US cruiser Vella Gulf expected to enter Black Sea on May 9

MOSCOW, May 7 (Itar-Tass) - An American Ticonderoga class Aegis guided missile cruiser Vella Gulf is expected to enter the Black Sea on May 9, a military and diplomatic source told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. “NATO forces continue to keep up tension groundlessly in the Black Sea,” the source said. “Security in the Black Sea is a prerogative of naval forces of Black Sea littoral states which have established close co-operation a long time ago,” he noted. An Aegis guided missile radar station can search for, detect and follow 250-300 air targets and aim air defence missiles at them. Meanwhile, a Victory parade is due on Victory Day celebrated in Russia on May 9 in the Russian federal city of Sevastopol, a long-standing base of Russia’s Black Sea fleet on the Crimean peninsula, with an unprecedented number of 70 warplanes screaming over the city and the bay. Ticonderoga class cruisers are armed with cruise missiles Tomahawk, anti-ship missiles ASROC, air defence guided missiles Standard-2 and Standard-3 making a total of 122 missiles. Warships of this type will be first in the U.S. Navy armed with combat information control guided missile system Aegis. These cruisers are 172 metres long, 16 metres wide and have a full water displacement of 9,800 tonnes. Learn more on itar-tass.com