And this concludes the winter training cycle...

In the Sea of Japan, a strike group consisting of a destroyer and two missile boats (at least one a Tarantul, the subject of this report), destroy a group of targets simulating an enemy strike group. The report notes that the boat performed a launch that was complicated, not only because they made multiple simultaneous launches, but because it was an offset launch with the boat moving in the opposite direction from the targets. The report also noted that the target, which was 70 km away, was successfully destroyed. The commander of the Brigade of Surface Ships, Igor Osipov was satisfied, noting that this is the sixth year in a row of successful launches.



Meanwile, in the Black Sea, much the same was happening at the same time last week:



In the waters around Crimea, a task group repelled an attack by a notional enemy. Cruise missile strikes destroyed targets with direct hits. More than 15 ships participated in the large scale exercises. The strike group consisted of the air cushion missile boat Samum, the small missile boat Shtil and two cutters. Naval Aviation helicopters and aircraft supported the exercise. The tactical commander was given complete freedom of action. These have been the first exercises of its kind in almost three years. The agreement to extend the lease of Sevastopol Naval Base has led to better relations between the Slav brothers and means that the Russians plan to hold joint exercises with the Ukrainian Navy.

And here are some fun eyewitness pics of the Black Sea exercises.

Moskva goes East

The Black Sea Fleet flagship, the missile cruiser Moskva has  a couple of international exercises planned for the spring of 2010. The ship will sail for the Mediterranean to participate in PASSEXes with ships from Italy and France. The cruiser also plans to take part in bilateral naval exercises with the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean.

Besides that, the Moskva should sail for Vladivostok, where it will participate in the Vostok-2010 strategic exercise.

One on-line source suggests that the Moskva will be accompanied by the Krivak class Pytlivyy and a tug. 

Another blogger, citing an Interfax report, says that the Northern Fleet Kirov class cruiser Petr Velikiy, the Pac Fleet Slava class Varyag, several Udaloy BPKs, several Sovremennyy EMs, and other surface and subsurface combatants will participate in the maritime events of Vostok-2010 in June. He also asserts that there will be an SS-N-12 shot during the exercises with the Indians.


Putin's Mini-Me reportedly expressed a desire to attend in order to watch modern war at sea.

Last month, rumors circulated that the Moskva was leaving for the Pac and wouldn't return to the Black Sea Fleet.

Peter the Great Update: Pirates of the .... Horn of Africa?

Via Murmansk TV-21:

The TRKR Peter the Great may join the fight against pirates around the Horn of Africa soon, according to K1R Igor' Dygalo.

In an interview with Zvezda TV, Dygalo said, "It isn't ruled out that the TRKR Peter Veliki would go to the Horn of Africa after the completion of her mission off the coast of Venezuela and the joint exercises there".

The Pacific Fleet would also take on that mission and send there ships from that fleet. According to the Commander in Chief, the time frames of the temporary deployments have to be worked out, but it would either be one ship or a task group.

(...)

The Navy Headquarters also announced that the Northern Fleet TRKR Peter the Great will transit to the Indian Ocean in December after the Venezuelan exercises where she will take part in joint exercises with the large anti-submarine ship (BPK) Admiral Vinogradov from the Pacific Fleet. The Russian ships should also conduct exercises with India in January. The joint exercise Indra-2009 will have protection of maritime commerce and anti-piracy and anti-terrorism training as its main focus.


(...)

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?

Hey Admiral Sidenko! Puff Puff Pass, Dude!

There Will Be a New Aircraft Carrier in the Pacific Fleet in the Next Ten Years

The Commander of the Pacific Fleet Vice Admiral Konstantin Sidenko made this announcement during the traditional yearly meeting with young officers. "The Russian Government and the President have approved a conceptual program for a new class of aircraft carrier for the Pacific Fleet. In the next ten years it is possible that we will receive (an aircraft carrier)", Sidenko announced. According to Sidenko, the Pacific Fleet will also receive two Type 955 Borey SSBNs armed with the new Bulava missile. Besides that, the new Sovershennyy class corvette was laid down in the Komsomol'sk na Amur shipyard for the Pacific Fleet in July 2006.

