Cold War Stories: Twenty Two Years on Patrol

It's been 22 years since Yankee I SSBN K-219 blew up and sank in the Sargasso Sea. Here is what happened.




It was the beginning of October 1986. The latest acheivements of Soviet labor blared from the television screens. Although deep in the background were reports of a Soviet submarine catastrophe that went nearly unnoticed - there were only three lines about it in the newspapers - that was a first. It was the first time that they admitted openly that our warships ran into problems off the coasts of America. And the fact that Mikhail Gorbachev informed Ronald Reagan this fact during a meeting in Reykyavik caused one to think about the seriousness of the accident and the possible consequences that those of us for whom the words and phrases "combat patrol", "thermonuclear warhead", "megaton", "TNT equivilent" were nothing more than professional jargon.

Ten years have passed since then (now its more than 20 years). Mass media has more than once tried to cast light on the causes of the loss of the K-219, meanwhile it is impossible to describe in the newspaper the kind of damage suffered by the submarine and the heroic efforts of the crew to save her. I turn you attention to an article written by the President of the Saint Petersburg Submariner's Club K1R (Ret.) Igor' Kirillovich Kurdin, who for a long time served as the XO of Project 667AU SSBN K-219.

The Motherland Says You Must

SSBN K-219 got underway on patrol according to plan on 4 September, 1986. The commander of the submarine, K2R Igor' Anatol'yevich Britanov was an experienced submariner, having been allowed to independently captain a Yankee I SSBN since 1981. While it was his third patrol as commander and his 13th patrol overall, he didn't command his own ship - the watch on board K-219 was actually the first crew of K-241including 31 officers, 38 warrant officers and 49 seamen as well as some highly qualified specialists. But this time preparations to get underway were confused like never before.

The Cold War continued and our Navy (like the Strategic Rocket Forces) carried the burden of strategic deterrance between the two superpowers. The combat forces of the Soviet Navy were the first response to American deployment of the Pershing missile in Europe and patrol areas by our SSBNs were moved closer to American shores. This was done to make the flight time of our missiles to American territory the same as the flight time of American cruise missiles pointed at our military and civilian facilities.

There was pressure to increase patrols to two or three a year. The resources to support this op tempo were pushed to the limits and maintenance wasn't able to keep up. Submariners were in an even more precarious situation - two or three patrols a year, unused leave, and crew muddles became the norm. Under pressure, the high command had to shut their eyes when crews went to sea on boats other than their "home" boat.

An analysis of the sailing list of the combat patrol crew on K-219 shows that eleven of 31 officers were changed out between preparations for sailing and patrol, including many key officers - XO, Missile Officer, Torpedo Officer and the Radio Officer. There was a similar situation in the Warrant ranks - out of 38 warrant officers, 16 were replaced including the two senior warrants in the weapons department. But I never raised a finger to point blame at the then 19th Division Chief of Staff for Personnel, then Rear Admiral N.N. Malov, since five SSBNs were ordered on patrol at that time.

Why didn't the captain himself refuse to take an unprepared, strange boat to sea with a half-unknown crew? Because they just would have replaced Britanov with someone else. But lets turn to the events of 3 October 1986.


(The families of the crew of K-219 at the pier, Gadzievo, August 1986. Source: submarine.id.ru)

Explosion in the Missile Tube

Thirty days in the the deployment, K-219 maneuvered into her assigned water in the Sargasso Sea. The boat came to periscope depth at 0456 on 3 October for the regular broadcast and after five minutes began to dive to 85 meters. Conditions at that moment were the following: the main power plant was operating in single eschelon mode, the starboard reactor was operating at 30 percent while the port reactor was scrammed with all the dampers and the steam generator and turbine were in a ready state; the starboard turbine was turning the screw while the port shaft was hooked up to the emergency electrogenerator.

At 0514, the Missile Officer and the machinist in the fourth (missile) compartment found a leak from the seal around the number six launcher. Under pressure, the water became a stream. After reporting water in launcher six (the third launcher on the port side), the captain ordered a change of depth to 46 meters for safety at 0525. Pumps were turned on to de-water launcher six. At 0532 a reddish-brown fog of oxidizer began to leak from the seal on launcher six in compartment four. The Missile Officer declared an emergency in the compartment and reported the situation to the conn.

Non-essential crew evacuated the fourth compartment. Nine men remained in the affected compartment. The captain sounded general quarters. Within a minute the crew was performing damage control tasks, including sealing the compartments. The boat came to a safe depth. After five minutes, there was an explosion in launcher six at 0538.

Black smoke appeared in compartment four and then water contaminated with missile fuel began to pour into the compartment from destroyed piping in the upper part of the launcher. The captain immediately gave the order to emergency surface. There were other consequences of the explosion: the atmosphere in the fourth compartment was highly toxic and there was about 4.5 tons of water in the bilge; control was temporarily lost over the environmental conditions of the missiles in the rest of the launchers; other systems were damaged: the 1MC, the missile control communications circuit in the fourth and fifth compartments; the R-651 radio transceiver was partially knocked out, lights and lamps in the compartments were broken and the high pressure air piping was damaged. Indicators on the reactor control panel indicated that the 220 volt DC bus on the port side was knocked out, that the automatic valves feeding water to the steam generators on the port side were open and that the seperate valves on the third loop were open. The control panel of the "Kama" electrical system indicated that insulation resistance in both busses had reached zero. Control ordered atmospheric overpressure in the third and fifth compartments as a precaution.

At 0610, the crew in the fifth and sixth compartments (the auxiliary machinery compartment) were transfered to the eighth compartment (turbine). Seven minutes later came word that the fourth compartment would have to be abandoned because of high temperature and toxic gas. The captain ordered the fifth compartment to be prepared to receive the crew of the fourth. At 0635 the crew of the fourth compartment was withdrawn, leaving behind three people, including the Missile Officer. The port emergency generator was brought on line at the order of the Engineer.

A two man emergency party was sent into the fourth compartment at 0645 to evaluate the situation and render assistance to the crew remaining there. But the team could neither find the Missile Officer nor examine the condition of the sixth missile launcher because of heavy smoke. They did drag the bodies of Seaman I.K.Kharchenko and Seaman N.L.Smaglyuk. The team couldn't turn off any electricity consuming equipment in the fourth compartment nor could they find the source of the fire.

The fourth, fifth and sixth compartments were vented to the atmosphere beginning at 0725. At dawn the XO observed the casualty in launcher six from the top of the sail. The launcher hatch was gone, the front section of the missile was not visible, the hinge of the cover was turned to the side, the outer hull around the launcher was damaged, the hydrodynamic covers of launchers one, three, four, five and seven were torn and hung overboard and the deck in the vicinity of the launcher was deformed. Reddish-brown smoke wisped weakly from launcher six.

At 0831 two more men were again sent into compartment four. Atmospheric contamination in the compartment lessened and visibility improved. The flow of water from the upper part of launcher number six stopped. The investigators found the body of the Missile Officer K3R A.V.Petrachkov without signs of life.

