Baltic Fleet Deployments - Wk 30/2021
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 present at Saint Petersburg for the Navy Day parade [2].
Iskander mobile ballistic missile systems were used during a training exercise in Kaliningrad. The launchers were covertly deployed towards their launch positions where the crews conducted electronic launches of the missiles. Launches took place at the individual level as well as group launches. The exercise was followed by moving to a fall back position to escape the retaliatory strike from a simulated enemy [3].
Around 100 servicemen and meteorological specialists of the Baltic Fleet deployed mobile meteorological stations and complexes during a special exercise on hydrometeorological support in the Kaliningrad Region. The exercise was held under the leadership of Colonel Vladimir Udrish, head of the Hydrometeorological Service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation [4].
Alexandrit class minehunters RFS Alexandr Obukhov and RFS Vladimir Emelyanov were spotted four nautical miles out of Latvian territorial waters [5]. Both vessels could be heading back to the port of Baltiysk following their participation in the Navy Day parade at Saint Petersburg [6].
Several tank crews trained in overcoming water obstacles at the town of Gusev in Kaliningrad. The crews had to drive their T-72B3 tanks through a 5 meter deep water obstacle. Specialist engineers were on stand by to provide assistance in case of an emergency [7].
July 29
Ropucha class LSTs Kaliningrad and Korolev passed through the Oresund during the early morning and entered the Baltic Sea [8]. Both vessels spent several months deployed in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
Specialists removed a German torpedo dating from the Second World War. The torpedo was washed ashore on the coast of Kaliningrad on July 28 and did not contain any explosives [9].
Udaloy class destroyer RFS Vice Admiral Kulakov held a naval gunnery exercise against a simulated enemy surface target. The exercise took place in the Baltic Sea while the vessel is heading back to the Northern Fleet following its participation in the Navy Day Parade at Saint Petersburg. Kulakov is in the same task force as the Oscar II class submarine RFS Orel and rescue tug Altay [10].
July 30
A battalion sized group of naval infantry held a defensive exercise at the Khmelevka training ground in Kaliningrad. The marines repelled an amphibious assault of a simulated enemy force with the vehicle mounted weapons of their BTR-82As.
During a second stage, the marines engaged an fought off the main landing force of the enemy which was advancing inland. The enemy column was attacked with APCs, small arms and Mi-8 helicopter support [11].
Su-27 fighter aircraft and Su-24 fighter-bombers conducted night-time training exercises at Kaliningrad. The pilots trained to engage ground targets at low speeds and combat maneuvering in the sky. Around 20 aircraft were engaged in the exercises [12].
July 31
Northern fleet Slava class cruiser RFS Marshal Ustinov and Akula class submarine RFS Vepr left the Baltic Sea. Both fleets were visually seen passing the Great Belt Bridge around 0630Z. Both units are heading back to their homeport of Severomorsk [13].
August 01
Northern Fleet Kilo class submarine RFS Vladikavkaz and rescue tug Altay have left the Baltic Sea. Both vessels passed the Great Belt Bridge around 0619Z [14].
A battalion tactical exercise has ended in Kaliningrad which saw the deployment of 400 soldiers and 50 pieces of military hardware. The battalion sized group was drawn from a motorized rifle regiment though it was not reported which regiment was involved.
The battalion sized unit was tasked to overcome an enemy airstrike and engage a conventional enemy force. Special attention was given to unit cohesion, moving on the battlefield, camouflage and setting up field fortifications [15].
