And “Mercury”, nicknamed “Mercury”, which, together with two other warships equipped with long-range and high-precision missiles, joined the Black Sea Fleet, according to the Russian agency “Novosti”.
Its addition came with the start of the Black Sea Fleet conducting military exercises at the entrance to the bay of the city of Sevastopol and in the bay of the city of Streletskaya, which belong to the Crimean peninsula and overlook the black Sea.
Governor of the city of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozgaev said on his channel on “Telegram”: “Loud voices in the city, and it is the Black Sea Fleet training combat crews on the northern pier and Streletskaya Bay.”
The most important abilities of “Mercury”
It was built in Petersburg as the first modern frigate with “Steels” technologies to hide from radars. It is 109 meters long and 13 meters wide. Its displacement is equivalent to 3400 tons. It can travel 4,000 miles per mission. Armed with Russian “Uran” anti-ship missiles. It has Redut air defense missile systems and 100mm guns. It was also armed with light and medium machine guns, anti-ship and anti-submarine torpedo launching systems such as the “Redout” and “Caliber” winged missiles. It is also equipped with platforms to carry helicopters and general-purpose drones.
Sevastopol has witnessed repeated drone attacks since the start of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine sank the cruiser Moskva, the main warship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, in April 2022.
Russia’s trump card
In the event of war, Russia relies on the Black Sea Fleet to support its ground forces, which in recent years have undergone significant modernization, while in 2000 it was considered the lowest priority. among the four Russian fleets.
Moreover, Russian bases in Crimea gave Moscow military superiority over NATO in the Black Sea region, and the military alliance lost a trump card there, according to the British newspaper Spectator.
And she pointed out that the presence of Russian bases in the Black Sea obliges NATO countries, led by the United States, to increase the size of their presence there.
And she said in a report that “as long as Russian forces are stationed in Crimea, the Black Sea will remain subject to Moscow’s will and ability to threaten and suppress any threat to its borders and security.”
The report adds that NATO countries consider the Black Sea region as a main confrontation line and that the Crimean Peninsula is a platform for Russian strikes, and at the same time a central target for attacks by Ukrainian air and sea retaliation, indicating that NATO forces are carrying out their provocations near Russian borders over Crimea, to challenge Russian hegemony in the waters of the Black Sea, which the alliance seeks to control.
How important is the Black Sea Fleet?
With the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, the Black Sea Fleet was able to play an important role in the Russian defense program. Since the beginning of the military operation, the ships of the Black Sea Fleet have carried out more than 180 strikes on the positions of the Ukrainian forces with “Caliber” missiles. It includes diesel-electric submarines (powered by electricity in addition to diesel). It has ships capable of operating in far and near seas. It includes missile-carrying aircraft, anti-submarine aircraft and fighters, in addition to coast guard units. Among his main tasks for the fleet currently are the protection of the economic zone and industrial activity zones, the stopping of illegal actions, the protection of ships, the carrying out of government campaigns abroad in important economic areas of the oceans, such as joint exercises, and work within the force of international peacebuilding forces.
Russian military expert Sergey Leonkov says the Black Sea Fleet defended Russia’s security for almost two centuries, during the 1990s, and lived through the Crimean War in 2014 until the special military operation in February 2022.
He adds to “Sky News Arabia” that the fleet has several tasks, including:
Ensuring Russia’s security in the south of the country. It includes dozens of the most modern attack ships and submarines equipped with the latest missile weapons, which allow sailors to solve all problems in areas of distant seas and oceans. Russia has a strong interest in bolstering its technical push at the fleet’s main base and its anchorages, in light of a series of Ukrainian drone attacks. The Black Sea Fleet scored several victories targeting Ukrainian targets, including radar stations for air defense systems, temporary deployment points for Ukrainian Armed Forces units, missile weapons depots and artillery, oil depots, air bases and others. The inclusion of the frigate “Mercury” enhances the security of the region and gives Russia maritime supremacy in this region.
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