By that time they got the overboard drainage pumps for launcher six working and were able to de-water the bilge in the fourth compartment using the main pumps. After turning on the pump to drain the launcher, water and thick smoke began to pour into the compartment from damaged piping in the upper part of the launchers. The pumps were ordered shut off. They removed the body of the Missile Officer, the gas analysis equipment and emergency protection suits.

At 0925 the port reactor was brought on line. Both steam generators were switched on and the level of power was the following - starboard side 30 percent, port side 50 percent.

The captain decided to give the order to emergency drain the oxidizer and de-water the launcher. He instructed four crew members from engineering and weapons departments to go into the fourth compartment with this in mind. All attempts to begin to de-water the launcher led to additional bursts of oxidizer and water steam into the compartment. The next group started the emergency oxidizer drain pumps. Water under pressure flooded the electrical equipment, including the fourth compartment electrical distribution panel. A short circuit occured and a fire broke out in the fourth compartment. The fire burned out the electrical equipment in the compartment and the pumps stopped. Under orders from control, the emergency party evacuated the fourth compartment.

Under orders from control, at 1754 freon flooded the fourth compartment from the chemical extinguishing system in the third compartment and because of damage to the freon supply piping, the freon gas began to leak into the third compartment and so the supply of freon to the fourth compartment was turned off. Around 1800, the atmosphere in the third compartment began to worsen and the levels of nitric oxide in the air reached 10-40 times acceptable levels. The crew in the third compartment was ordered to don protective gear. Some of the crew retreated to the second compartment. The crew was forced to abandon the communications and encryption stations and as a result, radio communications were lost (no situation reports were sent and instructions and advice from Northern Fleet HQ weren't received).

At 1840, investigators opened the hatches between the fourth and fifth compartments. Encountering smoke which they mistook for fire, they reported the situation to control. Control ordered the fifth compartment flooded with freon from the extinguishing station in compartment six.

At 1930, as a result of the loss of the 380 volt, 50 hertz bus on the starboard side, the starboard reactor scrammed and the reactor moderator lattice failed to go into the lowered position.

Twenty minutes later the reactor compartment reported smoke in the lower level of the sixth compartment to control. The compartment was evacuated, the ventilation between the fifth and sixth compartments were closed and people were transfered to the seventh (reactor control) compartment. Soon it was discovered that the hydralic pressure had fallen to zero. In the interests of maintaining safety in the starboard reactor, specialists from the Machinery Division were sent into the reactor compartment to lower the moderator lattice by hand - Senior Lieutenant N.N.Belikov and Seaman S.A.Preminin. After the Sr.Lt. lost consciousness, Preminin lowered the moderator lattice by himself. At the same time, control ordered the ventilation of compartments eight, nine (turbine) and ten (aft) to the atmosphere and air pressure in those compartments dropped to atmospheric levels, while pressure in compartment seven remained elevated as compared to compartment eight. Because of this, the crew in the eighth compartment couldn't open the hatch to the seventh compartment. Attempts to even the air pressure between the two compartments using equipment in compartment eight, lower level produced thick smoke from the piping. Seaman Preminin was ordered by control to open the exhaust valve to the ventilation, but he couldn't do it. The damage control team in the neighboring compartment couldn't do it either. Seaman Preminin ceased responding to further questions.

Ships from the Soviet Merchant Fleet began to approach the area at 2130, including the Fedor Bredikhin, the Krasnogvardeysk and the Bakaritsa. By 2300 (according to reports from the crew), the atmosphere on board became more toxic, the protective gear had exhausted its resources and the temperature of the bulkhead between compartments three and four was rising. Based on the reports, the captain concluded that there was a fire in compartments four, five and six, that pressure was building in compartment seven and that the possibility of fire in compartments eight, nine and ten couldn't be excluded. Given that the resources for the emergency protective equipment had already been expended and that there was the possibility of one of the missiles exploding in compartmets four or five because of fire, the captain of the submarine decided to shut down the port reactor and to prepare to evacuate the crew to the merchant ships.

The port reactor emergency switch was thrown and the reactor put into cooldown mode. The crew evacuation began, which was finished by one in the morning on the night of the fourth. After the evacuation of the crew, the hatches in the sail and the stern were shut and dogged. Six officers including the captain remained on the bridge.

At 0146, one of the merchant ships sent a message to the headquarters of the Northern Fleet from the captain of K-219: "Fire in all compartments, dead in the water. Six remaining on the boat. Heavy fire in the lower levels of the fourth and fifth compartments. The captain awaits orders to abandon ship." At 0300 came word from the Northern Fleet Command for all officers, except the captain, to abandon ship.

At 2245 a damage control party led by the XO boarded the submarine and investigated compartments one, two and three. These compartments were dry, pressure was normal and the emergency lights were lighted. Besides that the batteries were only partially discharged, the high pressure air was at only 50 percent and there were no hydralics. The pressure hull of the submarine abover the fourth and seventh compartments were burned - its possible that this is from residual heat from the reactor. The pressure hull in the area around other compartments were at air temperature. The bulkhead between compartments three and four up to the upper edge of the intercompartment hatch was cold but above that it was warm.

When the damage control party returned to the forward part of the boat, they leveled out the trim by blowing the forward ballast tank and began to make preparations to tow the submarine. They couldn't investigate the aft end of the submarine since the aft hatch was flooded. With darkness, work on preparations to tow the boat were suspended and the damage control party left the boat.


(Source: atrinaflot.narod.ru)

Loss of the Boat

At dawn on the 5th, the damage control party continued preparations for towing. At 1815 the Krasnogvardeysk began to tow the boat. The submarine continued to settle a bit and the trim began to get out of adjustment. At 0620 on the 6th of October, the towing line snapped and the forward and aft entry hatches went under water. Because of the list, the damage control team couldn't enter the lower hatch on the sail to enter compartment three. The submarine continued to lose seaworthiness and when the boat sank so that the water came up to the deck, the damage control party abandoned ship. At 1100, when the boat sank up to the sail planes, the captain abandoned ship by the order of the Commander of the Navy. On the 6th of October, 1986, at 1102, K-219 sank.

Investigation

A criminal inquery was launched into the circumstances surrounding the loss of the K-219, an investigation that lasted almost a year. As always, the guilty party turned out to be those people who tried to save men and the ship. The captain, the Politcal Officer and the Engineer were forced out of the service for conduct unbecoming and the crew was dispersed. Out of the entire crew, only Seaman S.A.Preminin received any sort of decoration, the Red Star awarded posthumously. (Later, Preminin was named Hero of the Russian Federation in 1997).

It is necessary to note the heroism of the crew, which maintained normal radiation safety during the accident. The maintenance of the reactor cores and systems up to the moment of the sinking prevented the possibility of a nuclear explosion. The control party and the crew correctly organized damage control efforts. The boat was able to surface. All the compartments were successfully hermetically sealed and the correct air pressure was maintained in compartments three and five. The port reactor was brought up correctly and compartments were investigated and corrective actions taken properly when problems were discovered in the missile launcher. Some of them were remedied. The investigations done allowed evaluation of the situation in the fourth compartment and the ventilation of the fourth, fifth and sixth compartments. As a result of all the measures taken, the situation was temporarily stabilized. Both reactors worked at their ordered power levels, the cooling units worked and the boat had electrical power and a speed of 13 knots when she met the merchant ships. Despite all this the boat's command team did not take all the precautions that they should have to prevent the loss of the boat.

