Russia’s Severnaya Verf shipyard has launched the Russian Navy’s third Project 22350 frigate Admiral Golovko at its St. Petersburg yard.
The launch of Admiral Golovko comes two years after the lead ship in the class, Admiral Gorshkov, was commissioned by the navy in 2018. The second unit, Admiral Kasatonov, completed its trials program in April this year and will soon join the Baltic Sea Fleet.
Admiral Golovko will continue the fitting out process during 2020 and into the next year. Mooring trials are set for June 2021, with the crew expected to move on board two months later. Sea trials are slated for early 2022, with delivery to the navy that same year. The ship will become part of Russia’s Northern Sea Fleet.
Worth noting is the fact that the third frigate in the series is equipped with gas turbine engines developed and built in Russia. The first two ships, as well as three Project 111356 ships, received Ukrainian-built engines before the 2014 Crimea conflict. Russia was subsequently forced to develop its own engines for follow-on ships.
The 135-meter Project 22350 ships displace 5,000 tons and have a cruising range of over 4,000 nautical miles. They are equipped with the Poliment-Redut naval air defense system and launchers for Onyx and Kalibr anti-ship missiles. The ships are also equipped with torpedoes and embark Ka-27 anti-submarine warfare helicopters.
