Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk51/2021

Task Force Composition

As reported by OSINT at the morning of December 25


Weekly Brief

Limited naval activity was reported with the capital warships of the task force conducting flight deck operations at the beginning of the week. Both Baltic Fleet Ropucha class vessels departed the Mediterranean in spite of earlier rumors that both vessels were headed towards the Black Sea. It appears both vessels conducted a Syrian express run, most likely delivering military equipment to the Russian contingent operating in Syria.

Daily Events

December 18
Frigate RFS Admiral Grigorovich and patrol vessel RFS Dmitry Rogachev held flight deck operations at an unreported location in the Mediterranean. Ka-27PS helicopters, carried by the vessels themselves, set out to train search and rescue operations and tracking submarines [1].

Rescue tug SB-742 moved into the Black Sea after passing the Bosporus. The vessel returned from the joint Russian-Egyptian naval exercise at Alexandria via Tartus [2].

Logistic support vessel RFS Vice-Admiral Paromov is reported to be portside in the harbor of Limassol, Cyprus [3].

Ropucha class landing ships RFS Minsk and RFS Korolev are reportedly heading towards the Strait of Gibraltar with a crossing expected during the forenoon [4]. The passage was not visually confirmed.

December 22
Ropucha class LSTS RFS Minsk and RFS Korolev are reported in the North Sea, confirming that both vessels passed Gibraltar around December 18 [5].

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