The following was established by the investigative commission:

1. The cause of the accident was a water leak in the number six missile launcher. This led to destruction of the missile airframe and the leak of missile fuel into the launcher. The reason for the leak of water into the launcher in the first place could not be established.

2. The reason why nitric oxide spread from the fourth compartment and contaminated the stern compartments was because investigative teams opened the hatch to the fourth compartment too many times to offer help, to begin venting the air in the compartment, to de-water the launcher and emergency drain the oxidizer. The start up of the pumps and the de-watering of the launcher led to additional discharge of nitric oxide from the launcher into the compartment. It was this that led to the short circuits in distribution panels seven and eight and the fire in the compartment.

3. The reason for the loss of K-219 was uncontrolled flooding of overboard water into the fourth compartment which led to the loss watertight integrity and seaworthiness of the boat. The flooding of the fourth compartment came through the open hatch of launcher six. This led to the flooding of compartments five and six through open ventilation valves between compartments four and five and five and six.

Peter the Great Update: Avast Ye Scurvy Dogs and Prepare to Be Boarded!

Gist: Board a captured ship and free the hostages alive. This is what Marine Spetznaz practiced today aboard ships in the Mediterranean Sea. Spetznaz repelled out a KA-27 and boarded the hijacked ship, which was played by the Peter the Great. The Northern Fleet ships have joined with ships from the Baltic and Black Sea fleets on their way to exercises with Venezuela. They also practiced a medevac from one of the tankers and Marines practiced hand to hand combat. They will conduct a demonstration in one of the foreign ports.

What the heck?

What the heck is this, beyond "a Russian submarine?"



The picture was allegedly taken in July of this year in the south of Crimea. It's flying the Russian Naval Ensign, and since it obviously isn't the Kilo class Alrosa, it might be Tango class B-380, although this picture looks a little different.

Peter the Great Update: PtG Enters the Med

Nothing in here worth gisting, just nice video of the Straits of Gibraltar while the Peter the Great steams toward Tripoli, Libya.

Peter the Great Update: The Pillars of Hercules

The Peter the Great prepares for an "historic first", the entry into the Med by the Russian Navy flagship:



Gist: After traveling 6000km across the rough Atlantic, the Peter the Great prepares to enter the Med for a port call in Tripoli, Libya.

Cut to a meeting of the Navigation planning meeting where Nav Department is discussing the details of the entry into the Med through the Stratits of Gibraltar. The flag navigator explains to the rest of the navigation department how the straits are 65km long and that there are certain international rules they must follow while transiting the straits. They are not allowed to anchor out, carry out repairs or reduce speed and the task force must proceed at regular intervals in a line ahead formation. The straits are busy and 120 vessels a day proceed through the area. Unedifying interview with the navigator and commentary follows.

Cut to a shot of the crew watching a broadcast of TV Zvezda on the TV for some random reason.

Aw shit

R.I.P.

Peter the Great Update: oooo rah. PtG to Enter Med by End of the Week

Marines on the Peter the Great practice for the big exercise with the Venezuelans. Port call in Libya announced.



Gist: After covering 4500km with at least 14,000km to go and passing through many time zones the battle group still lives on Moscow time. The Marines on board began an exercise at 0800 defending the ship as it passes through narrow straits like the Straits of Gibraltar which the Peter the Great will pass through at the end of the week when she receives new orders from the CinC Navy. Our Marines will be exercising not only in Venezuela, but also during a port call in Tripoli, Libya.

The exercises start by checking the cleanliness of weapons and assembling and disassembling weapons which they can do with their eyes closed. Everyone has their assignment on deck. They are armed with mortars (!), machine guns and grenade launchers.

(Practice firing with the target at 500m)

With 45 corridors totalling 20km, the Marines have to be in good shape.

Segment about a member of Nav Department celebrating his 30th birthday at sea.

Segment about the use of AFFF in fire fighting.

Head Up Display Video

After having been burned last time, what can I definitely say about this video?

The pilot reports "working".

The pilot reports being "hot" (na boyevom) before rockets are apparently launched.

I think the bitching betty announces "limit of angle of attack" after pulling up.

I've never seen Russian HUD video before.

The title of this video is "Employment of the Su-25 in South Ossetia".

I'll never learn, will I?

SKR Ladnyy Goes to Italy

SKR Ladnyy (Source: flot.sevastopol.info)

The Black Sea Fleet Escort Ship (SKR) Ladnyy to Exercise With Italians in IONIEKS-2008

Last Sunday the SKR Ladnyy departed the main naval base in Sevastopol' and set course for the Black Sea straits. The ship under the command of K2R Aleksandr Shvarts has set sail for the area around the straits for the second time in a month. In August the Russian warship made a port visit to the Turkish Navy base at Akzas-Karaagach on the Mediterranean and afterwards carried out missions in the Black Sea.

In October the SKR Ladnyy will represent the Navy during the bilateral Russian-Italian exercise IONIEX-2008. These exercises have become tradition and are conducted by the two navies every other year.

The Russian ship will make visits to several Italian ports.

There is a Marine detachment on board the SKR. They will guard the ship during port visits.

Comment: It's already been announced that the Peter the Great battlegroup will visit Tartus, Syria. There are more than five weeks until the exercises with Venezuela, which means it is looking more and more likely to me that the Peter the Great will spend October in the Med. We'll see.

Will the Ladnyy join the Peter the Great in South America after the exercises with the Italians? Will the Russian Navy show ship, the Admiral Chabenenko join the Ladnyy for exercises with the Italians? Will the Ladnyy join or relieve the Neustashimyy off the Horn of Africa after the exercises with the Italians?

Lots of questions as more Russian ships go to sea...

OAO Sevmash Begins Nakhimov Fuel Offload

TRKR Kirov at the pier in Severodvinsk, home of Sevmash, 2005 (Source: TRKR Kirov website)

From the 29 September OAO Sevmash press release:

Nuclear Fuel Unloaded.

The unloading of spent nuclear fuel from the TAKR Admiral Nakhimov has begun. The defueling is proceding normally. Specialists from PO Sevmash and the crew of the cruiser are joined by representitives from Experimental Machine Construction Bureau Afrikantov and the crew of the specialized ship from the Belomorsk Naval Base.

The heavy nuclear missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov arrived at Sevmash in 1999. However, the repairs that were planned for the ship were delayed due to lack of financing. All that time the crew and the shipyard kept the ship in good condition. In 2008 the work schedual was corrected and a chance to hurry up and do some work appeared.

Comment: Back in May, the project manager noted that they planned to "unload the active zone of the reactor" this year. I am not suprised that they defueled the Nakhimov.

