Russian Navy - News and Analysis

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Oct-28 Weekly Brief The Russian task force continues to track US naval movements in the Eastern Mediterranean with the Kildin presumably spotted training CSG-12. Steregushchy class corvette Merkury remains at sea, possibly also keeping track of US naval movements. Buyan-M class corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo has returned to port at Tartus together with repair vessel PM-82, further suggesting that the mechanical reliability of the corvette might be compromised. Daily Events October 23 Moma class intelligence collection vessel Kildin was reportedly observed at satellite imagery. The vessel is trailing the US Navy Carrier Strike Group 12 centered on the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford. The reported position was 130km west of Pafos [ 1 ]. October 26 Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus revealed the following warships moored inside the harbor: Buyan-M class corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo, the fleet oiler Yelnya and the Amur class repair vessel...

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 ].

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...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Oct-07 Weekly Brief All signs are pointing to an imminent departure of the Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar from the Mediterranean. The submarine is being escorted by the sea going rescue tug Sergey Balk. Both vessels departed Tartus on October 01 and have been moving westwards at a steady pace. They most likely pass Gibraltar in the second half of Week 41. The submarine entered the Mediterranean on August-31, 2021 and has spend a deployment of over two years. The submarine will now head to a shipyard for repairs and modernization, most likely in the Baltic Sea. Steregushchy class corvette Merkury departed Tartus in the second half of the week. Previous deployments of the corvette were done to provide escort for weapon runners from and to the Black Sea. So far there is no matching activity in the Black Sea to suggest a new weapon runner will make a transit. Daily Events October 02 Moma class intelligence collection ve...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Sep-30 Weekly Brief Steregushchy class corvette Merkury completed a maritime escort mission by escorting the oiler Yaz and weapons runner Ursa Major from Tartus towards the Turkish Straits. Moma class intelligence collection vessel Kildin was not observed near Tartus. The vessel is most likely on an independent patrol monitoring NATO warships. The remainder of the task force most likely remained in port during the week. Daily Events September 25 Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus revealed several warships moored inside the harbor. These were identified as the Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar, the Buyan-M class corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo, fleet oiler Yelnya, Amur class repair vessel PM-82 and the sea going tug Sergey Balk [ 1 ]. September 27 Civilian oiler Yaz and weapons runner Ursa Major were observed being escorted by Steregushchy class corvette Merkury. All three vessels were spotted 31km east by northeast of th...

  Daily Events September 18 Pacific Fleet The Pacific Fleet launched the Finval-2023 exercise which will take place in the Chukchi and Bering Seas, as well as on the Chukotka Peninsula. The exercise is led by the Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral N. Yevmenov and is aimed to protect communications along the Northern Sea Route [ 1 ]. The first part of the Finval Exercise was focused on defeating a simulated group of hostile warships in the northeastern part of the Bering Strait. Slava class missile cruiser Varyag, the Oscar II attack submarine Tomsk and Bastion coastal missile batteries took part in this drill. Each unit was observed launching at least one missile against the simulated group. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, all missiles struck their assigned targets [ 2 ]. The Varyag launched a P-1000 Vulcan missile [ 3 ], the Tomsk launched a Granit anti-ship missile [ 4 ] and the Bastion coastal missile battery launched an Onyx cruise missile [ 5 ]. The Finval e...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at the morning of Sep-16 Weekly Brief Little reporting regarding the task force was done during the week. It does appear that the task force has now entered a period of low naval activity.  Steregushchy class corvette Merkury could be heading into the Aegean Sea to provide escort for tanker Yaz and a Russian weapon runner heading towards Tartus. Daily Events September 13 Satellite imagery of the port of Tartus revealed several warships moored inside the harbor. These vessels were identified as the Improved Kilo class submarine Krasnodar, the Buyan-M class corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo, fleet oiler Yelnya, repair vessel PM-82, rescue tug Sergey Balk and intelligence collection vessel Kildin [ 1 ].