Russian Navy - News and Analysis

  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...

On the evening of April 13 the Slava class cruiser Moskva, flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, was reportedly struck by Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles. The details the attacks are unavailable to obtain through OSINT and in the 24 hours following the attack several pieces of information and speculation have come to attention that allows us to piece together the broad lines of the attack and its aftermath. The Slava class cruiser Moskva operated in the vicinity of Snake Island. This area has been her standard area of operations since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. From this position, the vessel is able to dominate the maritime approaches towards the Ukrainian coast, most notably towards Odessa. The cruiser is also equipped with a battery of 64 S-300F surface to air missiles, allowing it to set up an zone in which Ukrainian aircraft are at risk of operating. It is unknown if the cruiser was operating on its own or if she was near other vessels that acted as an escort...

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...

  Daily Events December 29 The task force, made up of the Slava class cruiser RFS Varyag, the Udaloy class destroyer RFS Admiral Tributs and the fleet tanker Boris Butoma departed the port of Vladivostok [ 1 ] [ 2 ]. The winter campaign will take place in Indian Ocean with a port visit scheduled at the Seychelles [ 3 ] [ 4 ].  Later during the day,  the Japanese Ministry of Defense reports that the task force was observed passing through the Strait of Tsushima [ 5 ] [ 6 ]. January 11 After having past through the Sea of Japan, East and South China Sea, the task force has passed through the Strait of Malacca and entered the Indian Ocean. The vessels are heading towards the Seychelles for a port visit that will coincide with the 105th anniversary of armored cruiser RFS Varyag arriving at the port of Victoria [ 7 ]. January 13 The task force arrived at the port of Cochin/Kochi in India for a port visit during which water and fuel supplies will be replenished [ 8 ]. All three...

November 01 Slava class cruiser RFS Varyag and Udaloy class destroyer RFS Admiral Panteleev left their port at Vladivostok and started a long range deployment in the Pacific Region. The warships are escorted by the light fleet oiler RFS Pechenga. During the first day of their deployment, the warships checked their communication systems, held joint maneuvers, held an air defense exercise, conducted emergency rescue operations and held a replenishment at sea. During the air defense exercise, Russian aircraft played the role of hostile aircraft. [ 1 ] November 02 Slava class cruiser RFS Varyag and Udaloy class destroyer RFS Admiral Panteleev were photographed at anchor near Vladivostok after completing several exercises. The open source report did not mention if these pictures were taking during the morning or evening hours. [ 2 ] November 05 The Russian task force was captured on a Sentinel satellite image as it passed through the Sea of Japan around noon local time. The task force w...

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...