I will be suprised if they actually refuel it though.

Russian Navy SSBN Transits North Pole

Delta III SSBN Ryazan' (Source: Wikipedia.ru)
Russian Submarine Transits Under Arctic Ice Without Surfacing

Navy Public Affairs Officer K1R Igor' Dygalo informed RIA Novosti on Tuesday that the Northern Fleet SSBN Ryazan' completed an interfleet transfer under the Arctic ice without surfacing .

"At around 0400 Moscow time today after more than thirty days underway the SSBN Ryazan' moored at the pier at the Pacific Fleet submarine base at Vilyuchinsk (Kamchatka)", Dygalo announced.

"The crew of the submarine completed all missions during the deployment with honor and are doing okay", the PAO said.

The transit of the submarine was done under the command of K1R Igor' Stepanenko and the senior officer present afloat was the commander of Northern Fleet submarines K1R Aleksandr Moiseyev.

The Ryazan' was met at the base by the Commander of the Pacific Fleet Vice Admiral Konstantin Sidenko and the Commander of Forces in North-East Russia Rear Admiral Aleksandr Vitko.

"Russian submariners didn't waste any opportunities during their long deployment and confirmed the quality of their skills by carrying out complicated tasks in Arctic latitudes", the Commander of the Russian Navy Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy said, evaluating the results of the Arctic expedition.

"The role of the Navy in supporting economic activity on the world seas as well as in the Arctic is clearly rooted in the maritime doctrine of the state. The Navy is called upon to support the economic and research activities of the Russian Federation in the world oceans including in the Arctic."

Video here.

The Zvezda TV report emphasizes that the boat went 30 days without surfacing and illustrates the route. The Ryazan' is noted as carrying the upgraded SS-N-23 Sineva. The Ryazan' has been permanently assigned to Vilyuchinsk and is expected to perform combat patrols on a regular basis, a change from the usual Russian practice of welding them to the pier.

Peter the Great Deployment Update

26 Sep:



Gist: NATO forces shadow Peter the Great and the Chabanenko from the sea and the air in the Norwegian Sea while the Russians conduct flight operations. Norwegian P-3 Orions circle the ships, obviously making observations as NATO will probably do every step of the way to Venezuela. The film crew observes as the P-3 drops sonobuoys in the water, listening for Russian submarines in the area and collecting data for analysis. The captain of the Peter the Great knew that the Norwegians were coming long before they got within visual range because of all the radar equipment mounted on the superstructure the size of a 17 story building. The navigator has more pressing concerns: avoiding bad weather on the way to Venezuela.

There are also a lot of contract sailors on board.

Toward the evening the sea state is five, which means waves up to seven meters. Flight ops were planned. Peter the Great is carrying two, one SAR bird and a second ASW helo. The fire fighters get on deck to erect the crash net so that the helo doesn't fall overboard. Flight ops are cancelled because of the winds and rain and put off until tomorrow.

26 Sep:


Gist: Peter the Great conducts exercises under the watchful eye of NATO. Crew training is conducted every day on board the Peter the Great and the Admiral Chabanenko. Since the 63,000 horsepower engines of the Chabenenko aren't nuclear powered, she requires a lot of fuel. A Baltic Fleet tanker provides 70 tons of fuel per hour through a flexible hose while underway to the Chabenenko. The Yel'na also provides the Chabenenko with fresh water. The procedure takes seven hours while underway. Its just like in the air, differing in speed and scale. Navigators are careful so as not to cause a collision and spill even a drop of fuel into the water.

Sailors attend training below deck to learn Navy tradition and their rights. If sailors have any questions about their responsibilities or rights they can ask representitives of the military procurator's office or the Federal Security Service (FSB). Usually no one has any questions.

After training, some go off to an unexpected field day while others gather on deck - the Marines. They gather for training on repelling boarders while traversing a narrow strait.



29 Sep: Flight ops. Eavesdropping on a pre-flight briefing. Good flying weather is noted - sea state 2-3, wind 7 meters/sec (appx 14 kts). The crew chief says that the crew members wear special survival suits that will keep them warm and buoyent in the event of an accident. They put on two suits - the first is warm and hooks up to tubes on the helo to provide warmth. The second is orange and waterproof. A crew member demonstrates the inflatable "waterwings" he wears on his hips. The emergency heating system will keep a crew member warm in the water for up to an hour.

Everything is ready, permission is given for flight and a special elevator brings the helo up to the deck. There are two Ka-27s on board the Peter the Great, a SAR helo and an ASW helo. The reporter goes over the characteristics of the Ka-27 and names other country that flies this "most reliable helo of its class". Tonights task is to demonstrate mastery of night flying by flying over to and landing on the Chabanenko and returning. They do this a dozen times tonight while being watched by NATO ships and planes.

Paper Calls B.S. On Bulava

The editors of the Independent Military Review better watch out or Putin thugs will make sure they will fall out an apartment window like Ivan Safronov:

Editorial: There Is Nothing To Celebrate.
The outbreak of celebrations in the Russian press after the Bulava launch on 18 September was based exclusively on cheap words from representatives of the MoD. Nobody even deigned to look into them more carefully. It is worthwhile. Especially instructive is this passage: “…at 1905 Moscow time the training section reached the target at the Kura test range”. That immediately raises a question: if the launch was a test launch, why was there a practice unit? What does that mean?

It means this: the Bulava didn’t carry anything, not even carrying a mock up of its regular warheads. And nothing fell in the 800,000 hectare Kura test range on Kamchatka. It missed and not a thing hit the “battlefield”.

In November 2007, almost a year ago, the previous Bulava test flight finished 23 seconds after failure of the first stage. Then it was announced that it needed 12-14 additional test launches to reach operational readiness and be accepted into service. While the next Bulava succeeded in not blowing up immediately upon launch, it is still far from being ready for acceptance.

In 1998, when the leadership at the Ministry of Defense and the government canceled the Miass Missile Center-made Bark SLBM in order to redirect money to the Institute of Thermal Technology (MITT), which is physically closer to Moscow, it was announced that the new Bulava missile would be accepted into service in 2005. The chief argument was the project cost savings. They said that they would adapt the land-based Topol’ (SS-25/27) for submarines. Experts warned that water and air were two different physical states and nothing good would come of it.

The Bulava project was valued at 227 million dollars and the cost of a missile around 10 million dollars. The real expenditure hasn’t been calculated, but MITT received 14 billion rubles for the project in 2004. It is obvious that Bulava has swallowed at least 300 million dollars over the last 10 years. […]

Its defenders assert that the country will get the 10 warhead super-weapon. But it must be said that the Bulava throw weight is 1.15 tons. It is the most important missile parameter which characterizes its combat effectiveness. That includes not only the warheads, but also the last stage consisting of the bus, guidance system and fuel. What room is left for warheads?

