NATO destroyed a Soviet frigate off the coast of Libya

Effects of armed conflict between NATO and indirectly affected by Libya and Russia. On Wednesday night in Tripoli missile air strike destroyed the frigate "Al-Gardabiya", built in the Soviet Union for a friendly Libya. NATO claims that the ship was damaged long ago.

The representative of the naval command of NATO in Naples, Giovanni Malafronte told "Izvestiya" that the frigate was immobilized in the harbor of Tripoli has on May 20. However, aerial reconnaissance showed that the Libyans were trying to use the weapons against the frigate NATO forces - apparently anti-aircraft missile system "Osa". Then decided to destroy the frigate.

- Libyans began to take off from the frigate heavy weapons - probably in order to use it on other courts, and perhaps on the ground. It was decided to put the frigate on another missile attack from the air that was done. Now, according to surveys, the state of the ship is assessed as severe - said Malafronte.

According to him, the ship still afloat, but all the weapons it destroyed and can not be used.

At the headquarters of the Russian navy refused to comment on the actions of NATO forces in Libya, saying only that the ships, like "Al-Gardabiya" in the Russian fleet is no longer - the latter derived from the Navy in the late 1980s.

Vice-President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, Captain First Rank Konstantin Sivkov also confirmed that the Libyan frigate - a ship is too weak to destroy evidence of his superiority of Western weapons over Soviet.

- No violation of parity there - said Sivkov.

Frigate project in 1159 of "Horses" by NATO classification was created in the USSR in the 1960s specifically for export to the Moscow-friendly country. We built them at Zelenodolsk shipyard, which now produce frigates for Vietnam.

"Horses" has a displacement of 1700 tons Crew 110. Endurance 10 days. Frigate applies to ships of third rank. In the USSR they would have commanded an officer with the rank of Captain 3rd rank, which corresponds to the onshore rank of "Major."

The composition of the frigate weapons included a 76-millimeter artillery unit, anti-aircraft defense missile system "Osa", as well as reactive bombometnaya installation RBU-6000 for defense against submarines and naval commandos enemy.

- The difference between this ship from those that went by the Soviet Navy, primarily in the layout of the interior. By modern standards it is very weak and ineffective militarily ship. In a good long time it must be attributed to the scrap, - said in an interview to "News," the former Navy Admiral Igor zamglavkoma Kasatonov.