Looks like the Peter the Great made it through...

Peter the Great apparently made an uneventful transit through the Suez Canal. Meanwhile, the Moskva is supposed to make a port call in Muscat, Oman on 24 April en route exercises in the Indian Ocean and eventual participation in Vostok-2010.

In other deployment news, the escort ships Yaroslav Mudriy and Neustrashimyy along with the tanker Olekma returned to their Baltic Fleet base in Baltiysk. The Yaroslav Mudriy was in the Mediterranean on her first deployment when the Neustrashimyy joined her as the Neustrashimyy was returning from her duty off the Horn of Africa.

Burning the OPTAR, Pt 2

The Navy's presence in the world ocean will grow before the end of the year according to the Navy PAO, Igor' Dygalo.

According to Dygalo, the presence of the Navy will be in the interests of stability and security around the world.

In November, a Pacific Fleet task group will set off from Vladivostok for the Arabian Sea and make a series of port calls in the Indian Ocean as well as perform joint exercises with a detachment from the Northern Fleet.

The Baltic Fleet escort ship Neustrashimyy will continue to maintain the security of Russian flagged shipping around the Horn of Africa, Dygalo added.

Meanwhile, at the end of this Zvezda TV report on the upcoming deployment, the reporter announces that the Baltic Fleet tanker Yel'na has arrived in the Gulf of Aden. You may remember that she is carrying a detachment of marines with orders to not allow pirates to get within rifle shot.

Now we are up to four task forces at sea plus a forward deployed combatant on Horn of Africa station simultaneously.

- Peter the Great and Admiral Chabanenko
- Moskva plus accompanying ships (I'll guess the Ladnyy)
- Admiral Kuznetsov plus accompanying ships (I'll guess the BPK Severomorsk and maybe the EM Bespokoynyy from the Baltic Fleet or maybe the RKR Marshal Ustinov)
- I'll guess the Pacific Fleet flagship RKR Varyag and...who?

Any bets on if all active Russian Navy cruisers will be forward deployed at the same time?

"Analysis": Why Do I Sense a "Climax" Coming?

Like I said, its just "a sense". There is the kind of breathless quality to the introduction in the video clip, "Alarming news from Somalia...", the repetition in the press about how the Russians have gotten permission from the Somali authorities (for what that's worth) for entering Somali waters, how whatever actions the Russians will take are in accordance with UN resolutions (whatever they are), the repeated assertions in the Russian press dating back to earlier this spring about how the Russians are going to do "something" about piracy and finally the arrival of the Neustrashimyy with the orders to use deadly force if necessary. To me, it seems like they have blustered so much that to arrive off the Horn of Africa and do nothing would be very anti-climactic.

This is a critical period for the Russian Navy - their surface fleet is aging with no replacements in sight. The Commander of the Pacific Fleet promised that the next carrier will go to the Pacific, yet there is no keel laid, the only shipyard in the former Soviet Union with experience building a large deck carrier is in Ukraine and Sevmash seems to be making a botch of the Gorshkov refurbishment (or, depending on your point of view, milking it for all its worth). The newest SSN looks like its going to India and the new Boreys are coming out without a proper weapon, properly tested (the Bulava). It seems to me that the Navy needs a "win" to compete for rubles right about now so that they can build the carriers, the surface fleet and submarines they want.

Like I said - its a good narrative and good publicity for the Navy to take care of business.

Doesn't mean I'm right about it. We'll find out before it snows here in Northern Virginia.

Somali Folly: Condition Red, Weapons Tight

The Baltic Fleet guard ship Neustrashimyy is ready to battle pirates. She has arrived in the perilous Gulf of Aden and now stands watch. The Navy ship will guard the civilian vessels in the Somali littoral. The Russian Navy Headquarters has already announced that the Neustashimyy is "weapons tight". The pirates have seized dozens of ships for ransom in the last few months, holding more than 180 people.

Gulf of Aden Update

Gist: Russia has asked Somalia for a free hand in dealing with piracy. The Baltic Fleet guard ship Neustrashimyy is approaching Somali shores. Meanwhile the situation on the captured Ukrainian ship Faina is approaching catastrophe. Fuel and food have almost run out. After long negotiations, the pirates have refused to hand over the body of the Russian captain. Besides the crew, already held for a month, there are 33 Ukrainian tanks, anti-air missile systems and ammunition stores on board. And today it was learned that the French captured 10 pirates, although they didn't have anything to do with the Faina. They will be delivered to Somalia where they face life in jail.

The whole world is asking, who are these 21st century pirates? Why does piracy flourish in the Gulf of Aden? One of our correspondents went to one of the hottest spots in Somalia with exclusive footage from the French ship on the freeing of a vessel. Why is hijacking ships so profitable? Watch this big story on the 30th of October.

Peter the Great Update: Port of Call, Tripoli

In a move guaranteed to boost recruitment and retention levels, the Peter the Great makes a port call in Tripoli, Libya. Read and listen carefully and there is a hint that the promised port calls in Tartus and/or Latakia, Syria, are cancelled.