Take for example the Sineva with a throw weight of 2.15 tons with four medium or ten light warheads. There is a suspicion that miniaturized warheads for the Bulava still haven’t been developed. Most shamefully, the 12 Bulavas on the SSBN Yuri Dolgorukiy will have an aggregate throw weight 4.9 times less than an Ohio SSBN with the solid fuelled Trident II missile.

So for now the victorious fanfare is cancelled while the budgetary allocations flew down the tubes.

Interfax Reports Pirates Seize Ukrainian Tanks

Source: shipspotting.com

Via navy.ru, Interfax reports that

...pirates have seized a Ukrainian ship with military equipment on board.

The M/V Faina was bound for Kenya under the flag of Belize carrying around 30 T-72s and spares for armored vehicles. There are no details for now. The Ukrainian foreign ministry has neither confirmed nor denied the report.

Looks like the SKR Neustrashimyy will have a mission in the Horn of Africa...

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

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).]

Su-25 Clip: Correction

Cyxymu writes:

Two days ago I posted a videoclip which the author of the clip advertised as airstrikes by Russian aviation on Georgia and in the end turned out to be a clip of Russian flights in Chechnya and Tadjikistan, which is confirmed by this clip. Sorry for the disinformation.

Guess I shouldn't believe everything I see on the internet.

Speaking of Despicable Pirates...

If we had just "invested" our Social Security trust fund in Wall Street five years ago, we'd be in much better shape. /sarcasm

Instead, we are in the midst of the greatest bank robbery in history, and its an inside job.

Jail is too good for these fucksticks.

Just in Time For Talk Like a Pirate Day!

The Russian Navy will be sinking Somali pirates.

Warships flying the Saint Andrew's Flag will soon appear in African waters. Not for exercises, but with a firm combat mission. The CinC of the Russian Navy Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy announced on Tuesday that Russia will join with international forces in the fight against piracy around Somalia very soon. He stressed that Russia will make a decision about this independently, and not in the context of any sort of international operation (Comment: Probably refering to TF150, currently led by a Canadian officer IIRC). If there is a successful battle with Somali pirates that are regularly attacking shipping, one can say that our country will have finally returned to the ranks of great maritime powers. That status is not just determined by presence in the world oceans, but also by concrete action. By the way, the maritime situation around Somali is a very knotty problem.

A special agreement on the fight against piracy will be concluded with Somali authorities according to a decision made earlier by a judge on the United Nations International Tribunal on Maritime Law Anatoliy Kolodkin in order that our ships presence in Somali waters is fully legal. Officials in Mogadishu have similar arrangements with 11 other countries already including with the USA, UK and France. The agreements stipulate not only military operations against freebooters, but also cooperation with investigative organs of the signatory countries. But none of the eleven nations have had any success (Comment: Here is a perfect example of the Russian press stretching the truth for internal propaganda purposes and setting the Russian Navy up to look as good a possible since the French have recently had a spectacular success against piracy only last week).

It is worth remembering that this year pirates have more than once captured foreign ships and Russian citizens crewing those ships. There is the example of attacks on ships belonging to a Russian company, but flying the flags of other countries. Somalia has become a corsair stronghold of late. Official government power is unable to influence what is happening on the coast. "The government controls only 51 percent of the country," Vadim Zaytsev, a representitive of the general director of the think tank "Rosafroekspertiz", told RBK daily.

Accordingly, Russia simply cannot turn its head from the problem. Indeed among the five basic principles of Russian foreign policy recently articulated by President Dmitri Medvedev, one priority was the defense of life and safety of Russian citizens "no matter where they are". Now it is time to back up these loud words with action. The escort of Russian and in the event of a request, foreign vessels with armed defense against corsair attack - this is the bare minimum that the Navy must be prepared to do. Besides that, thanks to this mission Russian sailors will receive valuable experience in conditions approaching combat.

Meanwhile there are a whole parcel of complications that come with anti-piracy operations around Somalia. "It isn't quite clear for now where our ships participating in raids against pirates will be based," Vadim Zaytsev noted. "Besides that, if Russia is to act effectively, then she risks at the very least a negative image among the local population." According to experts, the relative stability in the region is due in part to piracy. Many Somalis simply do not have any other sources of money and sustenance. And besides that, Somalia is an Islamic country. And if Russia raids this hive of pirates, like the USA did before, this can raise problems with the Islamic world. This could very well lead to Islamic terrorists targeting Russian embassies in African countries in retaliation.

[...]

Nikolay Ivashov

23.09.2008

The following is total wild ass guessing on the part of the Russian Navy Blog:

1. This article appears asserting that "Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy announced on Tuesday that Russia will join with international forces in the fight against piracy around Somalia very soon."

2. The Admiral Chabanenko and the Peter the Great just left Severomorsk on their excellent adventure Sunday.

3. The Task Force will be putting in an appearance in Tartus, Syria on their way to Venezuela.

That makes me wonder - are sailors on the Chabanenko and Peter the Great ordering their "Order of the Ditch" certificates right now? There is a lot of time to kill between now and the middle of November. Granted, it would probably be a pretty short excursion to the Horn of Africa given the timelines involved, but it does make you want to engage in irresponsible speculation.

In fact, it would be downright irresponsible NOT to speculate...

Su-25 Frogfoot in Combat Over Georgia

Fast forward to the end of the clip and see if you can count the number of bullet holes these guys come back to base with. And if you understand any more of the pilot banter than "srabotal" and "kak ponyali", please let me know.



Here is a pic from the video, via a Russian language blogger in Sukhumi, Abkhazia, cyxymu

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.

There Are Many Reasons to Hate World Net Daily

But providing easily disproved BOGINT to the world and charging suckers $99/year or $9.95/month for it takes the cake.

World Net Daily proves why its a shitty website:

Just as Russia has reasserted its power in the Black Sea, it now plans to make waves in the Mediterranean Sea by establishing a major base in Syria, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

This decision not only will allow a permanent presence of Russia's nuclear-armed Black Sea fleet in the Mediterranean, but it also offers the potential for future confrontations between Russia and Israel, as well as with the United States.

The Russian navy has begun to upgrade facilities in Tartus, Syria, and already has backed this up by moving to Syria a flotilla of its powerful warships led by the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. The flotilla includes the Russian navy's biggest missile cruiser Moskva and some four nuclear missile submarines.

How much you want to bet that this is a "scoop" straight from the same people who are dedicated to making you dumber every day at Debkafile, who are right this minute asserting that ten Russian warships have docked at Tartus as we speak and are engaged in enlarging the port of Latakia right now.

Friends don't let friends get their naval analysis at Debkafile or take anything at World Net Daily seriously.

Pete and Chab's Excellent Adventure: Underway!

The force that the reporter describes as "a concrete deterrent force that any power that tries to interfere in the internal or external affairs of Russia must deal with" gets underway:



Navy Spokesman Captain 1st Rank Igor' Dygalo describes the deployment as a fulfillment of the vision as conceived by Navy CinC Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy of the Navy returning to forward deployments and as having nothing to do with events in Georgia since both the deployment and the exercises with Venezuela had been planned months in advance.

