The launch of a zircon cruise missile from “Marshal Shaposhnikov” went completely wrong. As soon as it started, the rocket begins to circle like a crackling frog. Right next to the ship, the zircon hits the water and explodes.
Even in Putin’s military, not all that glitters is gold. A leaked video shows how the false start of a cruise missile almost led to a “hit” on your own ship. The “Marshal Shaposhnikov”, a destroyer of the Russian Udaloy class, has only recently been modernized. The launch boxes for the calibration cruise missiles were also installed. The rocket rises vertically from the starter into the sky. So far normal. But at the height at which the missile normally swings into a horizontal path and rushes to its target, the error occurs. The missile begins to spiral like a crackling frog. Shortly afterwards it crashes into the sea next to the destroyer, burns out and explosions occur underwater.
No damage can be seen on the ship. In terms of design and quality, the clip corresponds to the official videos. Video recordings were published on Russian TV showing a successful launch of Kal from the warship. The false start also took place on the open sea, no one except the Russian Navy could have turned there with a drone near the practising ships. The video was not officially published, however, it was first transferred to the Russian social media network Telegram and from there to YouTube. The exact date of the incident is unknown, but the cruise missiles are said to have been launched earlier this month.
The “Marshal Shaposhnikov” was built in 1984 as a submarine hunter. In Russian terminology, the ship operates as a frigate with 6200 gross tons. Only recently has the “Marshal Shaposhnikov” been extensively modernized. With the exception of the shell, almost all components were replaced. Propulsion, sonar and radar were replaced. In addition, there are the universal 3S14 launch boxes from which the cruise missiles were launched, new guns and anti-ship missiles of the uranium type. It can be assumed that ships like the “Marshal Shaposhnikov” will also be armed with the hypersonic cruise missile Zirkon. After the renovation, the old destroyer has become a heavily armed multipurpose fighter. It is equipped with 16 calibration cruise missiles, 8 uranium anti-ship missiles, 64 Kinzhal anti-aircraft missiles, torpedo tubes and launchers for anti-submarine missiles. There are also two helicopters, a 100-millimetre cannon and four 30 millimetre Gatling cannons.
Occasionally incidents occur when rockets are launched. In the summer of 2018, a false start of an SM-2 anti-aircraft missile triggered a local fire on the German frigate “Sachsen”.
On February 15, 2018, A fire broke out aboard the Russian Navy Udaloy-class destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov in Vladivostok during welding works. According to Russian media, the fire broke out in one of the engine rooms of the destroyer.
No one was injured in the incident and the fire did not cause damage to any of the vital systems aboard the ship, Russian news agency Interfax quoted a shipbuilding source as saying.
In January this year, video footage emerged of a large fire dangerously close to two diesel-electric submarines at the Vladivostok naval base but the press service of the Russian Pacific Fleet said the fire was part of a “damage control” drill, denying reports of a fire outbreak.
Marshal Shaposhnikov has been undergoing repairs and upgrades in Vladivostok since 2015. It is one of five ships in its class slated to receive weapon systems and sensor upgrades. Once the upgrades are completed, the destroyer is expected to set sail equipped with vertical launch systems for Kalibr cruise missiles and Uran anti-ship missiles.
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