Russian Navy - News and Analysis

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at noon of July 31 Weekly Brief Following the departure of the four Ropucha class LSTs, the composition of the task force with regards to warships and major auxiliary vessels did not change. As announced in Week 29, the rescue tug RFS Captain Guryev transited the Suez Canal and is heading to the Gulf of Oman to support a Russian Navy diving team during an international competition hosted by Iran. Crane vessel KIL-158 is heading back towards the Black Sea. According to Interfax, the vessel is about to start her transit through the Turkish Straits during this weekend. Daily Events July 28 The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the rescue tug Captain Guryev is passing the Suez Canal and is en route to the Gulf of Oman. There the vessel will support a Russian Navy team during a diving competition hosted by Iran [ 1 ]. The vessel arrived at Port Said around 10:00 local time [ 2 ]. July 29 Rescue tug Captain Guryev is reported in the Suez Ca...

Weekly Sitrep Naval activity during this week was almost entirely dominated by Northern Fleet warships leaving the Baltic Sea following their participation in the Navy Day Parade. Training exercises at Kaliningrad continue along the objectives of the summer training program with training now taking place at the battalion level. Daily Events July 27 A special tactical for engineering troops was held on the Khmelevka training ground in Kaliningrad which saw the deployment of 300 soldiers and 200 pieces of military equipment. The engineers were tasked in conducting reconnaissance and clearing routes from mines after which army convoys could pass. During this task, the engineers also had to defend themselves against attacks from simulated enemy reconnaissance forces [ 1 ]. July 28 Steregushchy class corvette RFS Boiky left the port of Baltiysk during the early afternoon. The vessel could be providing local security for the transit of the Northern Fleets nuclear submarine that were pres...

Summary Currently, only one Tsirkon launch took place with the frigate RFS Admiral Gorshkov conducting a flight test on July 19. This launch was not part of the state trails. New NOTAMs for a possible testing period are in effect between August 20 to 25 but these are more likely related to a new test launch of the nuclear powered 9M730 Burevestnik missile. State trails are expected to start during the summer though at this point, the tests will start in August instead of the previously reported period at the end of July. Through the use of NOTAMs, at least two possible testing periods were identified during the second half of July, but no launches took place in both periods. This could either be caused by bad information provided to Russian press agencies or unexpected problems regarding the missile itself. Several additional NOTAMs were in effect throughout August but so far, no new launches were reported. The first upcoming launch has so far been reported against a target located on ...

Weekly Brief The focus during this week lay in both anti-submarine warfare by specialized corvettes and naval aviation with an anti-submarine exercise taking place in the Sea of Okhotsk, the bastion area of the Pacific Fleet. The crews of the vessels which took part in the large naval exercise near Hawaii underwent training in fire fighting and damage control. These are vital tasks that have to be conducted flawless once vessels are deployed at sea. Daily Events July 27 A pair of Tu-142MZ long range anti-submarine aircraft, also known as maritime patrol aircraft, are returning to their airbase following their participation at the Navy Day parade at Saint Petersburg. The return flight will be over 8.000 kilometers and will be done without refueling [ 1 ]. Recently graduated pilots flying MiG-31BM interceptor aircraft for the Pacific Fleet Naval Aviation have started training in adverse weather conditions. The training involves take offs and landings as well as searching for enemy aircra...

Weekly Brief Minimal naval activity was reported as a result of the Navy Day celebrations at the end of the week. The two reported exercises were an amphibious landing operation and a coastal missile defense exercise. Daily Events July 20 Ropucha class landing ships RFS Nikolay Vilkov, RFS Peresvet and RFS Admiral Nevelskoy were involved in an amphibious landing exercise together with the Primorsky Naval Infantry Brigade. The exercise took place at the training range at Cape Klerk in the Peter the Great Bay [ 1 ]. July 22 Coastal missile defense batteries stationed in Kamchatka conducted electronic launches against simulated hostile surface warships representing an amphibious task force. Ball missile systems made a march across rough terrain towards their launching positions, worked out the drills for camouflage and their targeting drills. Special attention was given during the drill to protect the launchers from attacks by hostile reconnaissance forces. In all, around 10...