Besides Venezuela, the task force will visit Tartus, Syria, which makes sense given this a few weeks ago. I assume that one of the other countries with whom the Russians will hold joint exercises will be Syria.

The reporter also noted that immediately upon getting underway in the Barents, NATO in the form of a P-3 Orion took notice, snapping pictures, making video and carrying out electronic reconnaissance. The reporter expects NATO to surveil the battle group every step of the way during the deployment.

Georgia More Important Than Arms Control or Keeping Nukes From Terrorists

Some frickin' brain surgeons in the US foreign policy establishment have decided that keeping Tskhinvali Georgian is more important than things like ensuring that there is a functioning arms control treaty with the Russians or keeping Russian chemical and nuclear weapons off the terrorist black market:

Some senior administration officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney and some hard-liners in the Pentagon, are advocating the continuation of what they confirm has been a White House-imposed communications blackout on most dealings with Russia and a halt to nearly all bilateral initiatives on security matters.

[...]

Many U.S. officials said the freeze couldn't come at a worse time. They cite intelligence showing that the Caucasus region increasingly is becoming a crossroads for Islamic extremists, criminal mafias, black market traffickers and corrupt government officials.

[...]

Some high-level meetings have been postponed indefinitely, including a trip to Russia by John Rood, the acting undersecretary of State for arms control and international security, to discuss various security issues and to negotiate a new pact to replace the existing Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START.

[...]

Russia's cooperation is needed to secure its own nuclear and chemical weapons stockpiles and those of about 20 other countries, and to prevent WMD material, technology and know-how from getting into the hands of terrorists, Mahley and other officials said.

[...]

For more better analysis, what Dr. Jeffrey said.

To steal a catch phrase from Professor Brad DeLong, why oh why can't we have a better foreign policy apparatus in the United States?

BPK Ochakov Goes to the Breakers

The large anti-submarine ship (BPK) Ochakov in floating drydock PD-30 in Severny Bay, Sevastopol', 21 Sep 2008. Source: navsource.narod.ru


Russian blogger Lenivship:

Fair well, Ochakov.

Thus, on the 21st of September, the hull of the BPK Ochakov was towed to the dock for preparations for towing to the breakers. And so ends the epoch of a great raid on the treasury for the Black Sea Fleet, started by Admiral Kasatonov. Using his position, this bad man (and on this I insist that Kasatonov is a bad man) sent the BPK Azov to the breakers in the 90s, which was in much better condition and, most importantly, functioned!!, which was very uncharacteristic for the 90s. The decommissioning of the Azov allowed Kasatonov to allocate money for the repair of the Ochakov which should have become a "miracle-ship" with all new armament. She didn't and all the money was looted. And the Azov, the only BPK with a modern long range naval SAM, was cut into razor blades...And now Ochakov has been launched down the same path...wicked isn't too strong a term...

Latest Bulava Test "Partially Successful"

Via the not official Navy site navy.ru, Kommersant reports that the latest Bulava test conducted a few days ago was "partially successful".

[...]
"The active part of the trajectory went without a hitch and ended up in the correct area, the front section separated fine but the warhead bus wasn't able to effect warhead separation", a source told the paper.


He explained that the warheads of the missile wouldn't have worked in combat conditions because of the peculiarities of the device in the Bulava. The paper was not able to obtain comment about this from the Navy spokesman Igor' Dygalo.

Recall that the latest Bulava test took place 18 September, launched from the Dmitriy Donskoy while submerged. Immidiately after the test a representitive of the Ministry of Defence announced that the launch was successful. In his words, the missile successfully destroyed the target at the Kura test range on Kamchatka.

[...]

I was curious about the radio silence concerning the Bulava launch from TV Zvezda. Usually after a successful launch, they'll at least have a 30 second snippet.

When talking about the Bulava, its always a good idea to put an "alleged" before any claim of success.

Petr Veliki and Chabanenko Get Underway

On the heels of the Blackjack deployment to Venezuela, a Zvezda TV film crew will be embarked aboard Petr Veliki as her and the Admiral Chabanenko get underway for a three month deployment, in which they will stop in five countries. They will conduct exercises with some of those countries.



Russian naval blogger MuRena sees his friends off with a request for an autograph from Hugo.

Alleged Bulava Launch Success

Commenter Chesapeake Auxie notes that the Russian press is reporting a successful test launch of the Bulava SLBM:

The SSBN Dmitriy Donskoy launched a Bulava SLBM tonight while submurged. The Ministry of Defense told RBK that the training sections of the missile reached the target in the Kura test range on the Kamchatka Peninsula. A source noted that, "At the moment information about the launch is being analyzed, but it can already be said that the launch and the flight of the missile proceeded normally".

Comment: I call the launch an "alleged success" because it wouldn't be the first time that a Bulava launch was reported as "successful", but then subsequent information cast doubt on the success of the launch for one reason or another.

Also, intial reporting on missile testing indicated that there would be a Delta IV conducting a short range test launch in the Pacific. It was only a vague speculation/hunch/good analysis by Pavel Podvig at Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces blog that suggested there would be a Bulava launch this week.

And what was this funny shaped closure for? Not for the Bulava test, thats for sure. I thought it might have been for the Delta IV launch as reported by the Russian press, but that seems to not have been the case.

Perhaps the closure was for an SS-N-12 shot that was reported yesterday.

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!

Blackjack in the Caribbean: The Russians Continue to Hit

Allegedly footage taken during the first training flight flown by Tu-160s out of Venezuela over the Caribbean. The flight lasted about six hours and wasn't approached by foreign interceptors. Hugo Chavez, who had expressed his desire to fly in one, was not on board.

Comment: I wonder how long this strategic bomber deployment will last. Until the November exercises and beyond? That's two months away. Are there multiple crews? Will they fly every day? Will they switch out bombers and crews between now and November? Will the deployment last beyond November? Anybody have any firm answers to any of these questions?

Upcoming Russian SLBM Tests

Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces is reporting that it may be an interesting week for the naval leg of the Russian strategic nuclear triad:

A RIA Novosti report quoted an unnamed representative of the military that the Russian Navy is planning to conduct SLBM launches in the Pacific, most likely on September 15th (although the launch window would last until September 20th). The missiles will be launched from submarines deployed in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.

What's interesting, the missiles will be launched to the Kura test range in Kamchatka and not to the usual Chizha test site at the Kanin Peninsula. This means that the missiles would be tested at an unusually short range (this would require a lofted trajectory) - no more than about 1500-1700 km and maybe as short as 600 km. The purpose of these tests is not entirely clear at this point (although I'm sure we'll hear obligatory references to missile defense).

Another interesting aspect about the upcoming launch is that while the report mentions submarines of the Pacific Fleet, it says that these are Project 667BDRM/Delta IV submarines even though the Pacific Fleer does not have submarines of this type. It is probably just a journalistic error, fairly common in Russia, but it could be something else - some Project 667BDRM submarines may have been moved to the Pacific. I hope we'll find out soon.

Another launch that we should expect next week is the long-awaited flight test of the Bulava missile. It's about time - the Dmitri Donskoy submarine recently returned from sea trials and presumably is ready for action. Also, I have some information that the test is indeed scheduled for some time next week.

