Upgraded destroyer hunts submarine in Barents Sea
Few weeks after it returned to service after a comprehensive reconstruction, warship Severomorsk takes part in an anti-submarine exercise.
The 163 meter long destroyer is part of the drills that this week unfold in the Barents Sea. In addition to the Severomorsk, sister ship Vice Admiral Kulakov is engaged. The two warships of the Udaloy-class (Project 1155) are applying their “full range of hydro-acoustic weapons” against a nuclear submarine, the Northern Fleet reports.
It is not known which submarine that plays the role as ‘enemy.’
Also aircraft and helicopters are part of the exercise and interact with the ships to search and hunt down the sub.
It is the first exercise of the Severomorsk after it returned to service after more than a year of reconstruction and upgrade.
Several sources indicated that the Severomorsk could become the new flagman in the Baltic Fleet following its upgrade. But this week’s exercise in the Barents Sea apparently shows that the ship has return to the Northern Fleet.
The Severomorsk came into service in 1988. It has a crew of about 190 people, and a wide range of armament, including the Kinzhal cruise missile.
Just few weeks after Russian launched its full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, the Severomorsk took part in a an exercise in the area between northern Norway and Iceland together with nuclear-powered battle cruiser Pyotr Veliky. The drills took place at the same time as Norway and NATO allies had its exercise Cold Response .
The Cold Response 2022 was the biggest NATO military exercise north of the the Arctic Circle since the 1980s.
