First Look - 11 June 2008

The Russian Fleet Will Receive New Ships in 2008

The latest tests of the Shchuka Project (Akula 2) SSN at the Amur Shipyard at Komsomol’sk na Amur have been successful.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the boat will be commissioned into the fleet in 2008. According to experts, it will be the fastest and quietest multi-purpose submarine in the fleet.

In addition, the Caspian Sea Flotilla will receive the newest escort ship “Dagestan” and two small landing craft. This is according to the Commander in Chief of the Caspian Sea Flotilla Vice Admiral Vikto Kravchuk, speaking on front of the Makhachkala Brigade of Maritime Security for the Caspian Flotilla region on the occasion of its 25th anniversary.
(See next article for further details.)



The Caspian Sea Flotilla will receive the newest escort ship “Dagestan” and two small landing craft. This is according to the Commander in Chief of the Caspian Sea Flotilla Vice Admiral Vikto Kravchuk, speaking on front of the Makhachkala Brigade of Maritime Security for the Caspian Flotilla region on the occasion of its 25th anniversary.

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The celebration of this anniversary takes place with intensive preparations for the exercise “Caucauses-2008” in the background. According to the Admiral, “Now the ships of the brigade are charged with defense of shipping, supporting maritime commerce, guarding the fishing industry and development of the continental shelf”.

The escort ship “Tartarstan”, built in the Zelenograd Shipyard, was commissioned into the brigade in 2003 as well as the small “Serna” class small landing craft. Earlier, the CinC Russian Navy noted that “Dagestan” will significantly exceed the armament of the “Tartarstan”. The escort ship will perform search, surveillance and destruction of surface, subsurface and air targets. It is equipped with the universal strike missile “Uran”, with a range of 350 km, anti-air and anti-submarine defenses, special devices to detect and destroy torpedoes as well as acoustic detection devices. A Ka-28 or Ka-31 can be based on board.

The “Serna” class small landing craft can transport and land on an unequipped beach 45 tons of military equipment and 92 marines, a greater amount than other classes of landing craft. The “Serna” class is capable of speeds of 30 knots in sea states up to five while delivering a medium T-80 tank to a beach up to 1000km away. Additionally, the “Serna” is capable of getting itself off of bars.




Ships of the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) Will Take Part in International Exercises

Ships of the Russian BSF will participate in international exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, according to K1R Igor’ Dygalo, the press secretary for the Russian Navy.

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He added that the BSF escort ship “Ladnyy” has finished initial preparations for her participation for the second time in “Active Endeavor” in August 2008, a joint NATO anti-terror exercise in the Mediterranean Sea.

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He also said that the Black Sea Maritime Operational Group BLACKSEAFOR is planned for activation in August.

“From the moment of the creation of the BLACKSEAFOR group in 2001, BSF ships have operated with ships from other countries in the Black Sea littoral, carrying out missions with the goal of supporting security and stability.”




Aircraft of the Russian Northern Fleet Carried Out Flights over the Arctic.

Two Northern Fleet Aviation Tu-142 Bear F ASW aircraft carried out a planned flight over the Arctic today…including over the polar regions.

First Look - 10 June 2008

The Russian Navy Will Expand Its Presence on the World Oceans

General-Lieutenant B.Shamanov, Chief of the Combat Readiness Directorate of the General Staff announced, “The Russian Navy will expand its presence in the Atlantic, Pacific and the Northern Latitudes.”

“The Navy has a defined mission during the summer training period – presence not only in the Atlantic, but in the Pacific also. The subsurface forces of the Northern Fleet will increase its activities also,” Shamanov added.


Tu-95 Strategic Bombers Successfully Complete Their Assignment

Two Tu-95 strategic missile carriers successfully completed a flight of “great radius” according to plans to patrol the far reaches of the Arctic region.

A pair of aircraft also dealt with the issue of maximum re-fueling in the air. Having carried out the 20 hour flight, the crews returned to its home base at Engles’.

The planes were escorted by NATO fighters during the patrol.


A Task Group of Baltic Fleet Ships Participate in the Active Phase of BALTOPS-2008.

After a meeting of participants in Gdynia, Poland, a Task Group of Baltic Fleet ships set sail to take part in the active phase of the international maritime exercise BALTOPS-2008. Ships from 13 nations are participating in the exercise. The escort ship “Neustrashimyy” and the large landing ship “Kaliningrad” are representing the Russian Navy. There is a detachment of marines on the landing ship and eight armored vehicles. The escort ship has a Ka-27 embarked, whose crew made 10 training landings during the transit from Baltiysk to Gdynia.

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According to the plan of maneuver, there will be an ASW exercise, searching for and tracking submarines with helicopters. There will also be a gunnex during the active phase against surface and air targets, a maneuvering exercise, a communications exercise, an anti-air exercise, an ASW exercise against a notional enemy submarine, maritime stop and search exercises as well as anti-terrorism exercises.


The Salvage Ship “Geogriy Titov” Returns to Severomorsk.


Sevmash: We Helped Our Collegues

Sevmash workers helped test a project 971 SSN at the Amur Shipyard. A group of engineers specializing in steam pipe fitting, cooling machinery and high pressure air systems returned from a far eastern TDY. “Thanks to your workers, who offered valuable help in testing,” wrote the General Director of OAO Amur Shipyard to the leadership of OAO Sevmash, listing the workers by name. OAO Sevmash built seven project 971 boats between 1984 and 2001….

According to the newspaper “Kommersant”, construction of the project 971 SSN has stretched out to 20 years because of funding deficits at the Amur Shipyard. Workers in Severodvinsk aren’t throwing their brothers under the bus at a difficult moment – the turbines successfully took steam at the facility in Bol’shoy Kamen’. The Sevmash team plans to go back out there soon to participate in dockside trials and testing.