The Admiral Essen is an invisible patrol frigate in service with the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The ship is included in the 30 division of surface ships. The patrol ships of this project are the latest Russian development in shipbuilding, designed to significantly strengthen the naval presence of the Russian fleet in the Black and Mediterranean Seas.
"Admiral Essen" - a frigate, created as an analogue of three patrol ships, designed specifically for the Indian Navy. Only for the Russian fleet, changes in the composition of the armament were made to the ship's design. Naval sailors describe this ship as a powerful, maneuverable, super-efficient and agile frigate, perfectly equipped to carry out the tasks of the Russian Navy.
History of the ship
The frigate "Admiral Essen" by its type and class of the vessel belongs to the patrol ships of Project 11356. It is part of a series of 6 ordered ships, which, according to two contracts of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation with the shipbuilding company "Yantar", should become part of the Russian Navy until 2020 of the year.
Construction of the Admiral Essen began on July 8, 2011 at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad under the serial number 01358. The finished frigate was launched on November 7, 2014 and received the tail number 751.
The ship received its name in honor of the great naval commander of the Russian Empire, Admiral Nikolai Ottovich von Essen (1860-1915). This military leader practically revived the Baltic Fleet after the Tsushima tragedy, and during the First World War he was appointed its commander.
The frigate "Admiral Essen" began to undergo factory tests on October 28, 2015. And already on November 5, 2015, he went sailing for the first time. State tests of the new ship began on January 30, 2016, and already on March 23, as part of their conduct, the ship left the Leningrad naval base of the Baltic Fleet. An invisible frigate with a full crew on board went out to sea to carry out an inter-fleet transition to the Russian Navy base in the Northern Fleet.
Exactly according to plan, on April 4, 2016, the ship arrived at the Northern Fleet for test firing. As part of the tests, a transition was made from the North-East Atlantic region as part of a group of ships under the command of a large anti-submarine ship "Vice-Admiral Kulakov". The crew of the "Admiral Essen" during this time worked out joint maneuvering of ships, checked the frigate's communication systems, as well as radio and navigation aids of the new ship.
As part of the state tests, "Admiral Essen" made practical fire in the Barents Sea from various weapon systems. And as a result, on April 15, 2016, he successfully completed state tests.
The transfer of the ship to the Russian Navy was initially scheduled for May 26, 2016, but the day before that, it was suddenly announced that additional tests of the vessel were needed. As a result, the transfer of the patrol frigate "Admiral Essen" to the fleet and the raising of the Russian Navy flag on the flagpole took place on June 7, 2016.
The ship took its place among the ships of the Russian fleet and received the home port of Sevastopol. In October 2017, his tail number was replaced by 490.
The appointment of the frigate "Admiral Essen"
The Admiral Essen is a multipurpose patrol ship designed to carry out combat missions and carry out various combat operations both as part of ship formations and as an independent combat unit.
Thanks to the capabilities of the ship, the frigate is capable of performing a number of combat missions:
- search for enemy submarines with their subsequent destruction;
- fire support from the sea for combat operations of ground forces, as well as ensuring the transportation and landing of amphibious assault forces;
- providing escort and effective protection of ships both from underwater and surface watercraft of the enemy, and from an attack from the air;
- conducting patrol service and patrolling the sea area;
- ensuring the protection of maritime communications.
Technical characteristics of the patrol "Admiral Essen"
The frigate "Admiral Essen", despite its small size, has powerful technical characteristics. The length of the patrol boat is 124.8 m, the width is 15.2 m, the draft of the vessel is 4.2 m. The displacement of the ship is 4035 tons.
The maximum cruising range of the frigate is about 4850 nautical miles. The undercarriage of the vessel can reach a top speed of 30 knots. The time of an autonomous campaign when performing combat missions reaches 30 days. The full complement of the ship's crew is 170 people.
The frigate "Admiral Essen" is equipped with a power gas turbine unit, which includes four engines: 2 afterburners and 2 sustainer. The total capacity of their work reaches 56,000 liters. from. The power supply of the vessel is carried out by 4 diesel generators, giving a total power of 3200 kW.
The frigate of the latest project 11356 "Admiral Essen" was created using technology that ensures the high survival rate of the ship. This includes protection not only against chemical, but also against nuclear weapons. In addition, the ship's acoustic signature for the enemy has been reduced as much as possible.
In everyday life, the frigate's crew is provided with the highest possible level of life and comfort. The galley and the wardroom of the ship are equipped with modern technology.
Armament of the frigate "Admiral Essen"
The main strike armament of the ship is "Caliber-NK". This is a special complex capable of hitting underwater, surface, as well as ground stationary and mobile targets with given location coordinates. Moreover, the complex can fire in conditions of oncoming active directional fire and electronic suppression. The Kalibra-NK includes 8 high-explosive-penetrating missiles with the latest homing system.
For all-round protection against air attacks, the "Admiral Essen" is equipped with the "Shtil-1" air defense system. The anti-aircraft missile system is capable of effectively repelling massive air and missile attacks of the enemy, as well as striking military targets on water and on land.
In addition, the ship is equipped with a single-gun 100-mm gun mount A-190, capable of effective fire at sea, air and coastal targets. The installation is equipped with a firing control system with automatic search, target acquisition and further tracking. The rate of fire of the gun is 80 rounds per minute, and the firing range reaches 20 km.
To combat submarines, the ship has 2 torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber, as well as an RBU-6000 rocket launcher. To protect against high-precision weapons, including anti-ship missiles, the Kashtan anti-aircraft missile system was installed on the Admiral Essen. It combines anti-aircraft missiles with a control system and 2 assault rifles with 6 30-meter barrels.
The ship's armament complex includes a helicopter from the "Ka" series with an installed helipad with a covered hangar. Among other things, the frigate is equipped with an electronic warfare system, which includes false target launchers and the Udav anti-torpedo protection.
"Admiral Essen" can successfully fight against several targets at once. To collect and process incoming information, the "Requirement-M" system was developed specifically for the frigates of this project, capable of independently setting tasks for all weapons. Based on the current combat situation, it determines the required number of shots and missile launches. At the same time, the state of the frigate's combat assets is automatically monitored and the necessary information is transmitted to the ship's protection systems.