Gist: The ships of the task force converge in Tripoli, Libya, where the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Chabanenko and support vessels pulled into port while the Peter the Great anchored out in the roadstead. The Baltic Fleet ship Neustrashimyy also pulled into port. The port visit will last until 13 October. While there the ships will reprovision and the crew will get shore leave. Having completed all of their tasking in the Mediterranean Sea, the ships prepare for further sailing. They will set course for South America where they will participate in exercises with the Venezuelans in November. The Neustrashimyy will continue on to fight Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.

SKR Neustrashimyy Departs Baltic on Deployment

No rest for the weary. After large scale Baltic Fleet exercises, the Neustrashimyy goes on deployment.

From an official MoD statement via Navy.ru:

The guard ship (SKR) Neustrashimyy departed the main naval base in the Baltic, Baltiysk on 24 September for a deployment.

The crew of the guard ship Neustrashimyy, under the command of K2R Aleksey Apanovich will carry out practice combat missions far from home waters.

K1R Oleg Gurinov was named deployment commander by the Squadron.

During the deployment the crew of the Neustrashimyy will train on a whole range of combat tasks, including: general quarters drills, search and destroy drills against a notional enemy, damage control training and anti-air training. There will be crew training on the reliability of the machinery and weapons and an accumulation of experience by commanders at all levels on decision making in complicated and unforseen circumstances.

The Zvezda TV clip notes that the Neustrashimyy just returned from large scale Baltic Fleet exercises in which 20 ships, 2 submarines, 15 planes and other shore based elements participated. The report further notes that the Neustrashimyy is capable of missions "in the littoral zone as well as in distant areas of the world ocean". The Neustrashimyy is armed with the latest missile and artillery weapons and has won fleet competitions and has participated in exercises with NATO vessels during Baltops. The captain of the Neustrashimyy was noted as belonging to a noted Naval family.

Yesterday I speculated about the Peter the Great and the Admiral Chabanenko participating in anti-piracy ops in the Horn of Africa.

Today I will irresponsibly speculate that I think it is much more likely that it is the Neustrashimyy that will participate given that logically, it is akin to using a sledgehammer as a flyswatter for the Peter the Great to participate in anti-piracy ops, although that kind of suits the Russian's style, doesn't it?

The Neustrashimyy as an anti-piracy vessel makes much more sense to me.

As for K2R Apanovich and his distinguished naval family, I found this at warfare.ru:

Deputy Commander --- APANOVICH, Vasiliy, Vice-Admiral, appointed [deputy commander, Baltic Fleet) (Agentstvo Voyennykh Novostey 17 May 01).

["Apanovich was born in the Grozno region in Belarus in 1951. He graduated from the Kaliningrad Higher Naval College in 1976, Navy's Higher Officer Classes in 1984 and Navy Academy in 1989. Ananovich occupied various posts in the Baltic Fleet, starting from air defence missile battery commander at the Obraztsovy large anti-submarine ship, chief officer at the Silny and Neukrotimy guard ships, Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya cruisers. Later he became commander of the Silny guard ship, then deputy commander of a landing ship brigade. Following that he was promoted to brigade commander and then chief-of-staff of a surface vessels division. Prior to his current appointment, Ananovich commanded the Baltiysk naval base" (Agentstvo Voyennykh Novostey 17 May 01).]

Will the "Neustrashimyy" be at BALTOPS-2008?

Globalsecurity.org describes BALTOPS as:

...a U.S. invitational multinational maritime exercise conducted in the Baltic region each year. BALTOPS provides a basis for promoting mutual understanding and maritime platform interoperability between U.S. Navy, NATO, and non-NATO participants through a series of multilateral training exercises in air warfare, shallow water undersea warfare, electronic warfare, air control, air defense, surface warfare, communications, fast patrol boat operations, seamanship, and mine warfare.

The author participated in BALTOPS-97 on the USS Cape St. George and had a blast in port in Aarhus, Denmark and Gdynia/Gdansk, Poland as well as at Fleet Week in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, where I went out in my Dress Blues in the pouring rain. The smell of wet wool combined with the disgusting taste of three Lapin Kulta beers caused me to vomit into a planter with a couple of other sailors. And to the scumbag who stole my 1968 Canon T-1 SLR camera when my back was turned for five seconds on the Cape St. George quarterdeck, you need a friggen' photography degree to operate the damn thing, what is YOUR dumb ass going to do with it? Anyway...
Back in '97, the Russians participated. Sort of, kind of. But now, they are usually fully integrated into the exercise. But will they be this year? Accoring to one denizen of a Russian forum, maybe not:

The "Neustrashimyy" is now preparing for BALTOPS-2008. This is despite a serious accident in April. The ship came back into port under tow with a gash. I don't know the details, guess something happened internally. The ship was docked quickly and now the deal is that there isn't anyone to send to BALTOPS. Bad for the Baltic Fleet in the near term...

Stay tuned...