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On June 11th, the Russian Black Sea Fleet received its latest patrol ship the Project 22160 Dmitryi Rogachev after a flag-raising ceremony at the Novorossiysk Naval Base.
Before the start of the flag-raising ceremony, the rite of consecration of the flag of St. Andrew and of the crew of the patrol ship was held.
Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice-Admiral Igor Osipov, Commander of the Novorossiysk Naval Base, Rear Admiral Oleg Shastov, as well as representatives of the manufacturer of the ship, the administration of the city of Novorossiysk, veterans and the clergy were in attendance.
In his speech, Vice-Admiral Igor Osipov stressed that the raising of the flag of St. Andrew on the new patrol ship “Dmitry Rogachev” is a continuation of the implementation of plans to modernize the fleet.
“The delivery of new ships is proceeding on schedule, while the Black Sea shows shows that it is able to effectively manage and apply new models of equipment and weapons. Next in 2019 the naval minesweeper “Ivan Antonov” and the high-speed transport and landing craft of the new project will be included in the fleet. I am sure that the new ship will start carrying out missions in the far and near sea zones as soon as possible,” the Black Sea Fleet Commander said.
The patrol ship Dmitry Rogachev was built at the A.M Gorky Zelenodolsk Plant named and is the second serial ship of the project 22160. The ship was designed and built using the modular concept of weapons.
The patrol ship was laid on July 25th, 2014, launched at the end of 2017 and in August 2018 was towed along internal waterways to Novorossiysk, where in September 2018 it began factory running trials. State tests of the ship were launched in December 2018.
The lead project 22160 Vasily Bykov patrol ship was constructed at the same plant, under a contract with the Ministry of Defense of Russia from April 11th, 2014 and was delivered to the Black Sea Fleet on December 20th, 2018.
The patrol ship Vasily Bykov entered into service on June 10th, 2019. Both commissioned patrol ships of project 22160 are part of the 184th brigade of ships guarding the water area of the Novorossiysk Naval Base.
The third and fourth patrol ships of Project 22160 Pavel Derzhavin and Sergey Kotov were formally laid at Zelenodolsk CVD, but in fact they are being built in Kerch at LLC Zaliv Shipbuilding Plant, where the former was launched on February 21st, 2019.
At the Zelenodolsk plant, the last two patrol ships – Viktor Velikyi and Nikolay Sipyagin are being constructed.
Currently, apart from the first 2 ships, the other 4 are expected to be delivered between 2020 and 2023. All 6 Project 22160 ships will become a part of the Black Sea Fleet.
Project 22160 patrol ships are designed to protect and safeguard the maritime economic zone, and in the event of hostilities they are designed to ensure the sustainability of fleet forces and facilities during the defense of home areas.
Each ship can last 60 days at sea and reach a top speed of 30 knots. Its displacement stands at approximately 1,700 tons with a crew of 80 people. The sailing range is 6 thousand nautical miles. The ship is equipped with state-of-the-art radio and sonar equipment.
Russia is more than obviously striving to expand its fleet of patrol boats in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. The purpose of the expansion is more than anything to defend infrastructure that allows civilian traffic through the Kerch Strait, especially with the railway finished.
The continuous threats of Ukrainian radical groups, as well as the Kiev government itself of provocations in the region are no secret.
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Why even bother with a fleet? Can’t ground based missles cover the whole area and the shores as well?
Because fixed targets are easily targeted, ships are hard to track. American submarines could cause havoc without ships to hunt them down. Also small ships are easily deployed to other areas, such as the Caspian Sea and up rivers like the Danube.
Patrol ships are tasked to operate border controls, catch smugglers, prevent in- and exfiltration attempts (and other irregular operations) and gather intel – not so much to stand up to a powerful invader.
Although the US has invasion forces ringing Russia, there are only 3 real ways in. The Napoleon/Hitler route through the Baltic states. The Woodrow Wilson route through Siberia, or the Earl of Aberdeen route through Crimea.
Securing these 3 areas ensures that the USA cannot invade Russia.
Off topic but Reuters is reporting 2 ships on fire in the Gulf of Oman. Suggestions that they have been hit by torpedoes, or mines. Somebody is trying to raise the oil price.