Carrying Kalibr Missiles, Admiral Makarov Will Become The Main Ship Of Russia's Black Sea Fleet To Replace The Moskva Sunk By Ukraine

Russian frigate Admiral Makarov (799). (Wikimedia Commons / Ad Meskens)

JAKARTA - The frigate Admiral Makarov (799) is likely to become the main ship of the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet, replacing the Moskva Missile Cruiser (121), according to a source close to the Crimean security agency.

"Following the sinking of the Moskva, one of the three Project 11356 frigates could become the new mainstay of the Russian Black Sea fleet. So far, Admiral Makarov has been selected," he told TASS as quoted on May 22.

TASS could not officially confirm the information at the time of publication.

Project 11356 or Admiral Grigorovich Class Frigates are known to have three ships. First Admiral Grogorovich (745) which was launched in 2016. The second is Admiral Essen (751) which was launched in 2016. Third, Admiral Makarov (799) which was launched in 2107. All three serve in the Black Sea Fleet.

The Project 11356 Admiral Makarov frigate was built by Yantar Shipyard on 29 February 2012 and launched on 2 September 2015. It was delivered to the Russian Navy on 25 December 2017.

The Project 11356 frigate has a displacement of 4000 tonnes and a speed of 30 knots. Their roaming capacity is 30 days. The frigate is armed with 100 mm A-190 artillery guns, anti-aircraft and artillery guns, torpedo and anti-submarine weapons, as well as precision Kalibr cruise missiles. It can also carry Ka-27 or Ka-31 helicopters.

Russian frigate Admiral Makarov (799). (Wikimedia Commons/Radziun)

As previously reported, the main ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet Moskva (121) was badly damaged and its crew evacuated, after being hit by an explosion which Ukraine claimed was the result of a missile attack.

The Russian Defense Ministry said a fire on the Moskva missile cruiser caused the ammunition to explode, the Interfax news agency reported.

"As a result of a fire on the missile cruiser Moskva, ammunition exploded. The ship was badly damaged. The crew was completely evacuated," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, but Maksym Marchenko, governor of Ukraine in the area around the Black Sea port of Odesa, said the warship Moskva had been hit by two Ukrainian-made Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles.

"Neptune's missiles guarding the Black Sea caused very serious damage," he said in an online post.

It is known, in October 2021, a defense industry source told TASS on the sidelines of the 9th Sevastopol International Maritime Business Forum (SIMBF), the advanced Project 23900 multipurpose amphibious assault ship Mitrofan Moskalenko, will become the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet once its construction is completed at the Shipyard. Zaliv ship in the Crimean Kerch. Infrastructure facilities have been prepared in Sevastopol, he said.