Russian Navy - News and Analysis

August 07 The Artic Group held an anti-submarine exercise in the eastern part of the Barents Sea with the frigate Admiral Kulakov launching her Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopter. The helicopter deployed her dipping sonar during this exercise [ link ]. The vessels of the Artic Group were observed sailing in various formations during this exercise [ link ]. August 13 The Admiral Kulakov & Alexander Otrakovsky arrived at the settlement of Dudinka with the Admiral Kulakov being moored and the Alexander Otrakovsky located in the middle of the Yenisei river [ link ]. Fleet oiler Sergey Osipov and rescue tug Altay were observed south of Dikson, most likely at anchor [ link ].

August 10 Boris Chilikin class tanker RFS Sergey Osipov departed the port of Severomorsk around 8AM UTC. The vessel will act as support ship for the Udaloy class destroyer RFS Severomorsk together with the rescue tug Pamir [ 1 ]. All three vessels will be deployed for a two moth long voyage across the Northeastern Passage in the Artic Ocean. Other ships will join the deployment with the Russian Ministry of Defense reporting that, in total, eight ships will take part in the exercise [ 2 ] [ 3 ]. The deployment will be held under the command of Vice-Admiral Oleg Golubev, the Deputy Commander of the Northern Fleet. All three vessels were reported heading north of Murmansk and into the Barents Sea by 18:50 UTC [ 4 ]. It appears that all three vessels are heading towards a training area which is located north of Murmansk and west of Severny island of Nova Zemlya [ 5 ]. The training area is closed by NOTAMs for artillery exercises which are to be held between August 11 and 13. August 16 Udal...

On Monday, October 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the Strategy for the Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation which calls for the construction of 400.000 tons of shipping in the coming years. [ 1 ] Central in this document is the construction of several icebreakers and rescue vessels as well as laying a transarctic optic fiber cable on the ocean floor. These plans form a basis for the maritime development of the Artic Region which is believed to be rich in energy and mineral supplies that could become accessible due to global warming. Strengthening maritime trade Central in the document is the construction of additional shipping tonnage to be used in the Artic Region. This plan involved the construction of at least five icebreakers of Project 22220 and three icebreakers of Project 10510, also known as Leader class. Sixteen additional rescue vessels are to be constructed to supplement the fleet. Artika - lead vessel of Project 22220 and named after h...

On August 27, the Russian Pacific Fleet kicked off a large scale naval exercise in the Bering Strait, separating Russia from Alaska. The exercise, which involved over 15 warships, saw the deployment of the Pacific Fleet's flagship, the Slava class missile cruiser RFS Varyag, and the Oscar II class SSGN RFS Omsk. Other capital ships involved Udaloy class destroyers and Steregushchy class frigates. The exercise area was reported to be at the southern entrance of the Bering Strait. The most notable event during this exercise was the launch of anti-ship cruise missiles against simulated targets during an anti-surface warfare exercise. The RFS Varyag launched one of her P-1000 Vulcan anti-ship cruise missiles while the submarine RFS Omsk launched a P-700 Granit missile from a submerged position. Both ships reportedly struck their simulated targets, located at a distance of respectively 450 and 320 kilometres away. RFS Varyag launching a P-1000 Vulcan AShCM What makes this exercise relev...