The cruiser Moskva ended its mission in a way no one could have predicted after nearly 40 years of service.
According to a statement issued by the Russian Defense Ministry on April 14, the missile cruiser Moskva sank in the Black Sea while being towed to the port of Sevastopol. On April 13, a fire caused an explosion in the ship’s ammunition depot, resulting in the incident.
The Black Sea Fleet’s flagship has met a tragic end.
According to a statement issued by the Russian Defense Ministry on April 14, the missile cruiser Moskva sank in the Black Sea while being towed to the port of Sevastopol. On April 13, a fire caused an explosion in the ship’s ammunition depot, resulting in the incident.
The Black Sea Fleet’s flagship has met a tragic end.
“The cruiser Moskva lost balance while being towed to port, the hull damaged by the explosion of the ammunition depot.” “The ship sank in stormy weather conditions,” the Russian Defense Ministry said. The fires on Moscow had been contained by the morning of April 14 (local time) despite heavy damage, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, but the ship’s main weapon system had not been damaged. As a result, the Russian navy decided to tow the Moskva ship to Sevastopol for repairs, but the ship was caught in a storm and sank soon after.
When the incident occurred, the Moskva ship was said to be operating off the coast of Odessa (Ukraine). The Russian side had no evidence that their warship had been attacked. The Russian Defense Ministry, on the other hand, claimed that the Moskva was damaged after ammunition on board exploded. All of the sailors have been rescued.
Because the ship’s weapons system is still intact, it’s unclear whether the Russian navy intends to salvage Moskvo.
Earlier, the Ukrainian side claimed that their forces fired Neptune anti-ship missiles at the ship. The Ukrainian military, on the other hand, did not provide any evidence to support this claim.
When the incident occurred, the Moskva ship was said to be operating off the coast of Odessa. The Russian side had no evidence that their warship had been attacked. The Russian Defense Ministry, on the other hand, claimed that the Moskva was damaged after ammunition on board exploded. All of the sailors have been rescued.
The cruiser Moskva did not participate in many combat operations during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, instead focusing on blocking the sea routes leading to Ukraine’s Black Sea port cities. After nearly 40 years of service (1983), Moscow, the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship, ended its mission in the worst possible way; this is a significant loss for the Russian navy in general, and the Black Sea Fleet in particular.
Despite having been in service for nearly 40 years, the cruiser Moskva remains Russia’s most powerful warship in the Black Sea. Moskva is known as a “sea fortress,” capable of carrying a massive weapon system.
When Moscow has a maximum displacement of up to 12,500 tonnes, a length of 186 metres, and a crew of more than 500 people, the design of this cruiser demonstrates its greatness.
The cruiser Moskva’s prowess
When Moscow has a maximum displacement of up to 12,500 tonnes, a length of 186 metres, and a crew of more than 500 people, the design of this cruiser demonstrates its greatness.
The cruiser Moskva’s prowess
The cruiser Moskva is not a new warship, as previously stated. It was the first of three cruisers in the Moskva class, and it was commissioned by the Soviet Navy in 1983. The Soviet navy shifted its focus after the birth of Moskva, focusing on the development of better-armed large warships that could operate independently as a supplement to the weekly class. Kirov is a cruiser powered by nuclear power.
Should a large-scale conflict arise, the entire class of cruisers would play a strategic role in a maritime confrontation between the Soviet Union and the West. It is clear that the cruiser Moskva’s role has remained unchanged for nearly 40 years.
Despite being designed in the 1970s, the cruiser Moskva has a weapons arsenal that is decades ahead of its time. When equipping the ship with anti-aircraft weapons and long-range air defences, the Soviet navy wanted to turn it into a “fortress” at sea.
Moscow also has the S-300F ship-borne air defence system with 64 accompanying missile rounds deployed from vertical launchers placed aft, as well as the short-range OSA-MA air defence system with 40 missile rounds, in addition to 16 P-1000 anti-ship missile launchers with a range of nearly 500 km. An AK-130 (twin-barrel 130 mm) naval gun, six AK-630 short-range interceptor weapons systems, anti-submarine rocket systems, torpedoes, and anti-submarine helicopters were also part of the weapon system on Moskov.
Moskov was one of the Russian navy’s top picks for large-scale military operations like the Georgian war (2008), the annexation of the Crimean peninsula (2014), and the intervention in Syria(2015), Moscow began an extensive overhaul in 2016 after years of service, and the ship was expected to stay in the Russian navy for at least another ten years.
In general, the electronic equipment and weapons systems on Moskov were still suitable for the Russian navy’s combat requirements during the modernization period after the overhaul, despite the country’s abandonment of Soviet-era naval doctrine.
Currently, the Russian navy has no plans to build large warships like the Moskov, preferring instead to build ships with a displacement of around 5,000 tonnes and an attack submarine force. Despite the fact that the new Russian warship is smaller and has a shorter range, it is still equipped with a long-range attack weapon system, such as the Kalibr cruise missile, which has a range of over 1,000 kilometres.
It is clear from this that the Russian fleet will be equipped with Kalibr fire capable of long-range attacks.
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