Russian Navy - News and Analysis

Units belonging to the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division conducted an amphibious landing on the Opuk training ground at the Crimean Peninsula. The exercise was part of larger military maneuvers held by Russian airborne forces on the peninsula over the previous days. The fact that airborne units were used in a task which is traditionally assigned to Russian Naval Infantry suggests that Russia tested the interoperability of its ground forces against an enemy attack upon the Crimea Peninsula.  RFS Ceasar Kunikov approaching the Opuk training ground Around 400 airborne troops, supported by over 30 military vehicles, were transported to the Opuk training ground by two landing tank ships. Russian media identified these ships as the RFS Ceasar Kunikov and the RFS Azov. Both vessels are part of the Ropucha-class LST's, each capable of transporting up to 340 soldiers and a dozen armored vehicles. Following the initial landing operation, both ships conducted gunnery exercis...

Russia recently announced that it plans to build two more Ivan Gren-class ships for its navy. Both ships are reported to be upgraded versions of the current RFS Ivan Gren, the sole ship of its class. The upgrades were not specified but are to be made in the fields of ship maneuverability, readiness during sea transit, crew habitability and the ergonomics of the ship. RFS Ivan Gren Landing Ship Tank Though details of the upgrades are unknown, the identified fields give us an insight of the next two Russian amphibious assault ships. First, there is no evidence to suggest that the Ivan Gren-class will undergo significant structural changes. The ship is designed to be a landing tank ship capable of carrying 13 main battle tanks or 36 armored personnel carriers and transport around 300 marines. The transport capacity and her capabilities of landing these troops (through beaching herself and opening her bow doors) are expected to remain. The upgrades are more to be expected to...