Russian forces in the Mediterranean - Wk17/2023

Task Force Composition
As reported by OSINT at the morning of Apr-27


Weekly Brief
Weapons transports between Syria and Libya are continuing with a regular pace with a third delivery completed at the beginning of the week. Weapon deliveries are rumored to be destined for Russia's Afrika Korps operating in Libya.

Sparta IV, a known weapon runner between Syria and Russia has reappeared in the Mediterranean, coming from Saint Petersburg. It is unclear if this vessel is already carrying weapons or if it is picking up a new delivery in Syria.
It will be interesting to see if the Sparta IV will reinforce the Libyan Express or remain on the Syrian Express between Syria and Russia.

Daily Events
April 21
Satellite imagery indicate that the amphibious landing vessels Ivan Gren and Alexander Otrakovsky are departing the port of Tobruk, Libya. Steregushchy class corvette Merkury is believed to provide an escort [1].

April 24
Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus, Syria, confirmed the presence of all vessels of the task force with the exception of the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov and the intelligence collection vessel Kildin [2].

April 26
Russian cargo vessel and known weapons runner Sparta IV passed through the Strait of Gibraltar during the morning hours [3].

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