Opinion: the cruiser "Moskva" could easily repel any missile attack

Many still wonder how such a well-protected cruiser could sink, equipped with three types of air defense systems at once.

As the author of the weapons blog "Men's Territory" notes, there are still disputes regarding the reasons for the death of the cruiser.

Some observers believe that the party is claiming that Moskva, the lead ship of Project 1164 Atlant, sank due to the impact of the Ukrainian anti-ship missile Neptune or the American RGM-84 Harpoon. Others suggest that the reason for the emergency was a drifting mine or a sudden fire that provoked the detonation of ammunition.

The author of the publication recalls that the lost 12,000-ton cruiser had on board a full arsenal of means of attack and defense. Therefore, even if the Ukrainian side launched a missile attack on Moskva under the air protection of drones, Moskva could be able to shoot down not one or two, but dozens of missiles thanks to a layered air defense system.

The first echelon of defense is the S-300F Fort anti-aircraft missile system, equipped with an ammunition load of 64 missiles. It provides detection and destruction of air targets at long ranges up to 100 km with the support of the 3R41 Volna radar station. The S300-F is capable of simultaneously hitting three targets at an altitude of up to 25 km, two missiles for each.

“The second echelon of short-range defense is the Osa-MA air defense system. Designed to destroy air targets that have passed through the S-300 at a distance of up to 15 km.

It hits targets at an altitude of 5 m to 5 km above sea level while simultaneously launching two missiles. Reload time - up to 20 seconds. The cruiser "Moskva" had a pair of Osa-MA air defense systems with an ammunition load of 40 missiles.

In the event of a breakthrough of the first two echelons of missile defense, the flagship had six AK-630 anti-aircraft artillery systems with a phenomenal rate of fire of 5,000 rounds per minute and a firing range of up to 4 km.

Thus, the three levels of air defense installed on the "Moskva" could crumble any object into pieces in a matter of seconds. According to the author, if all the defense echelons were operational, then the Neptune did not have a single chance for an imperceptible launch and further destruction of the powerful cruiser with impunity.

Thus, two conclusions arise: either the air defense systems of the ship were faulty, which is why they missed an unfortunate blow, or the Ukrainian missiles had nothing to do with it, and the detonation of ammunition or a mine was the reason for the loss of the ship.

It is possible that it will be possible to find out the truth about the real causes and circumstances of the Moscow tragedy only years later.