Russian Navy - News and Analysis

Russian news outlets reported on Thursday May 9 the existence of plans to build a new variant of the Project 22350 Admiral Gorshkov class frigates which are currently in service in the Russian Navy. The new variant is to increase in size to a water displacement of 7.000 tons, compared to the 4.500 tons of the current Admiral Gorshkov class. At the same time, the amount of missile launchers on board of the new variant is to increase to a total of 48 Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells, a significant increase compared to the current modern frigates that Russia is building. According to Russian media outlets, a total of 12 ships of this new variant are to be constructed with the first ship entering service in 2027. A finalization of the contract is expect by the end of 2019. Project 22350, commonly known as the Admiral Gorshkov class, is one of the few modern classes of frigates that Russia is currently building. The lead ship, RFS Admiral Gorshkov, has proven itself to be a capable f...

Russia recently announced that it also seeks to modernize its mine countermeasure (MCM) fleet which resulted in a shipbuilding plan for around 40 new minesweepers to join the Russian fleets by 2030. This new shipbuilding program will result in a further modernization and  increase in efficiency with regard to Russian MCM operations, it will not result in a closing of the capability gap that currently exists compared to western naval forces. Russian media outlets stressed the fact that the new minesweepers will be constructed with a plastic hull instead of regular hulls which are typically made of steel or wood. While Russian sources were quick to report on this they did not mentioned that the shift towards plastic hulls is done due to its bigger advantages while conducting MCM operations. Due to their plastic hulls, the new Russian minesweepers will be able to reduce their magnetic signature, making them less detectable by magnetic mines. The decision to use these new hulls is...