''Admiral Grigorovich'' is the lead ship of the s of the Russian Navy. She is part of the Black Sea Fleet, and is based at

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

Design and development

The ''Admiral Grigorovich''-class frigates were designed by Severnoye Design Bureau in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

as project 11356P frigates and represent an improvement over the ''Talwar'' class. 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 Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water. Definitions The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...

combatants to carry Kalibr missiles, which have since became more widespread in the Russian Navy in a process known as kalibrization. ''Admiral Grigorovich'' displaces and tons when fully loaded. Ship's length overall is , beam and draught . The hull and superstructures have low radar, acoustic and infrared signatures. The propulsion is provided by a 2-shaft

COGAG Combined gas turbine and gas turbine (COGAG) is a type of propulsion system for ships using two gas turbines connected to a single propeller shaft. A gearbox and clutches allow either of the turbines to drive the shaft or both of them combined. ...

with two DS-71 cruise

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...

s providing and two DT-59 boost gas turbines, providing , made by

Zorya-Mashproekt Zorya-Mashproekt ( uk, ДП НВКГ «Зоря» — «Машпроект») is a research and production complex that specializes in a gas turbine construction. The complex is located in the city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine and is part of the Ukrai ...

in Nikolayev. In total, are available. The design speed is and complement 200, including 18 officers and 20 marines.

Armament and sensors

Ship's main armament are eight UKSK vertical launch cells for

Kalibr The 3M-54 Kalibr, (Калибр, caliber), also referred to it as 3M54-1 Kalibr, 3M14 Biryuza (Бирюза, turquoise), ( NATO reporting name SS-N-27 Sizzler and SS-N-30A) is a family of Russian cruise missiles developed by the Novator Design ...

or Oniks cruise missiles, which can be used against ground targets or ships. This is complemented by a 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

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s and a RBU-6000 rocket launcher. The ship can carry a Ka-27 series

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

. The aviation facilities are composed of a helipad and

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

. ''Admiral Grigorovich'' is equipped with a sensor suite, consisting of

navigation radar Radar navigation is the utilization of marine and aviation radar systems for vessel and aircraft navigation. When a craft is within radar range of land or special radar aids to navigation, the navigator can take distances and angular bearings ...

MR-212/201-1 Vaygach-U, air

search radar This is a list of different types of radar. Detection and search radars Search radars scan great volumes of space with pulses of short radio waves. They typically scan the volume two to four times a minute. The waves are usually less than a meter ...

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 Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...

system with Vinyetka-EM

towed array sonar A towed array sonar is a system of hydrophones towed behind a submarine or a surface ship on a cable. Trailing the hydrophones behind the vessel, on a cable that can be kilometers long, keeps the array's sensors away from the ship's own noise sou ...

. Electronic warfare suite used is TK-25-5 shipborne electronic suppression system, as well as four KT-216 launchers of

countermeasure A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...

Construction and service

''Admiral Grigorovich'' was laid down at Yantar Shipyard in

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

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

. In November 2016, ''Admiral Grigorovich'' was dispatched to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

and positioned off the Syrian coast as part of the greater

Russian campaign The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

in the Syrian Civil War. 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. On 25 August 2018, the Black Sea Fleet announced that ''Admiral Grigorovich'', along with sister ship , was making a "planned passage from

to the Mediterranean Sea" to join the Russian Navy's Mediterranean task force. Between January and March 2019 the ship was in dry dock at Sevastopol for scheduled maintenance. In May 2020, ''Admiral Grigorovich'' and the tug ''Nikolay Muru'' were deployed to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

. She returned to Sevastopol on 26 June 2020. On 24 December 2020, the ship entered the Mediterranean Sea and on 11 February 2021, ''Admiral Grigorovich'' arrived at

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, Pakistan, for drills, along with the patrol ship ''Dmitry Rogachev'' and the tug ''SB-739''. The

exercises Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic s ...

took place between 15–16 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. On 28 February, ''Admiral Grigorovich'' called at

Port Sudan Port Sudan ( ar, بور سودان, Būr Sūdān) is a port city in eastern Sudan, and the capital of the state of Red Sea. , it has 489,725 residents. Located on the Red Sea, Port Sudan is recognized as Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% ...

. 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. In late March, ''Admiral Grigorovich'' tracked the

carrier strike group A carrier strike group (CSG) is a type of carrier battle group of the United States Navy. It is an operational formation composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, usually an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least t ...

of southwest of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

, taking over from the frigate . ''Dmitry Rogachev'' returned to the Black Sea on 3 April. 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 On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. In late November, she was absent from Tartus, likely shadowing French aircraft carrier, deployed to the East Mediterranean.

Notes

: 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.

References

External links

''Admiral Grigorovich''-class frigates on russianships.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Admiral Grigorovich Frigates of the Russian Navy Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates 2014 ships Ships built at Yantar Shipyard Ships involved in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine