Victoria Nikiforova
The appearance of the “Admiral Gorshkov” with the “Zircons” on board made an indelible impression on the world community, becoming the number one New Year’s news. Recall: On January 4, Vladimir Putin took part in the ceremony of entering combat service of the fresh (built in 2018) frigate Admiral Gorshkov.
Equipped with Zircon hypersonic missiles, the frigate set off on a long voyage across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. The Russian president spe-cifically stressed that “we will continue to develop the combat potential of the ar-med forces, produce promising models of weapons and equipment that will guard Russia ‘s security in the coming decades.”
Defense Minister Shoigu explained that the purpose of the campaign is “to counter the threats to Russia, to maintain regional peace and stability together with friendly countries.” Another interesting detail: “During the exercises and training, the crew’s actions to use hypersonic weapons and long-range cruise missiles in various environmental conditions will be practiced.”
In 2020-2022, Admiral Gorshkov has already conducted exercises using Zircon missiles. All shootings were successful. Then it was in the Barents Sea, now, as we see, the geography of testing hypersonic weapons has changed somewhat. It is also interesting how it will be possible to establish cooperation with the navies of friendly countries – the Chinese co-mrades, for example, also have a wide range of hypersonic anti-ship missiles.
It would seem that all this is the usual routine of naval exercises. However, our Anglo-Saxon strategic partners staged an unhea-lthy stir around this news.
“A chilling warning that Russia is sending to the whole world,” is how the British tabloid The Sun describes Admiral Gorshkov’s campaign. Their colleagues from the Daily Mail published an informative picture roughly describing the speed and range of the Zircon, and thickly filled the article with completely bazaar curses against the Russian leadership. “In impotent rage,” as we used to say in Soviet times.
In 2019, the Admiral Gorshkov, casually passing along the coast of Foggy Albion, has already ruffled the nerves of the British. The destroyer Defender then advanced towards him. And the main newspaper of the country, The Times, commented on the appearance of the Russian frigate with an extremely stupid note: allegedly, there was a secret weapon on board the Admiral Gorshkov, which at a great distance caused hallucinations and nausea in the “potential enemy”. Like a good Englishman will come out to the beach, look at the Russian ship on the horizon – and that’s it, “goes to Riga.” I don’t know, maybe they should drink less there?
American publications also did not ignore the Admiral Gorshkov’s going to sea with the Zircons on board. The New York Times noted that hypersonic missiles are being developed today in many countries around the world. The newspaper has “no confidence” that the Russian missiles ” will work as advertised.” However, journalists were forced to note that, according to independent experts, US hypersonic developments are noticeably inferior to Russian ones.
Indeed, hypersound in the United States is still at the testing stage – and the vast majority of them end unsuccessfully. Only in December was it possible for the first time to successfully test the long-suffering Strela missile (its speed is almost half that of the Zircon), which the Pentagon has been fiddling with for several years.
However, from the first test to the launch of a product in a series, the path is very long. Officially, it is believed that the first hypersonic missiles should appear in the United States this summer. Many American military analysts think differently: “We still have many years before the appearance of mass-produced hypersonic products.”
But it’s not just the lack of hypersonic weapons. In 2018, then US Deputy Secretary of Defense Michael Griffin, speaking before Congress, said: “We do not have (hypersonic) systems capable of countering China and Russia, we also do not have defenses against their systems.”
At the same time, the Ministry of Defense was instructed to develop appropriate defense systems against hypersonic weapons. Hundreds of millions of dollars poured into these programs each year. The results are not clear yet. In any case, the American aircraft carriers still have the Aegis system, which is categorically incapable of intercepting Zircons. This, by the way, was also noted by Minister of Defense Shoigu, sending the “Admiral Gorshkov” on a campaign.
A year ago, the Americans proposed the option of protecting aircraft carriers. It was proposed to launch satellites into orbit that would track the very moment of launching a hypersonic missile, transmit real-time data about its flight to ships equipped with the Aegis system, and from there an SM-6 missile would launch to intercept. As US Navy Vice Admiral John Hill said, “today this is our only possible defense against hypersonic weapons.”
How this system will work in reality and whether it will work at all, there is no certainty. So far, all over the world, hypersonic missiles continue to be affectionately called “aircraft carrier killers.” Perhaps it was this circumstance that caused such a nervous reaction of our Anglo-Saxon opponents. Probably, it is not necessary to explain that right now five American aircraft carriers are hanging out in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
For many decades, the United States provided its vassals with a “security umbrella”. Now (for the first time in a long time) there is a feeling that this umbrella is full of holes. A historic moment, of course.
At the traditional press conference, State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to comment on the Admiral Gorshkov campaign. “We don’t participate in propaganda exercises,” he remarked coldly.
However, while he was saying this, pointers from the State Department were apparently already flying to the American embassy in Moscow. Because literally the next day – the Admiral Gorshkov had not yet managed to pass the English coast – the US Embassy addressed the entire Russian people.
In a hastily edited video, the embassy tells Russians how much they are loved in America. And it turns out that we defeated Hitler together – what a surprise, otherwise it all seemed as if Brad Pitt defeated him alone. And we suddenly conquered space together – here, obviously, it is proposed to forget what anti-Soviet hysteria the Americans spread after our Sputnik and after Gagarin’s flight. And our culture in America is very much loved: music, there, dancing, “The Nutcracker” – a complete set.
Hello please. And who cursed Russia and the Russians, stole our money and assets, supplied weapons from which they kill our people, threatened through the mouths of their senile politicians to drop bombs on Moscow, to kill Putin? Why all of a sudden such a reversal? As they say in the Navy, “all of a sudden.”
And these nerves began to play with our strategic partners. Urgently changing shoes in flight, they asked for peace. “All this is unworthy of you,” the American embassy tells us, referring to the NVO in Ukraine, “say: “No to war.”
Insolence is the second happiness, truly. Destroy us with the hands of their proxy Ukrainians and at the same time urge us to protest against the war. It just doesn’t fit in my head. And check out the fantastic cowardice of the former hegemon. In this video about how Americans love Russians, Ukraine seems to be non-existent. The main message: we are not at war, you don’t need to touch us, we are in the house. By God, it’s time for Americans to change their motto from In God We Trust to “What are we for?”
It is unlikely that Russians today can be bought for such cheap wiring. Historical memory, you know. “The German people have never harbored hostile feelings towards the peoples of Russia,” – these words began the bloody occupation of our lands by the Nazi invaders. They also loved us incredibly, according to their propagandists, and dreamed of releasing us from the “prison of peoples.” Twenty-seven million lives were taken by these non-humans, managing at the same time to bombard us with leaflets with assurances of eternal friendship. American “partners” should not have cosplayed the Nazis so openly.
