
“The Project 23550 Ice-class patrol ship “Ivan Papanin”, built for the Russian Navy at “Admiralty Shipyards”, went to sea for factory sea trials. https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/21229221
United 24 Media reports that,
The Russian Navy formally commissioned the Ivan Papanin, a Project 23550 patrol icebreaker…Armament includes a 76.2 mm AK-176MA automatic naval gun, but the most notable feature is its ability to carry containerized missile systems.
There have been several references to these as if they made a significant difference, but actually, so far we have not seen containerized missiles actually mounted. The Russian Navy has many missile launchers in the Arctic and the US Navy (and US Army) has also demonstrated the ability to deploy containerized missile launchers, using one or more Mk70 launchers. Most Russian icebreakers are civilian ships but the Russian Navy has maintained their own icebreakers since at least World War II. This is not a big change. We are just seeing weapons packaged a different way, a way that allows the armament to change rapidly.
The Russians are screwing weapons on to everything they have. This is something the ‘air centric’ USN should have been doing too. But haven’t.
The Russian navy hasn’t performed well recently. But there is obviously somebody in the Kremlin who has some blue sky left field imagination when it comes to sea power. Whereas the DoN is completely bereft of imagination.
First the Soviets and then the Russians have pioneered anti-ship cruise missiles as an answer to carrier air. Lately they really have demonstrated an ability to attack targets on land as well as ships.
The USN does have quite a few cruise missile carriers, probably more than the Russians, and looks like they are planning a lot more.
Strapping Mk70 containers on LCS DOES NOT HELP Arctic Operations!
No but icebreakers can also carry them too.
Russian missile capability is an issue to look into. And our Mk 70 and the ability to mount them is certainly a plus for the future icebreakers and other cutters (oh and publicly exercise this so that our potential adversaries see it) it does raise the question do we need to increase the anti missile defense capabilities of our cutters. SeaRAM maybe?
Yes they can!