"Today, the Black Sea Fleet's newest Frigate – the Admiral Essen, which is making an inter-fleet passage from the Baltic to the Black Sea Fleet, has passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and arrived in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea," Trukhachyov said. "The warship has joined the Navy's permanent task force in the distant operational area," the officer added.
The 4,000 ton ships, manned by 200 sailors and officers, are equipped with advanced sensor, radar and electronic warfare systems. Their armament includes the UKSK vertical launch system, capable of launching Kalibr and Oniks land attack and anti-ship cruise missiles. The ships are also fitted with Shtil-1 naval missile launchers, a naval variant of the Buk SAM system, eight Igla-1E infrared SAM launchers, an RBU-6000 anti-sub rocket launcher, two 533mm torpedo tubes, and a complement of close-in weapons. The frigates carry the trusty Ka-27PL naval helicopter.
Last week, the Admiral Grigorovich held firing drills, working out an algorithm for single-ship combat against enemy surface ships, and detecting a mock naval mine, dodging and destroying it by naval artillery fire.
