Russian Navy - News and Analysis

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Apr-29 Weekly Brief A significant reduction in the amount of warships and firepower deployed was observed during this week. The departure of both Steregushchy class corvettes and the frigate Admiral Grigorovich have decreased the task fore by half. As such, the remaining vessels from a level of deployment last noticed during February 2021 and thus resemble a Russian deployment during peace times. The departure of the Admiral Grigorovich has been speculated for a long time. The vessel has been deployed to the Mediterranean since October 28th, 2021 and has been on station for over a year and a half now.  The closure of the Turkish Straits prevented the vessel from heading back into the Black Sea and conduct repairs and maintenance in the main naval bases at Sevastopol and Novorossiysk. The frigate is now expected to sail back to the Baltic Sea and have its repairs and maintenance done at the Yantar Shipyard in the Kalining...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Apr-22 Weekly Brief The Slava class cruiser Marshal Ustinov is deemed not to be present in the Mediterranean at this moment. Some confusion regarding the presence of the cruiser Marshal Ustinov was reported on April 20th when an AIS signal suggested that the cruiser had passed Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean.  The Slava class cruiser however departed Murmansk on April 12th to take part in a Northern Fleet exercise in the Barents Sea. Even if the cruiser has sailed directly towards the Mediterranean, her passage went unreported by both the Norwegian and British navies. The AIS signal was also assigned to a vessel heading west, attempting to depart the Mediterranean. As for the task force itself, some increased activity is reported with both frigates and both Steregushchy class corvettes now operating at sea. Daily Events April 15 Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus showed several warships being moored inside t...

  Daily Events April 10 The Russian armed forces announced that they will start drills in the Artic Region. The exercise will involve the deployment of 1.800 troops, 15 warships and 40 aircraft [ 1 ]. April 11 Grisha class anti-submarine warships Snezhnogorsk and Brest departed the Kola and will hold anti-submarine exercises in the Barents Sea. Both vessels were escorted by the Sonya class minesweepers minesweepers Yadrin and Solovki Yunga who provided protection against sea mines during the transit. Both anti-submarine vessels will train together with nuclear submarines of the Northern Fleet and anti-submarine naval aviation [ 2 ]. April 12 Naval aviation in the form of Tu-142 patrol aircraft and Ka-27M anti-submarine helicopters were deployed in a joint exercise wit the Grisha class anti-submarine warships Snezhnogorsk and Brest in the Barents Sea. The aircraft searched for a simulated enemy submarine in a designated area and transmitted the target information...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Apr-15 Weekly Brief Following several weeks of delay due to unannounced port visits in the Red Sea, the frigate Admiral Gorshkov entered the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal on April 11. The frigate brings with it hypersonic Tsirkon cruise missiles, thereby significantly increasing the combat capabilities of the Mediterranean task force. However, the absence of long range detection capabilities means that there is a small chance that these missiles can be successfully deployed from a long range. Daily Events April 10 Frigate Admiral Gorshkov and fleet oiler Kama were reported in a position 56 kilometers south of Port Suez. Both vessels are awaiting to transit the Suez Canal towards the Mediterranean [ 1 ]. Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus showed several warships being moored inside the harbor. These vessels were identified as the Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar, both Steregushchy class corvettes and the Altay ...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Apr-08 Weekly Brief Both Steregushchy class corvettes and the Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar remained absent from satellite observations of Tartus. In case of the Krasnodar, this submarine could be conducting training exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean. Similar training activity has recently been observed in other Russian Fleets as new crewmembers are getting on board. The Krasnodar could be no exception to this pattern. As for both Stereguschy class corvettes, these could either be on patrol in the Eastern Mediterranean or attempting to head back to the Baltic Sea. The Russian Ministry of Defense however has not yet made statements regarding the return voyage of both vessels. The majority of the task force remained in port, thereby further strengthening the pattern we have been seeing over the past weeks. Daily Events April 3 Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus showed several warships being moored inside th...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Apr-01 Weekly Brief Based on OSINT, the posture of the Mediterranean Task Force did not change. Most vessels remained at Tartus during the week. Daily Events March 26 Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus in Syria showed several warships being moored inside the harbor. These vessels were identified as the Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar, a Steregushchy class corvette and the frigate Admiral Grigorovich. The Buyan-M class corvette Orekhovo Zuevo was observed at anchor outside the port [ 1 ]. March 27 Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus in Syria showed several warships being moored inside the harbor. These vessels were identified as the Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar, a Steregushchy class corvette, the frigate Admiral Grigorovich and the Aleksandrit class minehunter Vladimir Emelyanov [ 2 ]. March 31 Fleet oiler Kama, supporting the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, is reported in the Red Sea, sailing east of Er...