Russia’s Most Modern Warship And Its Escorts Have Entered The Caribbean Sea

The Admiral Gorshkov transited from the Eastern Pacific Ocean into the Caribbean via the Panama Canal on June 17, 2019. The Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet says that it expects the first-in-class Project 23120 multi-function logistics ship Elbrus, the medium ocean-going tanker Kama, and the heavy ocean-going tug Nikolay Chiker to all have crossed into the Caribbean by tomorrow, according to an official statement. There is no formal word yet on where the ships are headed.

The flotilla has already traveled some 26,000 miles since leaving the Northern Fleet’s main base in Severomorsk in Russia’s far north in February 2019. This included stops in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and Sri Lanka in the India Ocean before visiting China. There the Admiral Gorshkov took part in a major naval parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the creation of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. The ships also stopped in Ecuador before sailing to the Panama Canal.

The Admiral Gorshkov transiting through the Panama Canal yesterday. 10/https://t.co/l4ha2tsr5Y pic.twitter.com/ldMluEYjzo

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) June 18, 2019

“It is assumed that in June the ship will carry out tasks in the Caribbean for some time,” an unnamed “informed source” told Russian media outlet Interfax, according to a story on June 18, 2019. “It is expected that he [Admiral Gorshkov] will go to one of the ports of Cuba.”

But the bigger question is whether or not Russia will send the frigate to Venezuela, where the Kremlin continues to support dictatorial President Nicolas Maduro, who has been in a protracted political standoff with opposition leader Juan Guaido since January 2019. The United States and a significant number of Latin American countries, along with others around the world, have recognized Guaido as the legitimate head of government. Maduro, with substantial support from its own international partners, chiefly Russia and Cuba, has refused to step aside and has brushed off attempts to depose him more forcefully.

The crisis continues, though it has largely faded from international headlines. But if Admiral Gorshkov sails into a Venezuelan port it is almost certain to draw a rebuke from the United States and could lead to a new surge in tensions in the region. The U.S. government was strongly criticizing Russian military deployments to the Latin American country even before recognizing Guaido’s authority. It notably responded very angrily to the Russian Air Force’s deployment of two Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers, along with various other supporting aircraft and personnel, to Venezuela in December 2018.

The Admiral Gorshkov, which only entered service in July 2018, is one of the most advanced ships in the Russian Navy and a stop in Venezuela would be sure to turn heads, especially in the United States. Among its other features, the ship is one of the first to carry the Poliment-Redut air defense system, which consists of the Poliment phased array radar and the Redut surface-to-air missile system, a navalized derivative of the ground-based S-350. This system only completed state trials weeks before the frigate left on its worldwide cruise.

The frigate also has 16 vertical launch cells capable of accommodating the Kalibr land-attack cruise missile. Kalibr is a combat-proven weapon, which gives the ship a real long-range land attack capability. The vertical launch system array can also fire the Oniks supersonic anti-ship cruise missile. There are plans to integrate the hypersonic Zircon anti-ship missile onto the ships in the future.