Russian Navy - News and Analysis

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Jan-28 Weekly Brief The Russian task force is presumed to be at sea based on the absence of the majority of warships in Tartus on January 25th. The Russian activity coincides with the presence of NATO vessels and the USS George H.W. Bush carrier task group patrolling in the Eastern Mediterranean. Daily Events January 25th Passage of Sentinel 2 did not result in clear images of the naval base at Tartus that allowed for identification. At least on frigate and a Steregushchy class corvette were inside the harbor together with the fleet oiler Akademik Pashin [ 1 ].

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Jan-14 Weekly Brief After five months without any follow up, the chance that Yasen class nuclear attack submarine Severodvisnk is still in the Mediterranean is very small. The submarine most likely departed the Mediterranean. A P8-A maritime patrol aircraft was observed on January 19th over the Ionian Sea, flying in a search pattern for three hours [ a ]. No NATO surface vessels were in this area at the time. It is possible the aircraft was tracking the Severodvinsk but it seems more probable that the P8-A was tracking a NATO submarine as an exercise. Intelligence collection vessel Yury Ivanov was no longer present in Tartus, suggesting it is back at sea tracking NATO task forces,  the most important of the is the US Navy aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush which is present in the Adriatic Sea. The frigate Admiral Kasatonov has not been observed for over a week, suggesting that is it also deployed on a longer mission tracking

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Jan-14 Weekly Brief OSINT reporting about the Russian task force remains limited to satellite imagery of the naval base at Tartus. Most vessels were in or near the port of Tartus with only the Admiral Grigorovich and Vladimir Emelyanov missing. The arrival of an intelligence collection vessel was anticipated. There was some debate identifying this vessel as a Pacific Fleet Vishnya class AGI was deployed on a long range mission. Identification by the silhouette and shadows identified the AGI at Tartus as the Yury Ivanov which was transiting the Bay of Biscay three weeks ago. Her passage through Gibraltar was not reported. The frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the escorting tanker Kama were last reported in the Bay of Biscay. Their current destination remains unknown as there is talk about a Russian-Chinese naval exercise coming up near South Africa. Should the Gorshkov enter the Mediterranean, here passage at Gibraltar can be expe

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Jan-07 Weekly Brief The arrival of Orthodox Christmas did not put naval operations by the task force to a complete halt. Satellite imager of the port of Tartus revealed that the Gorshkov class frigate and both Steregushchy class corvettes were at sea on January 3th. The Northern Fleet dispatched the Gorshkov class frigate Admiral Gorshkov towards the Mediterranean. This frigate will relieve the Admiral Kasatonov which has been operational in the Mediterranean since February 11th, 2022.  The Admiral Gorshkov is carrying both Kalibr as Zirkon missiles, making this the first operational deployment of the Zircon missile system in the Mediterranean. It is unknown of the Admiral Kasatonov is already heading towards the Strait of Gibraltar. If so, it is expected that the Kasatonov will refuel near Marocco prior to leaving the Mediterranean. Refueling can be done from the fleet oiler Kama which is escorting the Admiral Gorshkov.  Da