Meanwhile, Sidenko noted, the fleet has shrunk considerably during reforms carried out in the Russian Armed Forces. "The Russian Fleet has shrunk by 50 percent since 1995. For the most part this reduction has happened as ships have ended their service lives." As of today, there are five SSBNs, 18 multirole submarines (10 nuclear), 13 ocean-going surface combatants and 43 littoral combatants in the Pacific Fleet order of battle.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Area Closure

HYDROPAC 2032/2008(95,96). SEA OF JAPAN. MISSILES.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 2300Z TO 0200Z COMMENCING DAILY
20 AND 21 OCT AND 0400Z TO 0700Z DAILY 21 AND 22 OCT
IN AREA BOUND BY
41-57.5N 131-32.0E, 42-32.3N 133-32.0E,
42-41.0N 133-02.5E, 42-41.0N 133-28.7E,
43-33.0N 135-37.0E, 42-20.0N 136-02.0E,
40-57.2N 135-38.5E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 220800Z OCT.



Point "C" is actually over land on some sort of facility:



For my half-assed "analysis" of a previous Sea of Japan missile closure, see here. I did not note any results from any exercises that may have been held in the September Sea of Japan area closure.

Medvedev Visits Kamchatka During Far East Swing

The President of Russia visits the sub base at Vilyuchinsk and the Delta III SSBN Svyati Georgi Pobedanosets.

There is just no dignity on a vertical ladder, is there?

Pictures: kremlin.ru

Area Closure for a Missile Shot Announced in the Sea of Japan

Area Closure:

HYDROPAC 1841/2008(95,96). SEA OF JAPAN. MISSILES.1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 2300Z TO 0200Z COMMENCING DAILY
24 AND 25 SEP AND 0400Z TO 0700 DAILY 25 AND 26 SEP
IN AREA BOUND BY
41-55.0N 132-01.3E, 42-15.2N 131-41.9E,
42-38.5N 132-33.5E, 42-41.8N 133-01.1E,
42-40.6N 133-02.4E, 42-22.5N 132-49.6E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 260800Z SEP.

Here is a close up of the Cape Povorotnyy area for the squints out there. Bring your own light table:



A closer look at the facilities:



I'm no imagery analyst, but these look like bermed firing positions for mobile coastal defense missiles. Or they could be reveted helo pads/parking positions, who knows.




The big open field in the north of the photo looks like antennas or lightning arresters to me. What all the vehicles are doing in the south of the photo is a mystery to me.



Wikimapia identifies this facility as the Cape Povorotnyy lighthouse.

The closure is a little less than 20NM long. That would be a good range for a coastal defense cruise missile shot or maybe even a SAM vs. Drone.

We'll see if anything pops up later in the week to confirm that this closure was actually used.

Russia Has More Than One Slava Class Cruiser

(Source: aeronautics.ru)

17 September - The Slava class missile cruiser Moskva is getting all the press, but lately its the Pacific Fleet flagship Varyag that doing all the shooting:

[The Varyag] successfully completed a long range missile firing on a surface target...

"In the opinion of Rear Admiral Sergey Avakyantsa who led the exercises, the firing conducted by the crew of the Varyag was carried out successfully: the sea target was destroyed with the first missile..."

He said that earlier, the crews of minesweepers successfully carried out several tasks including destruction of sea mines using active line charges. The crews of other ships executed anti-swimmer exercises using hand grenades. It was part of an exercise designed to defend ships at undefended roadsteads from sabateurs (Comment: with places like Tartus in mind, perhaps?).

"The task force carried out effective fire against surface targets using anti-aircraft missiles in a surface to surface role during the maneuvers. This has been done successfully by the Pacific Fleet for ten years now. The sailors of the Black Sea fleet used similar tactics in August against the Georgians in order to force them to peace. The task force also successfully destroyed attacking enemy air forces."

[...]

The latest Pacific Fleet exercises are the third in the last month. All have them have bee part of the summer training cycle. More than 50 ships and submarines have taken part in the previous two exercises held off of Kamchatka and Primor'ye as well as elements of naval aviation, coastal defense and marines.

