Russian Navy - News and Analysis

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at noon of October 30 Weekly Brief A continuation of planned rotations took place during the week with a Grigorovich class frigate and Bykov class patrol vessel entering the Mediterranean from the Black Sea. Both vessels spent several days training in the Black Sea prior to their departure towards the Mediterranean. Daily Events October 26 Bykov class patrol vessel RFS Dmitry Rogachev reportedly started her transit from the port of Sevastopol towards the Mediterranean. The vessel should be making the transit through the Bosporus soon as her passage is already reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense. Prior to her deployment, the vessel and her crew held several exercises at the training grounds of the Black Sea Fleet. These exercises included training with the Ka-27 helicopter [ 1 ]. Tapir class landing vessel RFS Orsk departed the Mediterranean after completing a supply run towards the Russian naval base at Tartus. Her transit through the

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at noon of October 23 Weekly Brief Reports on Russian naval activity in the Mediterranean remained low with the sole reported naval movement being the passage of the rescue tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh. The vessel appears to be heading towards the Central Mediterranean but it remains unclear if it is passing through or will support Russian warships operating in this area. Daily Events October 21 Rescue tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh, former SB-739, has passed the Bosporus and entered the Mediterranean [ 1 ]. October 22 Rescue tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh is reported in the Southern Aegean Sea. Her AIS signal was reported around 21:11 UTC as she was traveling southwest at a speed of 13.2 kts [ 2 ]. October 23 Rescue tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh is located in the Minoan Sea, east of the Peloponnese peninsula during the morning hours. The vessel appears to be heading towards the Central Mediterranean [ 3 ]

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at noon of October 16 Weekly Brief Small fleet tanker RFS Vice-Admiral Paromov, the lead vessel of Project 03182 small seagoing tankers, held several replenishment at sea exercises at an unspecified location on October 16. The exercise was characterized by the wide variety of techniques, materials transferred and types of receiving vessels. The exercise most likely served as a thorough test aimed to see how well Project 03182 tankers operate and are capable of supporting Russian warships. Being the lead ship of her class and the only one in operation so far, she is the only vessel capable for conducting these tests. The result of this exercise will determine how well the vessels of Project 03812 are and how they are to be deployed in Russia's future naval operations. Other naval activity was largely restricted to planned rotation, supply of the Russian forces in Syria and the return of the rescue tug Captain Gurev. Limited naval training

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at noon of October 09 Weekly Brief With the arrival of the small tanker Vice-Admiral Paromov, the task force has a limited capacity for extended operations in the Mediterranean though the absence of a dedicated repair vessel remains. Daily Events October 03 Project 03182 support vessel Vice-Admiral Paromov has entered the Black Sea by passing through the Bosporus [ 1 ] [ 2 ]. The vessel was supposed to transit on October 02 but heavy petro-chemical traffic through the Bosporus resulted in the VTS to postpone her transit.  The vessel can serve the role of a light tanker but is limited to refueling ships either docked or at anchor and lacks the capabilities of conducting an underway replenishment [ 3 ]. Vice-Admiral Paromov will support the vessels of the Mediterranean Task Force [ 4 ] [ 5 ]. October 05 Ropucha class landing vessel RFS Tsezar Kunikov moved back into the Black Sea during the morning hours. Her passage in the Bosporus was reporte

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at noon of October 02 Weekly Brief No naval activity has been reported through OSINT during this week. A possible reason could be the absence of repair and supply vessels supporting the Russian task force. The small tanker RFS Vice-Admiral Paromov is heading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean though at the time of writing, the passage through the Bosporus has yet to take place. The small tanker offers additional endurance at sea for the warships operating from Tartus. Daily Events October 02 Project 03182 class small tanker RFS Vice-Admiral Paromov is send to the Mediterranean in order to reinforce the naval task force stationed at Tartus, Syria. The vessel is reported near the Bosporus and is starting her passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean [ 1 ].

  October 01 Caspian Flotilla The final control check for the 2021 training year is currently ongoing at the Adanak training ground. Training exercises will focus on tactical, technical, engineering and medical skills as well as driving and small-arms fire.Orlan-10 and eleron-3 UAVs are used to monitor the progress of the exercise [ 1 ]. October 04 Black Sea Fleet As part of their control exercises, around 200 marines took part in a tactical exercise at the Opuk training ground on Crimea. The marines were tasked to engaged a group of hostile sabotage and reconnaissance forces while assuring the safe passage of a military convoy. Using data received from unmanned aerial vehicles, an advance party was sent in the rear of the enemy forces that waited in ambush. The main convoy moved in full combat readiness and avoided a road section that was possibly mined. Once at the ambush site, both groups engaged the opposing forces from the rear and flanks [ 2 ]. Pacific Fleet Units of the 40th NI