Baltic Fleet Deployments - Wk 50/2020
December 07
TASS agency reports that a new motorized infantry division will be created and deployed at the Kaliningrad Region as part of the 11th Army Corps. The decision is made in response to the deployment of four multinational battalions by NATO in Poland and the Baltic States. The infantry division will be composed of motorized troops, an artillery regiment and a separate tank regiment. Deployment of the new formation will happen in 2021. No specific date was reported. [1] [4]
Type 887EKM Kilo class submarine RFS Dimitrov completed the L-2 training course in the Baltic Sea. As part of the L-2 training program, the crew worked out several combat exercises during several operational and tactical solutions. The training included several navigation tasks, such as traversing a simulated minefield.
The submarine will reportedly move on to other training exercises which involve launching torpedo's against surface and subsurface targets. [2]
The commander of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral Alexander Nosatov, announced a strengthening of the mobile coastal missile defense systems in the year 2021. Bal coastal missile defense systems will be deployed near Saint Petersburg while Bastion missile systems are to be deployed with the Baltic Fleet. [3]
December 09
Fifty servicemembers will start a sniper training course in the Kaliningrad Region which will take about a month to complete. The training course involved both theoretical and practical training which involve detailed study of the technical specifications of the weapons and special equipment used by snipers, camouflaging, target classification, fire adjustment, mastering of observation skills and aiming devices, determining the distance to the target and firing at the maximum possible distances in both daytime and nighttime. [4]
Steregushchy class corvettes RFS Steregushchy and Boiky have returned to the port of Baltiysk following a period of 77 days at sea. The corvettes were deployed in the Northern Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea during this period and completed several combat exercises. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that both corvettes are not in need of maintenance following this deployment are are ready to be deployed again following a replenishment. [5] [6] [7]
December 10
Corvette RFS Gremyashchy conducted the final part of her state trails before being accepted into the Russian Navy. The corvette was tasked to defend against a hostile cruise missile with the use of her AK-190 and AK-630 artillery system, the Redut air defense missile system. Missile boat R-257 reportedly fired the anti-ship cruise missile during this exercise. The missile boat allegedly also deployed electronic countermeasures to jam the RFS Gremyashchy in order to simulate real combat conditions. [8] [9]
Over 10 vessels of the Baltic Fleet were also at sea during this exercise in order to seal of the training ground.
Fire support groups of the air assault battalion of the Naval Infantry trained in organizing ambushes at the Khmelevka training ground in Kaliningrad. The groups, equipped with RPG-7 and AGS-17 grenade launchers were task to ambush a group of insurgents as they moved to prepare a beachhead for landing a hostile amphibious force. The fire support groups targeted the lead and trailing vehicles of the enemy column during the ambush and then proceeded to eliminate the insurgent forces trapped in the middle. the support groups also trained in changing positions during the ambush to avoid being targeted by the insurgent forces. A total of 200 targets, representing individual targets and simulated troop concentrations, were engaged during the ambush. In total, 150 inert and 200 real grenades were fired during the exercise. Training is reported to continue at Khmelevka until the end of the month. [10]
December 12
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Naval Infantry fire support groups were again training at the Khmelevka training ground. the set up of the exercise is reported to be the same as the exercise that took place on December 10. This suggest that a rerun of the exercise took place with little to no variation though this could not be verified independently. [11]
Replenishment oiler RFS Kola, a tanker of the Project 160 class, arrived at the Kaliningrad anchorage around 0830Z. [12]
Russian forces in Kaliningrad held a coastal defense exercise with the use of Bal missile systems. Over 50 servicemen and 10 pieces of military equipment were used during the exercise during which the missile systems moved towards their firing positions, processed the target data and held electronic launches against a simulated hostile force in the Baltic Sea. Once the launches were completed, the missile systems were moved to a new position where the crew practiced reloading their missile systems. the exercise was held as a scheduled drill to test the combat readiness of the unit. [13]
December 13
Around 100 servicemen are reported to be involved in a sniper training that takes place during the night time. The training involved snipers engaging targets at distances between 300 and 800 meters. the servicemen are organized in sniper pairs for this training. [14]
As part of a regular combat readiness training, several air defense units in Kaliningrad were involved in a snap exercise to defend against an incoming airstrike. S-400 air defense systems were deployed to their firing positions in order to engage the enemy aircraft. According to the training simulation, hostile aircraft were operating at several altitudes and speeds, delivering up to 4 airstrikes per minute. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the crews of the S-400 were able to destroy the attacking aircraft with their simulated electronic launches.
Pantsir-S1 air defense systems were deployed as well with the task to defend the S-400 missile systems during their deployment and launch. [15]
