"Retains flagship status": what capabilities does the missile cruiser "Moscow" have?

The guards missile cruiser "Moskva" for the first time after the completion of the repair went to sea to work out tasks on the eve of the imminent start of the strategic command-staff exercise "Kavkaz-2020", according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

“As part of completing the elements of the task“ Navigating and conducting combat with a single ship ”, the crew will conduct a set of naval combat exercises and measures to coordinate the crew at sea.

The elements of the coursework will be worked out at the maritime training grounds in the Black Sea, ”the military department's website says.

Also, in the course of practical actions, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet (Black Sea Fleet) must perform anti-aircraft artillery fire and use electronic warfare (EW) means to practice measures for conducting air defense.

"One of the stages of the exercise will be to work out the algorithm of the crew's actions with the conditional use of the ship's main missile system," the military said.

"Moscow" was sent for repairs and partial modernization in 2018.

The work was carried out in Sevastopol at the 13th shipyard of the Black Sea Fleet.

“The ship will serve after repair for more than a dozen years.

The cruiser underwent extensive repair and modernization work.

The cruiser "Moskva" will leave the dock with an overhauled engine, replacement of diesel generators and RTS systems (radio equipment -

).

In addition, hundreds of meters of cable routes have been replaced on the cruiser, ”RIA Novosti quotes a representative of the company's press service.

"Nobody dared to provoke"

Moskva is the lead ship of Project 1164 Atlant.

In addition to this ship, the Russian Navy has two more such missile cruisers: "Varyag" - in the Pacific Fleet and "Marshal Ustinov" - in the North.

"Moscow" was founded in 1976 on the stocks of the Nikolaev shipyard named after 61 Kommunar under the name "Slava".

On January 30, 1983, the ship entered the USSR Navy after completing a complex of factory and state tests.

• Shooting from the anti-ship installation "Moscow"

• © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

In December 1989, Slava took part in securing the first meeting of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Gorbachev with US President George W. Bush, which took place in Malta.

In 1990, the cruiser was sent to Nikolaev for partial modernization.

The ship received its current name and the name "Guards" on June 22, 1995 at the initiative of the leadership of the Russian capital.

After the collapse of the USSR, the Moscow government took patronage over the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet and financed its repairs.

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, "Moscow" is designed to deliver strikes against large surface targets and groups of ships.

The cruiser is also capable of ensuring the combat stability of anti-submarine formations and conducting collective anti-aircraft defense of the fleet forces in remote areas of the World Ocean.

"In addition, (" Moscow "-

) can solve the tasks of countering submarines and shelling the enemy's coast, as well as provide fire support during landing operations," the military department says.

The total displacement of the cruiser is 11.3 thousand tons, length - 186 m, width - 21 m, crew - 680 people, cruising range - 7 thousand miles (11.27 thousand km), speed - 32 knots (59.26 km / h).

A gas turbine power plant has been installed at Moscow.

The total power of the ship's engines is estimated at 90 thousand liters.

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The arsenal of "Moscow" includes 16 launchers of the Vulcan anti-ship system, the S-300F Fort anti-aircraft missile system (SAM), the Osa short-range air defense system, AK-130 and AK-630 artillery mounts, torpedo weapons and deep rocket launchers bombs RBU-6000.

The firing range of the "Vulcan" is 550-700 km (according to some sources, in an improved version of the complex - up to 1000 km).

During flight, the rockets develop a speed of 2-2.5 Mach numbers.

They overcome part of the way to the goal at a high altitude, and in the final section they decrease to 15-20 m.

Shortly before the repair, the "Moscow" took part in several long-distance trips.

In 2013, the cruiser sailed to the shores of Portugal, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, a year later - performed tasks in the Pacific Ocean.

In the fall of 2015, the cruiser was in charge of the Navy's permanent task force in the eastern Mediterranean.

Also off the coast of Syria, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet provided air defense for the Khmeimim airbase.

“We were patrolling in the zone of intensive aviation flights, dozens of aircraft, not only Russian ones, could be in the sky at the same time ... We were always ready, the“ Fort ”system was working properly.

But no one flew up to us.

Everyone knows the capabilities of these ships to detect and track targets, so no one dared to provoke, ”the commander of the Moscow anti-aircraft missile division of the Guard, Lieutenant-Commander Dmitry Syomkin, told reporters earlier.

"An extremely powerful ship"

Military experts believe that the return of "Moscow" to service will significantly enhance the strike and anti-aircraft capabilities of the Black Sea Fleet.

According to experts, the cruiser remains the largest armed ship in this operational-strategic formation of the Navy.

The Moskva is the most powerful ship of the Black Sea Fleet and therefore rightfully retains the status of its flagship.

The cruiser has modern missile systems and situational controls.

"Moscow", as it should be, was repaired in a planned manner.

Now the crew has begun to perform tasks at sea, "Admiral Igor Kasatonov, adviser to the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, ex-commander of the Black Sea Fleet, said in an interview with RT.

• Sailors aboard the cruiser "Moscow" of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy

• RIA News

• © Konstantin Mikhalchevsky

As Kasatonov explained, despite its venerable age, the "Moskva" is a modern large-tonnage ship capable of carrying a combat watch in the Black and Mediterranean Seas, as well as in different regions of the World Ocean.

According to the admiral, the cruiser will serve in the Navy for more than ten years.

In turn, Dmitry Litovkin, editor of Nezavisimoye Voennoe Obozreniye, does not exclude that in the near future, Moscow will undergo a deep modernization.

In the RT commentary, the expert suggested that new air defense systems could be installed on the cruiser.

The Moskva is an extremely powerful ship.

The main weapon of our cruiser is, of course, the Vulcan missiles.

Their range allows covering the entire area of ​​responsibility on the Black Sea coast.

The Navy's need for such a naval platform has not gone anywhere, ”Litovkin said.