Weekly Brief Naval exercises were limited to the simulated launch of Kalibr cruise missiles by the Karakurt class corvette RFS Mytischchi as it was heading out to sea. The exercise is a break from normal missile exercises as it did not take place while the ship was fully at sea. Instead it took place while the vessel was heading through a narrow passage after just leaving port. Russian warships could be training to be ready for offensive operations from the moment they leave port. New leadership in junior positions are being filled with around 130 young lieutenants joining the navy and coastal missile defense units at Kaliningrad. Additional training will take place the coming weeks in order to get these officers battle ready. New frontline fighter aircraft will join the naval aviation in the near future as the Su-30SM2 will be replacing the Su-27 in at least two regiments. Daily Events July 20 Around 150 soldiers and 30 pieces of military equipment took part in a tank combat exercise ...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at noon of July 24 Weekly Brief Little naval activity was once again reported with the sole exercise being an anti-sabotage exercise held at the port of Tartus during which at least one Improved Kilo class submarine was involved. Sentinel imagery of July 19 showed several surface vessels moored at Tartus though the location where the submarines are usually moored remained empty. The amphibious build up on Russia's southern flank has officially ended with all four Ropucha class leaving the Mediterranean an returning towards their respective homeports. Daily Events July 19 Northern Fleet Ropucha class landing ships RFS Kondopoga and RFS Alexander Otrakovsky passed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Atlantic Ocean [ 1 ]. Both vessels are returning to their homeport and will spend the transit time on the Atlantic Ocean training [ 2 ]. Sentinel-2 satellite imagery of the port of Tartus showed several vessels in port however the resolution...

On July 10 and July 12, Russia Media announced two important facts regarding the future of the Russian Navy. The first article , on July 10, announced that the Project 22350 frigate RFS Admiral Golovko will be the first Russian warship to be standard equipped with the Tsirkon hypersonic missile. On July 12 , it was announced that the frigate RFS Admiral Gorshkov was scheduled for a fourth and final test launch of the Tsirkon missile. This launch is planned to take place before the end of July. When successful, the missile will pass the state-trails and be accepted in the Russian Navy. Both articles give a clear indication that Russia will start using the Tsirkon missile as part of the standard loadout of its surface vessels in the very near future. Once deployed with its active surface fleet, the Tsirkon missile will give a temporarily advantage to the Russian Navy over its adversaries in terms of offensive strike capabilities. Russia's naval doctrine differs from the west as it pe...

Task Force composition As reported by OSINT at noon of July 17 Weekly Brief Naval activity in the Mediterranean remains low with few naval movements reported through OSINT. The arrival of the Baltic Fleet Ropucha class vessels on July 11 confirms that the amphibious build-up in the Black Sea has ended. Both the Baltic Fleets as the two Northern Fleet Ropucha class LTSs are expected to return to their homeports in the coming weeks. It is rumored that all four vessels will remain in Tartus to take part in the Navy Day celebrations on July 25. Patrol vessel RFS Vasiliy Bykov  is patrolling the Eastern Mediterranean and held a three day long port visit in Piraeus, Greece. A regular rotation of sea going tugs supporting the task force also took place, with Sergei Balk replacing the Shakhter. Daily Events July 11 Baltic Fleet Ropucha class landing ships RFS Kaliningrad and RFS Korolev were observed passing through the Bosporus and heading towards the Mediterranean [ 1 ] [ 2 ]. Both vesse...

