Russian Navy - News and Analysis

  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...

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...

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...

Udaloy class destroyers, together with the Slava and Kirov class cruisers and the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, form the blue water navy component of the Russian Navy. Their large displacement makes them more suitable to operate in the rougher conditions of the words oceans than frigates and corvettes. While the Admiral Gorshkov class frigates have demonstrated their capabilities of operating on the high seas, most notably during the circumnavigation by the lead ship, the RFS Admiral Gorshkov, the larger tonnage of the Udaloy class means that destroyers are more stable platforms. The modernization of the Russian surface fleet is characterized by two different types of programs. On the one side their is the massive build up of corvettes and frigates to replace the aging vessels in use by the Russian Navy. On the other side there is the modernization of larger surface combatants such as the Slave class cruisers, the Kirov class nuclear cruiser RFS Admiral Nakhimov, the aircraft car...