Black Sea Fleet deployments-Wk51/2021

Fleet overview


Weekly Brief

The reported naval activity involved the ongoing state trails of two smaller Russian warships, RFS Tsiklon and the RFS Sergei Kotov. 
Several vessels are heading towards the Black Sea to rejoin the fleet. These include the Aleksandrit class minehunter RFS Georgy Kurbatov and the logistic support vessel Vsevolod Bobrov.
Rescue tug Spasatel Bekh appears to be escorting a submarine, presumed to be the RFS Novorossiysk. Visual confirmation of the submarine entering the Mediterranean was not possible due to bad weather. The submarine was also not seen leaving the Baltic Sea or passing the English Channel.

Daily Events

December 20
Karakurt class corvette RFS Tsiklon has tested her artillery systems as part of the state trails. Firing took place against simulated coastal and aerial targets [1].

The leadership of the Black Sea Fleet has been called together at the naval base of Novorossiysk. The officers are to work out modern methods and force deployments to solve maritime security problems and protect the interests of the Russian Federation. The training sessions will make use of experience gained from modern conflicts [2].

Rescue tug SB-742 arrived at Sevastopol following her Mediterranean deployment [3].

December 21
The Russian Ministry of Defense reports that around 2.000 new recruits have joined the Black Sea Fleet since the autumn [4].

December 22
Su-24 and Su-30SM aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet naval aviation held tactical flights over Crimea which involved aerial refueling from a Il-78 tanker aircraft. Around 20 pilots were involved with 50 refuelings taking place [5] [6].

December 24
Bykov class patrol vessel RFS Sergei Kotov held flight deck operations as part of the state trails. The corvette interacted with a Ka-27PS search and rescue helicopter of the naval aviation regiment during this operation. The crew worked out all the procedures and checked all the systems required for a successful landing of the helicopter on the flight deck [7].

December 25
Alexandrit class minehunter RFS Georgy Kurbatov passed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean. The vessel is heading towards the Black Sea where it will join the Black Sea Fleet [8].

Elbrus class logistic support vessel Vsevolod Bobrov also entered the Mediterranean around 0530Z [9][10].

December 26
Rescue tug Spasatel Bekh passed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean. The vessel is presumably escorting the Improved Kilo class submarine RFS Novorossiysk. Bad weather did not allow for a visual observation [11].

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