Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk12/2023

Task Force Composition

As reported by OSINT at the morning of Mar-23


Weekly Brief
Frigate Admiral Grigorovich was observed near Algiers in the beginning of the week after having escorted two weapon runners and a civilian tanker out of the Mediterranean. It is unclear if the frigate returned to Tartus directly or lingers in the area in anticipation of the landing ships Otrakovsky and Ivan Grenn.

Both vessels left the Northern Fleet and were reported in the Bay of Biscay on March 20 together with the fleet oiler Kola [a]. It looks like that Russia is restarting the Syrian Express, most likely transporting weapons and ammunition out of the Middle East back to Russia. Closure of the Turkish Straits means that the vessels will have to take the long route around Europe.

Intelligence collection vessel Kildin was observed in port, having eluded OSINT reporting for the past four months.

Daily Events
March 17
Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus revealed the presence of the corvettes Merkury and Orekhovo-Zuyevo as well as Improved Kilo class submarine Ufa and the intelligence collection vessel Kildin [1].

March 18
Frigate Admiral Grigorovich was observed near Algiers. The vessel most likely provided an escort for the Sparta IV, Ursa Major and Yaz as they headed from Tartus to the Strait of Gibraltar [2].


Popular posts from this blog

Russian Naval deployments during the Ukraine War

Image
March 17, 2022 At least six Russian warships were observed near Odessa. The warships maintained their distance and operated on the horizon. March 16, 2022 Several vessels entered the port of Sevastopol including the patrol vessel Vasily Bykov. The Bykov was rumored to be struck and sunk by a Ukrainian grad MLRS barrage near Odessa on March 07 dough this was never officially confirmed.  The visual confirmation of the vessel entering the port of Sevastopol undamaged indicates that if an MLRS attack took place, it did not struck the Bykov. Ropucha class landing vessel Kondopoga of the northern fleet allegedly also entered the port of Sevastopol. March 15, 2022 Several Russian warships and landing ships were spotted on commercial satellite imagery during the morning hours. The vessels were heading in the direction of Odessa.  The vessel leading the formation of landing ships appears to be minesweeper with her sweeping array deployed. During the evening, around 90 missiles were reported fir
Read more

Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk42/2023

Image
Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Oct-21 Weekly Brief The task force continues to operate at sea with its maximum capacity it can deploy. Both corvettes are most likely covering the US naval deployments of the Gerald R. Ford carrier task force with fleet oiler Yelnya regularly sailing out of Tartus to refuel the vessels at sea. Daily Events October 14 Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar and the rescue tug Sergey Balk were visually observed passing through the Strait of Gibraltar and exiting the Mediterranean [ 1 ]. October 17 Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus only showed the fleet oiler Yelnya present inside the harbor [ 2 ]. October 18 A radio signal belonging to the fleet oiler Yelnya was intercepted, placing the vessel in a position of 34.9° North, 35,8° East; just outside the port of Tartus [ 3 ].
Read more

Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk41/2023

Image
Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Oct-14 Weekly Brief The Russian task force has been responding to the new situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and the arrival of a US Navy carrier task force in the region. AGI vessel Kildin is keeping track of the carrier movements. At the same time, both corvettes departed Tartus, support by the Amur class repair vessel PM-82. Both corvettes most likely form a counterbalance to the US Navy presence and project power is support of local allies though the projected combat power falls far short of the deployed US maritime power in this region. Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar has been steadily heading towards the Strait of Gibraltar, escorted by rescue tug Sergey Balk. Both vessels will most likely transit on October 14th during the night to prevent visual observation. Daily Events October 09 Fleet oiler Yelnya replenished the Momo class intelligence collection vessel Kildin in a postion halfway Crete and Mersa Matr
Read more