New frigate Admiral Golovko sets out from Severomorsk on 'world tour'
It is the first long-range voyage of the naval vessel that was handed over to the Northern Fleet one year ago.
The 135 meter long ship of the Admiral Gorshkov-class on 1 November sailed out of the Kola Bay with course for the Barents Sea.
The route is not known, but according to 1st Rang Captain Vladislav Malakhovsky the frigate will over the next several months visit "various parts of the World Ocean."
The ship is accompanied by Navy tanker Vyazma.
According to the Northern Fleet, the main objective of the voyage is to "secure military-naval presence in strategically important parts of far-away waters."
The crew has been well trained and is ready for the task, Commander of the frigate, 2nd Rang Captain Andrei Slavin says in comment.
"Since the ship was taken over by the Fleet, a big number of sailings have been undertaken and the equipment and armament of the frigate have proven their reliability," he underlines.
The Admiral Golovko is Russia's third frigate of the Admiral Gorshkov-class. Lead ship of the class, the Admiral Gorshkov, was itself on a long-range expedition earlier this year. In a propaganda show-off, the frigate in June paid a visit to Cuban capital Havana together with nuclear submarine Kazan.
The new class of frigates can carry a helicopter, but judging from footage shared by the Northern Fleet the Admiral Golovko will this time not have a rotorcraft onboard.
All of Russia's new frigates are based in the Northern Fleet. Moscow plans to build ten ships of the class, seven of them to be managed by the Northern Fleet.
