Russia Launches Frigate Equipped with Tsirkon Hypersonic Missile

The Russian Navy’s new Project 22350 frigate ‘Admiral Amelko’ was launched on August 14 at the Severnaya Verf Shipyard in St. Petersburg.

The 135-meter-long warship is designed as a modular platform with multipurpose vertical launch systems. Admiral Amelko carries 24 missile cells, with follow-on Project 22350 frigates expected to deploy 32, and the planned Project 22350M warships to carry at least 48. The Tsirkon hypersonic missile, which can reach speeds of Mach 9 and a range between 400 km and 1,500 km, is intended to bypass air defense and missile defense networks of adversary navies.

In addition to strike weapons, Admiral Amelko is fitted with the Otvet (Response) anti-submarine warfare system. It uses 91RE2 ballistic missiles to deliver lightweight torpedoes against submarines up to 40 km away. The ship also operates a Ka-27 helicopter for extended anti-submarine operations.

The ship has been described by a defense expert as a “sea terminator” with the ability to strike both aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered submarines

“Project 22350 frigates are the carriers of high-precision missile weapons — not only Kalibr but also Tsirkon missiles. The frigate is a universal soldier that can hunt down enemy nuclear-powered submarines from a safe distance,” Alexander Stepanov of the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration told TASS.

According to Stepanov, the launch is a counterbalance to the deployment of U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in the Pacific, which are armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles. “These systems are being placed on combat duty to guarantee the security of our waters. In coordination with the navies of our key allies, they will ensure consistent maritime patrols and safeguard marine navigation, including trade and economic routes, which the collective West is attempting to blockade,” he said.

The frigate was laid down in April 2019, with Russian President Vladimir Putin attending the ceremony. It is named after Soviet naval commander Admiral Nikolay Amelko (1914–2007).