900 shp (45,400 kW)
Speed30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range4,850 nmi (8,980 km; 5,580 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Endurance30 days
Complement200
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Air search radar: Fregat M2M
  • Surface search radar: 3Ts-25 Garpun-B, MR-212/201-1, Nucleus-2 6000A
  • Fire control radar: JSC 5P-10 Puma FCS, 3R14N-11356 FCS, MR-90 Orekh SAM FCS
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × Ka-27 series helicopter
Aviation facilitiesHelipad and hangar for one helicopter

Design and development

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The Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates were designed by Severnoye Design Bureau in Saint Petersburg as project 11356P frigates and represent an improvement over the Talwar class.[2] They are blue water multipurpose surface combatants, purposed to complement heavier Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates. The creation of the class is associated with the shift in the Russian Navy to create a smaller fleet of multipurpose vessels that are cheaper to operate and maintain, but not less capable than the Soviet ships. The frigates of the class were the first blue water combatants to carry Kalibr missiles, which have since became more widespread in the Russian Navy in a process widely referred to as "kalibrization".[3]

Admiral Grigorovich displaces 3,620 tonnes (3,560 long tons) and 4,035 tonnes (3,971 long tons) tons when fully loaded. Ship's length overall is 124.8 m (409 ft 5 in), beam 15.2 m (49 ft 10 in) and draught 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in). The hull and superstructures have low radar, acoustic and infrared signatures. The propulsion is provided by a 2-shaft COGAG with two DS-71 cruise gas turbines providing 8,450 shp (6,300 kW) and two DT-59 boost gas turbines, providing 22,000 shp (16,000 kW), made by Zorya-Mashproekt in Nikolayev. In total, 60,900 shp (45,400 kW) are available. The design speed is 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) and complement 200, including 18 officers and 20 marines.

Armament and sensors

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Ship's main armament are eight UKSK vertical launch cells for Kalibr or Oniks cruise missiles, which can be used against ground targets or ships. This is complemented by a 100 mm (3.9 in) A-190 Arsenal naval gun. The air defence suite is represented by 24 3S90M Buk vertical launch cells for 9M317M missiles, as well as two AK-630 close-in weapon systems and eight Igla-S or Verba air-defence missile systems. Anti-submarine armament consists of two double 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes and a RBU-6000 rocket launcher. The ship can carry a Ka-27 series helicopter. The aviation facilities are composed of a helipad and hangar.

Admiral Grigorovich is equipped with a sensor suite, consisting of navigation radar MR-212/201-1 Vaygach-U, air search radar Fregat M2M, surface search radar for target acquisition 3Ts-25 Garpun-B and fire-control radars for artillery 5P-10 Puma, for Kalibr and Oniks missiles 3R14N-11356 and for Buk missiles MR-90 Orekh. The ship has fitted MGK-335EM-03 sonar system with Vinyetka-EM towed array sonar. Electronic warfare suite used is TK-25-5 shipborne electronic suppression system, as well as four KT-216 launchers of countermeasures.

Construction and service

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The frigate Admiral Grigorovich arriving in Sevastopol on 10 June 2016

Admiral Grigorovich was laid down at Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad on 18 December 2010. Launch took place on 14 March 2014 and the ship was commissioned with pennant number 745 on 11 March 2016 as part of the 30th Surface Ship Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet based in Sevastopol.

In November 2016, Admiral Grigorovich was dispatched to the Mediterranean Sea and positioned off the Syrian coast as part of the greater Russian campaign in the Syrian Civil War.[4] In the course of the Russian military campaign in Syria, Admiral Grigorovich participated in a large-scale operation to strike targets in Syria by launching Kalibr cruise missiles, striking targets in the Idlib and Homs areas.[5][6]

On 25 August 2018, the Black Sea Fleet announced that Admiral Grigorovich, along with sister ship Admiral Essen, was making a "planned passage from Sevastopol to the Mediterranean Sea" to join the Russian Navy's Mediterranean task force.[7]

Between January and March 2019 the ship was in dry dock at Sevastopol for scheduled maintenance.[8][9]

