TASS News Agency
The Admiral Makarov frigate of project 11356 will likely become the flagship of the Black Sea fleet after the Moskva cruiser caught fire and sank, a source in Crimean security agencies told TASS.
“Following the loss of Moskva, one of the three projects 11356 frigates may become the new flagship of the Russian Black Sea fleet. So far, the Admiral Makarov has been chosen.”
The source of TASS Agency in Crimean security agencies
TASS could not obtain official confirmation of the report.
In October 2021, a defense industry source told TASS on the sidelines of the 9th Sevastopol International Maritime Business Forum (SIMBF) that advanced project 23900 versatile amphibious assault ship the Mitrofan Moskalenko will become the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet after its construction is completed at the Zaliv Shipyard in Crimea’s Kerch. Infrastructure facilities are already being prepared in Sevastopol, he said.
Project 11356 frigate the Admiral Makarov was laid down by the Yantar Shipyard on February 29, 2012, and launched on September 2, 2015. It joined the Russian Navy on December 25, 2017. It is the third ship in a series of project 11356 frigates built by the Yantar Shipyard for the Defense Ministry. The first two projects 11356 frigates the Admiral Grigorovich and Admiral Essen were delivered to the customer in 2016. All three warships are operational in the Black Sea Fleet.
Project 11356 frigates have a displacement of 4000 tons and a speed of 30 knots. Their cruising capacity is 30 days. The frigates are armed with 100 mm A-190 artillery guns, antiaircraft and artillery weapons, torpedoes and antisubmarine weapons, as well as precision Kalibr cruise missiles. They can also carry a Ka-27 or Ka-31 helicopter.
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Naval News comments:
After the dramatic loss of the cruiser Moskva, which was hit by two Neptune anti-ship missiles, the Russian Black Sea Fleet is expected to choose a new flagship to maintain fleet command and control. The Russian Navy is unable to deploy additional warships to the Black Sea due to Turkey’s decision to close straits to the passage of naval vessels under the Montreux Convention. Therefore, the Grigorovich-class frigates are the most suitable candidates for assuming flagship duties under wartime conditions.
The flagships of the Russian Navy’s fleets are selected from cruisers, so the assignment of a frigate to that role appears to be temporary. Naval News assumes that once the war is over and the straits are opened to the passage of warships, the Russian Navy will deploy a larger and more capable naval asset to the Black Sea Fleet in terms of command and control capabilities. For example Kirov-Class Cruiser Admiral Nakhimov could assume the role of flagship for the Northern Fleet from 2024 replacing Slava-class cruiser Marshal Ustinov in that role. The Slava-class cruiser could then be reassigned to the Black Sea Fleet.
