Russian Navy - News and Analysis

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of April 02 Weekly Brief Reports about Russian naval activity in the Mediterranean are increasing and show a picture of the heightened naval activity in the Eastern Mediterranean. Both Surface Action Groups were at sea during the beginning of the week as no cruisers and destroyers were observed in Tartus. The SAG centered on the Northern Fleet warships continues to operate South of Crete. Possibly she is keeping watch on joint French-Greek naval exercises. Repair vessel PM-82 did leave Tartus and has been operating near Crete since March 28. Her deployment is unusual as she is basically a floating workshop designed to repair vessels in the absence of a dedicated base. Her deployment near Crete where at least one SAG is operating suggest that there could be mechanical breakdowns in this SAG. The departure of the Vice-Admiral Paromov and her appearing near the Suez Canal could indicate that she might go the Red Sea or that she is...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of March 26 Weekly Brief  The Russian Navy continues to operate at least one surface action group south of Crete. The reported SAG is the once centered on the vessels of the Northern Fleet, most likely because the Admiral Kasatonov boost more vertical launch cells for Kalibr missies compared to the Grigorovich class. From their position south of Crete, these vessels can block the direct approach towards Tartus, Syria, or the entrance to the Aegean Sea. Having just refueled, this SAG is expected to remain in place during the coming days. Daily Events March 25 A surface action group is reported at sea at an undisclosed location in the Mediterranean. Slava class cruiser Marshal Ustinov, Udaloy class destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov and Gorshkov class frigate Admiral Kasatonov of the Northern Fleet operated as a task force. All three vessels conducted refueling operations with Kaliningradneft tanker Vyazma. The refueling took pla...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of March 19 Weekly Brief Fragmented information at the end of the week indicates that the Russian task force is operating in relatively large numbers in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. Both Slava class cruisers operate in the Ionian Sea where they keep monitoring the US, French and Italian tri-carrier exercises. It is doubtful if these two cruisers operate without their escorts but these escort ships have not yet been detected and/or reported through OSINT. A secondary force operates in the Eastern Mediterranean, possibly in cooperation with an Improved Kilo Class submarine. Their purpose is less known and could range from training to acting as a covering force for the Slava class cruisers. The fleet tanker Vyazma operates south of Crete where it can support both groups. There are unconfirmed reports of an Akula class submarine operating in the Mediterranean. If true, the submarine will most likely attempt to detect and ...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of March 12 Weekly Brief OSINT remains strongly focusses on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, resulting in fewer reports and observations regarding the Russian task force in the Mediterranean. There is a high probability that the vessels however remained in port in Tartus due to a constraint in logistics.  Daily Events March 05 Amur class repair vessel PM-82 entered the eastern Mediterranean during the morning and continues her transit towards the port of Tartus [ 1 ]. Fleet oiler Vyazma is reported in a position south of Limassol and returning towards the port of Tartus [ 2 ]. The vessel most likely is supporting a Russian task force operating in the eastern Mediterranean. The vessel probably heads towards Tartus after Cyprus announced that Russian vessels are being denied entry to Limassol [ 3 ]. March 06 Amur class repair vessel PM-82 arrived at the Syrian port of Tartus during the morning [ 4 ].

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of March 05 Weekly Brief With OSINT sources focused on the war in Ukraine, reporting about the Mediterranean task force is scarce. Amur class repair vessel PM-82 has arrived in the Mediterranean and will most likely replace the logistic support vessel Vice-Admiral Pamorov which departed Tartus on March 3rd. Vice-Admiral Pamorov will return to its homeport in the Black Sea and is thus able to pass the Turkish Straits. Daily Events February 27 Amur class repair vessel PM-82 passed the Strait of Gibraltar during the night and entered the Mediterranean [ 1 ]. February 28 Amur class repair vessel PM-82 left the Alboran Sea during the morning and headed further east [ 2 ]. March 02 Repair vessel PM-82 entered the Sicilian Straits during the morning hours. The vessel is still heading east [ 3 ]. March 03 Logistic support vessel Vice-Admiral Pamorov departed the Syrian port of Tartus [ 4 ]. The vessel will most likely return towards th...

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 February 21 An unidentified Ropucha class  landing vessel was spotted at the Opuk training ground [ 1 ]. February 22 Firefighting vessel PGS-123 operates in an area northwest of Crimea [ 2 ]. Slava class cruiser Moskva and Buyan-M class corvette Grayvoron reportedly departed the naval base of Sevastopol during the morning [ 3 ]. Grigorovich class frigate Admiral Essen conducted an air defense exercise in the Black Sea. The vessel conducted electronic launches of its air defense missile systems during the exercise. Later on, the ship mounted Ka-27PL helicopter was used in flight deck operations. The helicopter performed several take offs and landings while the vessel was stationary and on the move [ 4 ] [ 5 ]. February 23 Yug class hydrographic vessel Donuzlav is reported in the northwestern sector of the Black Sea during the morning. The vessel appears to be collecting meteorologic data [ 6 ]. The vessel reportedly left this area somewhere during the afternoon [...