Russia's most advanced frigate, which was once loaded with hypersonic missiles, ended its global rotation and returned to Russia's home military port, which is the 22350 frigate of the Russian Navy's ace. Project 22350 frigates are the largest Russian-made surface combat ships of tonnage after the collapse of the Soviet Union, with a full load displacement of 5400 tons. As the ace of the Russian Navy, the importance of the Project 22350 frigate is self-evident.
According to the development plan of the Russian Navy, after the suspension of the construction of the ocean-going navy, the development of coastal defense combat ships is emphasized, and the important goal of the first stage is to develop corvettes and medium-sized frigates, on the basis of which the Russian Navy will build Project 22380 corvettes and Project 22350 medium frigates.
The Russian Navy is currently equipped with two Project 22350 frigates, namely "Marshal Gorshkov" and "Marshal Kasatonov", the third ship "Admiral Golovko" is about to join the Russian Navy, and the first three are equipped in the Northern Fleet. The Project 22350 frigate is equipped with a four-sided array phased array radar, and a single-sided array phased array radar is installed at the top of the mast, which undertakes the vigilance and detection capabilities, and the overall situational awareness is very strong.
The 22350 frigate can be called the strongest frigate in the world, with strong firepower, equipped with a 32-unit 3K96 "multi-faceted fort" anti-aircraft missile vertical launch system, which can be loaded with 9M96 medium-range anti-aircraft missiles and 9M96E2 long-range anti-aircraft missiles, and can be loaded with 9M100 short-range anti-aircraft missiles in the form of "one pit and four bombs" Serial supersonic anti-ship missiles and 3M-22 Zircon hypersonic missiles.
The Russian Navy will build 10 of the first batch of Type 22350 frigates, 3 of which are currently in service, and 7 are under construction at different stages, and the "Marshal Gorshkov" frigate is loaded with hypersonic missiles to move around the world's seas, and the overall deterrence capability is also very strong.
The most anticipated is the Zircon hypersonic missile carried by the Project 22350 frigate, this new missile is highly expected by Russia, with a speed of more than 10,000 kilometers per hour, that is, Mach 9, and a range of 1,000 kilometers.
The frigate "Marshal Gorshkov" has repeatedly tested the Zircon hypersonic missile, and its overall performance has been highly affirmed by Putin of Russia, which can suppress the "Aegis" combat system of the United States. With the installation of "Zircon" hypersonic missiles on the first ships of the Russian Navy, including the Type 22350 and Project 22385 frigates, the modernized "Admiral Nakhimov" missile cruiser will also be equipped with the "Zircon" hypersonic missile.
On the basis of the carrier-based version, Russia will also develop a submarine-launched version of the Zircon hypersonic missile, which will be equipped with the Type 885M "Ash"-M class nuclear submarine. The "Zircon" hypersonic missile is characterized by its fast flight speed and can break through any air defense system in service, which can be called the new generation of "aircraft carrier killer" of the Russian Navy and is regarded as the "trump card" in the hands of the Russian Navy
In sea-based hypersonic missiles, the Russian Navy is difficult to meet opponents, and all 10 Project 22350 frigates are in service, plus the Russian Navy's submarine forces, such as the 885M nuclear submarine equipped with a submarine-launched version of the "Zircon" hypersonic missile. The Russian Navy will build the world's first fleet equipped with hypersonic missiles.
The Zircon hypersonic missile uses an air-breathing propulsion system, which has the advantage of reducing the size and weight of the missile, and is suitable for deployment on ships and nuclear submarines, as well as a solid rocket engine and a scramjet engine. Putin has said that the "Zircon" hypersonic missile was test-fired by the frigate "Marshal Gorshkov", with a range of 450 kilometers, a speed of more than Mach 8, and a flight time of about 4 minutes, which shows the strong ability of this missile.
The Russian Navy is planning to build a 22350M missile frigate on the basis of the 22350 frigate, known as the super "Gorshkov-class missile frigate, the displacement of the new frigate will be increased to 8000 tons, and a total of 12 frigates of the same type will be built, with comprehensive performance reaching the standard of missile destroyers, and can be equipped with 96 units of "fortress" The vertical launch system and the 192-cell B203 vertical launch system, plus the 120-cell 3R14 vertical launch system, the first two perform anti-aircraft operations, and the latter can launch anti-ship missiles and hypersonic missiles.
If the new Type 22350M frigate is installed, it can build 408 missiles of various types, surpassing the current nuclear-powered cruisers of the Russian Navy and building it into a new "arsenal ship". The combination of the Zircon hypersonic missile and the Type 22350 and Type 22350M frigates will be an important symbol of the Russian Navy's restoration of the ocean-going fleet.