In May 2020, Admiral Grigorovich and the tug Nikolay Muru were deployed to the Indian Ocean. She returned to Sevastopol on 26 June 2020.[10] On 24 December 2020, the ship entered the Mediterranean Sea[11] and on 11 February 2021, Admiral Grigorovich arrived at Karachi, Pakistan, for drills, along with the patrol ship Dmitry Rogachev and the tug SB-739.[12] The exercises took place between 15 and 16 February 2021. The participants focused on cooperation in repelling attacks by small fast targets and performed joint maneuvers, as well as carrying out joint measures against piracy, search operations and artillery firing.[13] On 28 February, Admiral Grigorovich called at Port Sudan.[14] The visit happened months after a Russia-Sudan deal for establishing a naval base of the Russian Navy in Port Sudan and it was the first visit of a Russian warship to Sudan in the modern history.A In late March, Admiral Grigorovich tracked the carrier strike group of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower southwest of Crete, taking over from the frigate Admiral Kasatonov.[15] Dmitry Rogachev returned to the Black Sea on 3 April.[16]

In early 2022, the frigate was deployed in the Mediterranean as part of a concentration of Russian naval forces there during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[17]

In late November, she was absent from Tartus, likely shadowing French aircraft carrier, deployed to the East Mediterranean.[18] In April 2023, the frigate was reported to have left the Mediterranean, transitting via the Atlantic to the Baltic.[19] She was reported back in the Atlantic in June.[20] She was completed a planned repair in the Baltic Sea in October 2023.[21]

Notes

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^A The US has recently improved its relations with Sudan as well (after Sudan improved its relations with Israel, the US removed it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism), which led to the visits of fast expeditionary ship Carson City between 24–26 February and destroyer Winston S. Churchill on 1 March, which proved to be the first visits of US warships to the country in decades.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Российская ракета "Циркон" достигла восьми скоростей звука". rg.ru (in Russian). 15 April 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Russian Navy frigate Admiral Grigorovich enters Sudan port in new military deal". navyrecognition.com. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  3. ^ Delanoë, I. (2020). Russian Naval Forces in the Syrian War. Foreign Policy Research Institute: Philadelphia
  4. ^ Borger, Julian (4 November 2016). "Ominous news for Aleppo as Russian frigate reaches Syrian coast". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Новейший фрегат "Адмирал Григорович" вернулся в Севастополь". Центральный Военно-Морской Портал (in Russian). Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Syria conflict: Air strikes resume on rebel-held Aleppo". BBC News. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Black Sea Fleet missile frigates to join Russia's Mediterranean task force". TASS. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Источник: плановый ремонт фрегата "Адмирал Григорович" продлится месяц". flotprom.ru (in Russian). 14 January 2019. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  9. ^ "В Севастополе фрегат "Адмирал Григорович" спущен на воду после ремонта". primechainya.ru (in Russian). 15 March 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  10. ^ ""Admiral Grigorovich" frigate of the Black Sea Fleet returns to Sevastopol". mil.ru. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Russian Naval Deployments 18–24 Jan 2021". pbs.twimg.com. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Отряд кораблей Военно-Морского Флота России прибыл в Пакистан для участия в многонациональном военно-морском учении «Аман-2021»". mil.ru (in Russian). 11 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Three Russian ships enter Arabian Sea for Aman-2021 exercise". tass.com. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  14. ^ "US, Russian warships simultaneously visit Port Sudan". janes.com. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Grigorovich". twitter.com. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.[dead link]
  16. ^ @binaltmiski (3 April 2021). "Russian Navy's Dmitry Rogachev passed Bosphorus northbounded in this morning" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 April 2021 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk09/2022".
  18. ^ "Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk47/2022".
  19. ^ @NavyLookout (28 April 2023). "@HMSDefender has been shadowing 3 Russian warships on their way to the Baltic - returning home after 18 months on operations in the Mediterranean" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 April 2023 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ Candlin, Alex (9 June 2023). "Royal Navy and Royal Air Force deployed to shadow Russian warships". Forces.net.
  21. ^ "Вертолётчики Балтфлота отработали один из самых сложных элементов для морской авиации". Новости Калининграда (in Russian). 31 October 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  22. ^ "Russia establishes its first naval base in Africa". atalayar.com. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
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