The Baltic Fleet's Neustrashimy missile frigate, which took part in an anti-piracy campaign in the Gulf of Aden, marked The Day Of the Colors of Russian Navy on its way back to the port of Baltiysk after a long journey, the Press service of the Baltic Fleet said in a press release.
The 24 of January marks 16 years since the first raising of the flag of the Russian Navy on the Neustrashimy. The frigate, in its combat duty task, will celebrate this annual holiday called the ”Day of the Ship,” the press service added.
The missile frigate is now on its way back to Baltiysk, which it must reach in February.
"Since last September, the Neustrashimy has been involved in a long journey. The sailed in the Mediterranean and Red seas, remained for a long time in the Gulf of Aden for a campaign to fight pirates and to provide navigation safety in the area. During that period, the Russian frigate called in an unofficial visit at the port of Tripoli and at two ports in the Gulf of Aden (Yemen)," the press release says.
Commander of the Baltic Fleet Vice-admiral Victor Mardoosin, on behalf of the Fleet’s military council, congratulated his men, the press release says.
In 16 years of service, the ship has sailed tens of thousands of miles, calling at ports in Germany, Poland, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Great Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal. The ship’s crew has more than once won awards in preparedness tests in the Baltic Fleet.
The Neustrashimy was built at the Yantar shipyars in the Baltic in Kaliningrad and assigned to the strike force of the Baltic Fleet in 1993. It measures 129.8 meters in length, 15.6 meters in width and has a standard water displacement of 3590/4350 tonnes. At full speed it runs at 30 knots (55.5 meters/h). It has a crew of 210, including 35 officers.
The ship is armed with the X-35 antiship missiles Uran, with a range of up to 130 km; the missile systems Kinzhal and Kortik; a universal 100-mm artillery system; six 533-mm torpedo systems; and rocket-assisted bomb launchers.
The ship also has on board the Ka-27 helicopter, which is capable of launching anti-ship torpedoes, missiles and bombs.