Quick Update - Zvezda News Edition

Fire on the Marshal Shaposhnikov in the Sea of Japan:


According to this report there was a leak which caused fuel to leak under high pressure onto a gas turbine engine and ignited, causing a fire. The BPK was then towed back into Vladivostok. Two contract seamen were killed. Charges are being brought, but against whom is not specified. Blogger KVDM notes that a similar fire hit the Shaposhnikov's sister ship the Admiral Zakharov back in 1991 and that that was the last time the Zakharov went to sea.

For the record, if the Russians are going to have a serious engineering casualty anytime in the next couple of months, I'm glad it was now off Japan and not in a few months off of Venezuela.


Marine landing exercises in the Baltic Fleet:


The report notes that Baltic Fleet Marines conducted a practice landing with counter-reconnaissance as their objective. The equivalent of a battalion landing team supported by an airborne company, engineers, 30 ships and 15 aircraft and helos hit the beach at the Khmelova training range in Kalinigrad, debarking from three large landing ships and air cushion vehicles in 40 armored vehicles with support from offshore destroyers. The role of the sniper in an anti-sniper roll was highlighted.

The Blackjacks are on their way home from Venezuela:



And their families missed them. All together now - Aw....flowers!

First Look: 29 August

Retired Admiral Kasatonov - There wont be a Third World War in the Black Sea

There won't be an armed clash between the Black Sea Fleet and NATO ships in the Black Sea, says the former commander of the Black Sea Fleet Admiral Igor' Kasatonov.

"There wont be a Third World War here. This is our house. It is our zone of influence. They are uninterested in it. It is not Iran, nor is it Afghanistan. They will leave as quick as they've come", the Admiral declared to RIA Novosti on Thursday.




A video report on Pacific Fleet exercises involving 15 ships and submarines with live fire against ground, sea and air targets. The highlight of the video is an absolutely stunning shot of a coastal defense missile battery at the mouth of what appears to be Avachinskaya Bay, Kamchatka, firing at a notional target at sea. Not to be missed.

First Look - 02 June, 2008

“Admiral Panteleyev” Will Participate in International Exercises

The Pacific Fleet large anti-submarine ship “Admiral Panteleyev” is participating in yearly, quadrilateral maritime exercises (FRUKUS). According to the Russian Navy Press Service, the exercises will take place in August in the Sea of Japan. Ships from the navies of the United States, France and Great Britain will also participate. The goal of the operations is to train for international maritime peacekeeping operations.


The Summer Training Period Starts in the Pacific Fleet.



As in the rest of the Russian Armed Forces, the summer training period has started...Serious training awaits the sailors: large scale maneuvers, out of area deployments, training and field exercises. The fleet will take part in FRUKUS-2008, an international maritime exercise with ships from the Navies of France, the USA and Great Britain participating.



According to this video news report, it will be the most active training cycle in the Pacific Fleet in 15 years. There will be artillery firings, anti-terrorism exercises and rescue exercises. Ships will make deployments throughout the Asia-Pacific region and take part in FRUKUS-2008. Footage from FRUKUS-2007 was shown.


Ukrainian Frigate “Hetman Sagaydachiy” to Join Nato Standing Forces Mediterranean



According to the official site of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the project 1135.1 frigate (Krivak class) “Hetman Sagaydachiy” has successfully met NATO certification standards and will start patrolling with the alliance in the Mediterranean Sea, participating in the anti-terrorist operation code named “Active Endeavor”. This certification is the result of joint training conducted by U130 and her Italian training partner, the frigate “Frantiere” at the NATO base in Souda Bay, Crete.


Bold Monarch-2008 Continues Off Norway



Norwegian and Russian para-rescue jumpers participate in Bold Monarch-2008, making their jumps with British parachutes that they never trained with before.

Russia Introduces the Pantaleyev

Plans by the Navy Main HQ Staff calls for further participation by ships of the Pacific Fleet in international exercises, aimed at strengthening stability and mutual trust in the Asia-Pacific region. Thus, the large anti-submarine ship of the Pac Fleet "Admiral Pantaleyev" will take part in the annual quadrilateral international exercise "FRUKUS-2008 " in August, which will become one of the main international maritime cooperative events.
According to "Red Star", the exercises will take place in the Sea of Japan littoral. American, British and French ships will participate. The goal of the exercises will be to prepare for international maritime peacekeeping operations.

Photo: Author's photo, FRUKUS-2007