Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk16/2024

Task Force Composition
As reported by OSINT at the morning of Apr-19

Weekly Brief
Russia's Mediterranean Task Force remained active in the beginning of the week with a second and third weapons shipment between Syria and Libya in what is now dubbed the "Libyan Express".
It remains unclear by OSINT means if the weapons will be used by the Libyan National Army under Field Marshal Haftar or the units of the Russian "Afrika Corps" though the latter is more likely.
The weapon shipments between Syria and Libya also indicate that Russia is now giving priority to support its goals in Libya, rather then transfer weapon systems to Russia proper for use in the in war in Ukraine.

The majority of the task force was also observed absent from port on April 16th. OSINT was unable to provide follow up making it unclear if the task force is deployed for an exercise or providing cover for the third run of the Libyan Express.

Daily Events
April 14
Udaloy class frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov arrived in the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal [d] [f].

Landing vessels Ivan Gren and Alexander Otrakovsky arrived in the Lybian port of Tobruk [b] Both vessels unloaded artillery, in the form of 120mm 2S12 Sani mortars [e] most likely for the Libyan National Army or Russia's Africa Corps [a].
A video of the unloading also showed Grad MLRS and BTR-82A armored personnel carriers being delivered [c].

Russian cargo vessel Mekhanik Makarin departed the Mediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Atlantic Ocean [g].

April 16
Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus revealed the presence of Udaloy class frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov, Buyan-M class corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo and the Altay class fleet oiler Kola [i].

April 19
Landing vessels Ivan Gren and Alexander Otrakovsky are expected to arrive in Tobruk during the evening or early night [h].

Popular posts from this blog

The Russian Navy and the fall of Tartus

With the fall of the Al-Assad regime in Syria, the Syrian rebels allegedly gave Russia 48 hours to vacate their military presence in the naval base at Tartus and the Khmeimim airbase. It seems unlikely that Russia can broker a diplomatic deal to remain present in Tartus. It is expected that Russia will have to vacate its naval presence somewhere at the beginning of week 50. As such, the Russian Navy will now have to look what options, if any, it has to maintain some sort of maritime presence in the Mediterranean. Why Tartus mattered The geographic location of Tartus made it an important strategic position for Russia. Located at the very end of the Eastern Mediterranean it was in a region where NATO/western maritime presence was limited compared to the Western and Central parts of the Mediterranean. The closest maritime base of importance for NATO is located at Souda Bay, Crete, which is located at the transition from Central to Eastern Mediterranean. Operating from Tartus meant tha...
Read more

Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk49/2024

Image
Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Dec-07 Weekly Brief The Russian Mediterranean Task Force appears to have made a demonstration in force before the departure of the frigate Admiral Gorshkov to her homeport. On December 2nd and 3rd, the entire task force departed the port of Tartus for a large scale naval exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean. The exercise was supported by coastal defense batteries and naval aviation and focused on coastal defense and surface warfare. Given the involvement of several services and the availability of a dedicated simulated surface target, it appears that this exercise was planned and coordinated in advance. This contradicts the general narrative of Week 49 where it was stated that the Russian task force was evacuating the port of Tartus given the fast advance of Syrian rebels in Northern Syria. The behavior of the Russian task force corresponds with previous observed patterns during moments of crisis in the region. The Russian ...
Read more

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 rep...
Read more