Russian Navy - News and Analysis

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at noon of July 31 Weekly Brief Following the departure of the four Ropucha class LSTs, the composition of the task force with regards to warships and major auxiliary vessels did not change. As announced in Week 29, the rescue tug RFS Captain Guryev transited the Suez Canal and is heading to the Gulf of Oman to support a Russian Navy diving team during an international competition hosted by Iran. Crane vessel KIL-158 is heading back towards the Black Sea. According to Interfax, the vessel is about to start her transit through the Turkish Straits during this weekend. Daily Events July 28 The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the rescue tug Captain Guryev is passing the Suez Canal and is en route to the Gulf of Oman. There the vessel will support a Russian Navy team during a diving competition hosted by Iran [ 1 ]. The vessel arrived at Port Said around 10:00 local time [ 2 ]. July 29 Rescue tug Captain Guryev is reported in the Suez Ca...

Weekly Sitrep Naval activity during this week was almost entirely dominated by Northern Fleet warships leaving the Baltic Sea following their participation in the Navy Day Parade. Training exercises at Kaliningrad continue along the objectives of the summer training program with training now taking place at the battalion level. Daily Events July 27 A special tactical for engineering troops was held on the Khmelevka training ground in Kaliningrad which saw the deployment of 300 soldiers and 200 pieces of military equipment. The engineers were tasked in conducting reconnaissance and clearing routes from mines after which army convoys could pass. During this task, the engineers also had to defend themselves against attacks from simulated enemy reconnaissance forces [ 1 ]. July 28 Steregushchy class corvette RFS Boiky left the port of Baltiysk during the early afternoon. The vessel could be providing local security for the transit of the Northern Fleets nuclear submarine that were pres...

Summary Currently, only one Tsirkon launch took place with the frigate RFS Admiral Gorshkov conducting a flight test on July 19. This launch was not part of the state trails. New NOTAMs for a possible testing period are in effect between August 20 to 25 but these are more likely related to a new test launch of the nuclear powered 9M730 Burevestnik missile. State trails are expected to start during the summer though at this point, the tests will start in August instead of the previously reported period at the end of July. Through the use of NOTAMs, at least two possible testing periods were identified during the second half of July, but no launches took place in both periods. This could either be caused by bad information provided to Russian press agencies or unexpected problems regarding the missile itself. Several additional NOTAMs were in effect throughout August but so far, no new launches were reported. The first upcoming launch has so far been reported against a target located on ...

Weekly Brief The focus during this week lay in both anti-submarine warfare by specialized corvettes and naval aviation with an anti-submarine exercise taking place in the Sea of Okhotsk, the bastion area of the Pacific Fleet. The crews of the vessels which took part in the large naval exercise near Hawaii underwent training in fire fighting and damage control. These are vital tasks that have to be conducted flawless once vessels are deployed at sea. Daily Events July 27 A pair of Tu-142MZ long range anti-submarine aircraft, also known as maritime patrol aircraft, are returning to their airbase following their participation at the Navy Day parade at Saint Petersburg. The return flight will be over 8.000 kilometers and will be done without refueling [ 1 ]. Recently graduated pilots flying MiG-31BM interceptor aircraft for the Pacific Fleet Naval Aviation have started training in adverse weather conditions. The training involves take offs and landings as well as searching for enemy aircra...

Weekly Brief Minimal naval activity was reported as a result of the Navy Day celebrations at the end of the week. The two reported exercises were an amphibious landing operation and a coastal missile defense exercise. Daily Events July 20 Ropucha class landing ships RFS Nikolay Vilkov, RFS Peresvet and RFS Admiral Nevelskoy were involved in an amphibious landing exercise together with the Primorsky Naval Infantry Brigade. The exercise took place at the training range at Cape Klerk in the Peter the Great Bay [ 1 ]. July 22 Coastal missile defense batteries stationed in Kamchatka conducted electronic launches against simulated hostile surface warships representing an amphibious task force. Ball missile systems made a march across rough terrain towards their launching positions, worked out the drills for camouflage and their targeting drills. Special attention was given during the drill to protect the launchers from attacks by hostile reconnaissance forces. In all, around 10...

Weekly Brief Naval exercises were limited to the simulated launch of Kalibr cruise missiles by the Karakurt class corvette RFS Mytischchi as it was heading out to sea. The exercise is a break from normal missile exercises as it did not take place while the ship was fully at sea. Instead it took place while the vessel was heading through a narrow passage after just leaving port. Russian warships could be training to be ready for offensive operations from the moment they leave port. New leadership in junior positions are being filled with around 130 young lieutenants joining the navy and coastal missile defense units at Kaliningrad. Additional training will take place the coming weeks in order to get these officers battle ready. New frontline fighter aircraft will join the naval aviation in the near future as the Su-30SM2 will be replacing the Su-27 in at least two regiments. Daily Events July 20 Around 150 soldiers and 30 pieces of military equipment took part in a tank combat exercise ...

Task Force Composition As reported by OSINT at noon of July 24 Weekly Brief Little naval activity was once again reported with the sole exercise being an anti-sabotage exercise held at the port of Tartus during which at least one Improved Kilo class submarine was involved. Sentinel imagery of July 19 showed several surface vessels moored at Tartus though the location where the submarines are usually moored remained empty. The amphibious build up on Russia's southern flank has officially ended with all four Ropucha class leaving the Mediterranean an returning towards their respective homeports. Daily Events July 19 Northern Fleet Ropucha class landing ships RFS Kondopoga and RFS Alexander Otrakovsky passed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Atlantic Ocean [ 1 ]. Both vessels are returning to their homeport and will spend the transit time on the Atlantic Ocean training [ 2 ]. Sentinel-2 satellite imagery of the port of Tartus showed several vessels in port however the resolution...