Weekly Brief With the larger surface warships at port following their recent return from a two month deployment in the Pacific Ocean, naval activity was restricted to smaller surface vessels out on small training exercises. All reported vessel at sea were Grisha class anti-submarine vessels used for patrolling and guarding the littoral zones. Daily Events July 13 Newly trained pilots stationed in Kamchatka, graduates of the aviation schools in 2020, have flew their first independent flight in MiG-31BM fighter. The flights were held from the Yelizovo airfield and took place in clear weather conditions at medium altitudes. The next phases will be held in adverse weather and at higher altitudes [ 1 ]. Grisha class small anti-submarine vessel RFS Koreets held artillery fire exercises in the Peter the Great Gulf. The vessel held several exercises with its AK-176M 76mm gun and AK-63030mm close-in weapon systems. These exercises included an air-defense exercise against an target dropped w...

Weekly Brief Naval activity remained limited to the Gulf of Gdansk at the beginning of the week and the preparations for the Navy Day parade at Saint Petersburg. Training at Kaliningrad continued with a combat readiness check taking place by the end of the week. Daily Events July 12 RMP Kaliningrad issued a navigation warning on 5894.5 KHz at 1853Z which warns of naval training in the Gulf of Gdanks. The training takes place between July 12-17 during the day, 0809Z-1600Z. The center position is reported as 54 44 N 19 23 E with dangers to navigation stretching two nautical miles form this position [ 1 ]. The stress resilience of 200 soldiers was tested and monitored at a specialized psychological obstacle course in Kaliningrad. The soldiers have to overcome an obstacle course with burning walls, destroyed infrastructure while the sound of explosions and bullets us being played. The goal is to have the soldiers withstand high neuropsychic stress and act confidently as intended in stressf...

Weekly Brief Aside from the influx of several Northern Fleet warships, naval activity remained largely absent in the Baltic Sea as the Baltic Fleet is preparing for the Navy Day parade on July 25. The first training session for this parade started by the end of the week in the Gulf of Finland. Submarine operations were reported in the Gotland Deep on July 08 with at least one Kilo class submarines. Over the past weeks, the two Pacific Fleet Improved Kilo class submarines have been at sea for training before being sent from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Training exercises in Kaliningrad are at a normal level as the new conscripts are being trained up to meet the necessary standard. once the quality of the troops increase, the exercises will become larger and more complex. Daily Events July 05 Oscar-II class nuclear submarine K-266 Orel passed through the Great Belt bridge and entered the Baltic Sea at 08:52 local time [ 1 ]. The submarine will take part in the Navy Day parade at ...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at noon of July 11 Weekly Brief The departure of the Slava class cruiser RFS Moskva and her escort was an unexpected event. The deployment of cruisers in the Mediterranean normally last several weeks to months with various port visits and naval exercises taking place. Her departure coincided with the British carrier strike group (CSG21) moving towards the Suez canal. It can be reasoned that RFS Moskva was deployed in the Mediterranean as a countermove against the deployment of HMS Defender and HNLMS Evertsen in the Black Sea and the passing of these two warships in waters that Russia claims as its own. The two Northern Fleet landing vessels RFS Kondopoga and RFS Alexander Otrakovsky entered back into the Mediterranean and are heading towards Tartus. Both vessels have been in the Black Sea for the past two months in support of military exercises in the Crimea. It remains unclear if both vessels will return to the Northern Fleet upon completion...

July 01 Black Sea Fleet Tapir class landing ships RFS Orsk and RFS Saratov operated in the naval training ranges of the Black Sea Fleet and trained their capabilities in supporting amphibious landings with artillery fire. The training exercise saw both vessels engaging sea targets, simulated by target shield, air targets, simulated by Be-12 amphibious aircraft, and mock ups of floating mines [ 1 ] [ 2 ]. This training simulates the hostile environment a landing ship faces as it is moving towards the landing beach. During this transit phase,, the vessel is expected to be able to defend itself against naval and air attacks as well as being able to navigate through minefields. July 02 Pacific Fleet The warships which took part in the amphibious landing exercises near the Kuril Islands at the end of June are reported as heading back towards their naval bases. These include the Ropucha class landing vessels RFS Admiral Nevelskoy and RFS Peresvet. Escorting these vessels are the Nanuchka...