This is going to be an interesting week to watch for Russian SLBMs. Stay tuned.

A couple of questions immediately spring to my mind:

1) Did the Russians deploy on a temporary basis a Delta IV to the Pac? If they have, I haven't seen the slightest indication of it.

2) Is the short, lofted trajectory intended to be a response to Polish acceptance of the missile defense system on it's soil? A cursory examination of Google Earth reveals that the distance from the White Sea to Redzikowo, Poland, site of the future interceptor base is, wait for it, 1600km. Conincidence?



3) Are there going to be multiple launches, a short range launch from the Delta IV in the Pac and a long range test from the Dmitriy Donskoy from the White Sea?

4) Or is this just typical civilian journalist attention to detail on military matters?

I guess we'll have some answers by next week...

NVO: An Analysis of the Caribbean Exercises, Part II

The Rebirth of the Fourth Fleet

The construction of bases like this can’t be a cause for enthusiasm, especially since the American 4th Fleet has been stood up in the Caribbean area since the 1st of July, disbanded 58 years ago due to disuse. Now it is again one of the numbered fleets on duty for the United States.

Originally the 4th Fleet was formed in 1943 during the fires of World War II to defend American and British shipping lanes from German submarines. German submarines sank 25 Allied tankers during this period in this region. The Hitlerite forces also launched attacks on the Lago oil refinery on the island of Aruba, not far from Venezuela. This was the largest facility of its type in the world and an important strategic facility for the United States.

What is the mission of the new-old fleet? First of all, patrol of the oceans around the carbon rich “revolutionary shores”, from the Caribbean Sea to Cape Horn in the south. Its main port will be Mayport, Florida, and the fleet will subordinate to the United States Southern Command. Rear Admiral James Stevenson, commander of Naval Forces, Southern Command, declared that “the Navy and the DoD have recognized the importance of the region to the south of the United States, which includes the Caribbean Sea, the western Atlantic and the eastern Pacific and all of our partners there.”

The Admiral explained that the main mission for the fleet will be security of sea lanes in its zone of responsibility. Meanwhile, Stevenson hasn’t ruled out the specter of an evolving mission for the fleet. In part, it is designed to take part in delivering humanitarian aid in the event of natural disasters and development of cooperation with countries of the region in the security sphere.

DoD officials believe that the 4th Fleet will play a role in rescue operations, counter-drug operations and also foster cooperation with all interested governments in Central and South America. Nothing else except “aid, which the United States will offer its partners in the region”. The Chief of Naval Operations Gary Roughead added that he considers the formation of the 4th Fleet as a response to the “growth of the significance of maritime security in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere”. According to Roughead, this decision “represents an important signal to all the people and militaries of Central and Latin America”. And to make sure that this signal was heard, by 2009 the strength of the 4th Fleet should be as high as the 5th, 6th or 7th Fleets which operate in the Indian, Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific areas respectively.

It follows that ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet simply wont be able to compete with the old-new 4th Fleet; most of all because of distances to their own bases. And the American fleet is right in its own back yard. They don’t have to send ammunition and fuel to the other end of the Earth. Support from their military-industrial complex in the form of shipbuilding and ship repair is on hand, its fighters and bombers are based at nearby air bases and the Pentagon has enough old allies in that part of the world. To drag the Russian military to that area isn’t easy. And there is scarcely anybody for whom such a confrontation would be desirable. Saber rattling and showing the flag off foreign shores – that’s another thing. And it is relatively cheaper.

NVO: An Analysis of the Caribbean Exercises, Part I

The Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie offers a rather sober analysis of the upcoming exercises with Venezuela and the geopolitical factors entitled "Caribbean Crisis Syndrome". Part I of the translation of this aricle follows:



A new political standoff between the United States and Russia is forming in Latin America. Signs of this include sale of SU-30MK2 multi-role fighters to the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez and the construction of a factory to manufacture Kalashnikovs. Moscow is ready to send a detachment of ships to the Caribbean Sea and Washington is re-creating the 4th Fleet which was originally disbanded in 1950 which will constantly cruise off South American shores.

Asymmetric Answer

The standoff between Moscow and Washington enters a new phase. Between 10 and 14 November, immediately after the American presidential elections, joint exercises between the Bolivar Republic’s Navy and the Russian Pacific Fleet (sic) will take place in the territorial waters of Venezuela, or more exactly, in the Caribbean Sea which washes the shores of Central America. This is a first in the history of the Latin American continent. And although these maneuvers were planned last year (that is Commander in Chief of the Russian Navy Vladimir Vysotskiy has talked about sending a detachment of ships across the Atlantic without giving away any details), but after the entrance into the Black Sea by ships of the American 6th Fleet and other NATO navies, they took on a new quality; that is to say, a clear call upon the White House by the Kremlin.

That is attested by the announcement by the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a meeting with journalists on 02 September underlining that our reaction to the presence of American ships in the Black Sea will be adequate. Then, he didn’t give any specific details. He said, “You’ll see.” Now, after the Sunday edition of the Venezuelan program “Hello, President!” the head of the Venezuelan state Hugo Chavez announced to his countrymen that, “Ships of the Russian Navy are planning to visit Venezuela in the near future for a friendly port call,” and the official Venezuelan Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Salvadtor Cammarata Batistas even named the time frame in which the exercises were to be held as well as the participants, it has become completely clear that the exercises must be accomplished. Colonel Chavez also did not fail to mention that, “Venezuela is a strategic ally of Russia and in the framework of the proposed exercises the Venezuelan side, despite her meager resources, will do everything possible to ensure that the exercises that take place are of the highest quality.”

It is true that after Hugo Chavez corrected his admiral, he noticed that the training would take place in the November-December timeframe, but nothing has changed about the proposed maneuvers. A slight correction was applied to the announcement of Russian ships deploying to American shores and to the statements of Venezuelan officials. It turned out that the ships would come from the Northern Fleet and not the Pacific as earlier announced. The heavy missile cruiser (TRKR) Peter the Great, the large anti-submarine warfare (BPK) ship Admiral Chabanenko, a tanker and a fleet tug are participating. On the Venezuelan side, missile frigates, patrol boats, submarines and aviation assets will participate. Russian aviation will also make an appearance – anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft which will subsequently land at Caracas’ military airfield, and also strategic bombers and accompanying IL-78 tankers. American officials announced that they know about the proposed exercises. The assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere affairs Thomas Shannon said that, “The two sides have different intentions with regards to the exercises,” while a representative for the foreign political branch in Washington Sean McCormack even snarked, “The Russians found some ships that can make it that far.”

In the background to these announcements and situations which lurk in the relations between Caracas and Washington and between Washington and Moscow, it is becoming clear that the proposed naval exercises have already become not only an example of the cooperation between two navies, the Russian Navy and the Venezuelan Navy, but also, above all, a demonstration of political force and a clear signal to the White House: we can also deploy our task forces to your shores. Draw your own conclusions from that.

During a meeting of the European countries this summer, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that she doesn’t like the flights of the “Bears” (Tu-95MS) along the coast of America. And last Saturday, 30 August, Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev expressed his dissatisfaction with the delivery of humanitarian aid to Georgia by US warships. He noted that, “It is interesting how they (the USA) would feel if we delivered humanitarian aid to the countries of the Caribbean basin that recently suffered from hurricanes using our warships”. And the latest announcement about the Caribbean deployment, practically to the southern shores of the United States shows that Moscow and Washington aren’t planning on greeting one another with a “friendly dip of the ensigns”. As to what that could lead to isn’t hard to imagine.

The Exercise Scenario

It became known to the Nezavisimoe Boennoe Obozrenie that in addition to the thousands of personnel who will accompany the four ship surface task force (including a battalion of marines), submarines will also go to Venezuela. First and foremost nuclear submarines. Multi-role as well as strategic. Strategic Tu-95MS bombers of the type that annoyed Rice and her colleagues in the US government will also fly there in the framework of the “complex of exercises”.

In addition, as opposed to the exercises that took place in December and January 2008 in the Atlantic Ocean, when those bombers made a circle above the Russian ships and went home, now these planes will make a landing at airfields in Caracas, seemingly demonstrating that the “Bear” flights can be more than training flights; that the USA is as vulnerable to military threats as the USA poses to other countries. And the American anti-missile system in Europe cannot guarantee the absolute security of Washington like they suppose it can. And most of all Russia now has a reliable ally in Latin America.

It is true that four Russian ships off the coast of Venezuela, even operating jointly with submarines and strategic bombers wont change the weather in the area. The United States has rather more political, diplomatic, economic, financial and military power potential to show Russia who is the boss in the Caribbean basin. And to reinforce Russian forces in the area would require a build up in Venezuela, on Cuba or wherever else and the construction of serious military and navy bases and construction of the corresponding infrastructure – piers, barracks, resort facilities, warehouses for ammunition and fuel, POL as well as the ability to defend these facilities from the land, sea and air with supporting systems of reconnaissance, communications, radio-electronic warfare and other systems. A pair of IL-78 tankers would have to be maintained there on a permanent basis. In one word, a lot of money would have to be spent on this.

Whether Moscow is prepared for this kind of investment is an open question. An equally good question is for how long the friendship with the Chavez regime will last. There are optimistic historical precedents in Cuba and Chile for partnership with Russia in Latin America.

Blogger U-96: "Humanitarian Aid to Venezuela Season is Now Open"

Really, there must be an easier way to deliver arms Pampers to Venezuela than in the bomb bay of a Tu-160. You'd think that Petr Veliki could deliver a lot more.

Who knew that Russian bloggers could be so snarky?

Annotated Overhead of Poti

Battle Damage Assessment of the Port of Poti dated 25 August by Unosat.

Heavy Lifting Ship KIL-158 in Syria

(Source: flot.sevastopol.ru)

Amateur navy watchers talk warships. Professionals talk auxiliaries.From the Ministry of Defense website:

The Black Sea Fleet ship KIL-158 returned from the Syrian Arab Republic where the crew has restored the floating pier in the Technical Support Base in Tartus, Syria.

The heavy lifting ship KIL-158 was built in 1989 at the Neptune Shipyard in Rostok, German Democratic Republic. It has been in the Black Sea Fleet since 1989. KIL-158 is designed for lifting and placing roadstead equipment, attaching and detaching floating docks and also for transporting a wide range of cargoes.

According to the captain, Nikolay Perun, all the work planned for the ship in port was done. The dock was not used for a long time as the massive mooring space was silted in and the anchoring points were broken. The sailors of the heavy lifting ship with the assistance of divers lifted 16 50 ton anchors holding the floating dock, changed out the chains and tightened them up again. The concrete coverings were restored and welding and painting was also done. The crew also offered help to port services and laid an underwater fresh water pipe.

Moskva to Return to Sevastopol' - Again

(Allegedly the Moskva at the Novorossiysk roadstead, 21 Aug 2008, sevastopol.info user Vasyakl)

A source in the Russian Navy General Staff informed RIA Novosti that "The missile cruiser Moskva departed port Novorossiysk today and will arrive around 0900 on Wednesday in Sevastopol'".

Black Sea Fleet: Battles on Shore

From the Russia Today propaganda channel dated 07 September of this year in English. A good overview of the situation on the Crimean Peninsula, with the caveat that it is a Russian propaganda outfit. Great footage of Black Sea Fleet ships and facilities. Of note: the narration denies that the Moskva was at August's Battle of the Black Sea.

Official Russian Navy Paranoia Alert

The official Russian Navy website passes on this nugget:

The USA could create a permanent navy base in Georgia while avoiding the provisions of the Montreux Convention...according to the Ukrainian weekly "2000".

"American ships can remain permanently in the Black Sea according to the Monteux Convention this way: some Black Sea littoral state, say Georgia, obtains American navy ships which would be based in Poti or Batumi and sail under the Georgian flag, but the crew remains American and is actually under the Pentagon's command."

"There has been similar historical precident. For instance, at the beginning of the First World War, Germany fictively gave Turkey the best cruiser of its time, the Goeben, which was renamed the Sultan Selim, but the crew remained German. This led to the Goeben going to Sevastopol' and Turkey's entry into that war," the paper reminds its readers.

According to the authors, while this looks like fantasy, it can't be ruled out that the USA would try that in Crimea, where it is possible that "a Ukrainian flag be raised on an American cruiser, allowing the possibility of it being based in the Sevastopol' while skirting the Montreux Convention."

Comment: The authors are wrong - it doesn't look like fantasy, it IS fantasy. In my mind, there are three options here:

a) there is some really good shit in the bong at the Russian Navy PAO shop,
b) the Russians are paranoid to believe this tripe,
c) the Russians are doing their best to whip up anti-American/anti-NATO sentiment in their public.

I suspect it is a combination of b) and c) above, although I wouldn't rule out all three options in the end.

Changes in the Humanitarian Mission to Georgia

According to this report, American warships will no longer be conducting humanitarian aid port calls to Georgia. Those will only be done by civilian ships from this point forward. The report also notes that more than 60 aid flights were made to Georgia.

Comment: The cynical view in Runet is that now that warships have stopped making port calls in support of the humanitarian mission, now they can get back to the work of re-arming Georgia.

Peter the Great to Venezuela

(Petr Veliki in Severomorsk, August 1997, author's Photo)


The official spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrey Nestorenko announced that the Petr Veliki, the Admiral Chabanenko, the supply ship Ivan Bubnov and the salvage tug Nilokay Chirikin as well as submarines and anti-submarine aircraft will deploy to take part in exercises with Venezuela in the Carribean 10-14 November, 2008. The Ministry of Defense cofirmed that the exercises were planned during Hugo Chavez's visit to Moscow in July.


(Large anti-submarine ship Admiral Chabanenko during FRUKUS-2007, June 2007, author's photo)