Russian Fleet Movements

[Ryan Ruck]

A thread for posts relating to Russia's naval fleet movements.

Original thread found here - Russian Fleet Movements

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian Nuclear Subs Launch Major Naval Exercises

Granit class submarine, photo from aeronautics.ru

Created: 22.07.2005
MosNews

There are currently 10 Russian nuclear submarines at sea, including the Barents Sea where a planned combat exercise is under way, Vladimir Masorin, chief of staff of the Russian Navy, told the Interfax news agency on Thursday.

“Northern Fleet nuclear submarines in particular are carrying out missile and torpedo practice against a notional enemy, the role of which is played by Northern Fleet surface ships,” Masorin said in Moscow on Thursday at the presentation of a film devoted to the great Russian admiral, Fyodor Ushakov.

He said that a day earlier a group of Northern Fleet surface ships headed by the flagship of the fleet, the Pyotr Veliky missile cruiser, carried out target practice with cruise and anti-aircraft missiles. “All the launches passed off successfully,” Masorin said.

He said the exercise in the Northern Fleet is taking place as part of preparations by the Northern Fleet forces ahead of an expedition to the North Atlantic that is to take place this fall.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia: Flexing Military Muscle in the North Atlantic

August 26, 2005 20 26 GMT

Summary

On Aug. 26, the Russian navy announced that it would begin large-scale maneuvers in the North Atlantic. The exercise scenario will be an attack on a hypothetical convoy. Coming on the heels of the Sino-Russian exercises in the Yellow Sea, the nature of these maneuvers will send another strong -- and deliberate -- signal to Washington. By demonstrating the ability to project power in the Atlantic, Moscow hopes to keep the United States off balance and remind Washington that Russia is still capable of complicating things for it geopolitically.

Analysis

The Russian navy is about to conduct its largest -- and essentially first -- long-range deployment into the North Atlantic since the end of the Cold War. Russia announced Aug. 24 that its warships, including a combat aircraft carrier group, had arrived in the area of the exercises in the North Atlantic and will conduct maneuvers for several days.

Russian surface ships and aircraft will operate close to NATO's traditional vital lines of communications. The location of the exercises is meant to remind Washington that Moscow is still a force to be reckoned with and that Russia can project power far from home. These exercises are also militarily important; they provide for complex training in a close-to-combat situation -- training that is long overdue to the Russian navy, which has seen significant decay and technical catastrophes ( ), and mostly has been confined to its bases since the Soviet Union's end.

These exercises will be on a scale comparable to the naval and air portion of the "Security 2004" exercises conducted in February 2004. Those exercises were the largest undertaken by the Russians in 20 years, and featured 10 surface ships, seven submarines and cruise-missile-carrying bombers. However, they were conducted close to home, in the Arctic Ocean just north of European Northern Russia. The current maneuvers are geographically very different; essentially, they mark the return of Russian warships to the mid-Atlantic, an area traditionally under the U.S. Navy's control, after several years' absence.

Among the ships participating in the exercise are the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which will sortie its compliment of Su-33s (a navalized version of the Su-27 "Flanker" air-superiority fighter); the Kirov-class guided-missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky, one of the most powerful surface combatants afloat and the flagship of the Russian Northern Fleet; the Udaloy-II-class destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, which is also a large anti-submarine warfare ship; and the Sovremenny-class destroyer Ushakov, as well as a couple of auxiliary ships. In addition to support ships from the Northern Fleet, the Baltic Fleet will deploy two Neustrashimy-class frigates and a tanker. A number of attack submarines also could participate.

The Russian air force will possibly sortie some heavy bombers "around the corner" -- a term used by Russian airmen to denote a flight from their northern bases around Norway and into the Atlantic near Iceland. These flights could be carried out by cruise-missile-launching Tu-95MS "Bear" or Tu-22M3 "Backfire" bombers.

During the Cold War, the North Atlantic was vital to both Soviet and U.S. military strategy. NATO's ability to defend Western Europe from a Warsaw Pact offensive depended on reinforcements coming from the continental United States. These reinforcements would have to come across the Atlantic in convoys, similar to allied efforts to supply the United Kingdom during World War II. The Soviets, therefore, had to prevent these convoys from reaching Europe, and planned to do so using their Northern and Baltic fleets. The Soviet Northern Fleet was expected to surge into the North Atlantic through the Greenland-Iceland-U.K. Gap -- an area which NATO closely monitored for any signs of such a surge. The area was also patrolled by both U.S. and Soviet aircraft, with U.S. fighters often escorting Soviet patrol planes away from sensitive areas.

The specter of Russian warships re-appearing and Soviet-style exercises being conducted in an area that NATO once considered critical to its defense -- and which, for the last several years, has been completely under U.S. naval control -- will not be lost on Washington. Considering the recent setbacks Washington has faced in its Central Asian geopolitical offensive against Russia, the United States will likely view these naval maneuvers in a different light than it would have a few years ago. (We can only hope!)

[Ryan Ruck]

First this news on the Russian Navy – Putin Sacks Commander Of Russian Navy

NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia - President Vladimir Putin fired the head of Russia's Navy on Sunday, and called on the new commander to boost discipline in the flagging fleet following a pair of submarine disasters.

Putin did not give a specific reason for sacking Adm. Vladimir Kuroyedov and replacing him with Adm. Vladimir Masorin. But he indicated that Kuroyedov was bearing the blame for a series of embarrassments in the navy.

Last month, a mini-sub with seven men aboard was trapped at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The Navy had no means of rescuing them without emergency help from abroad.

Kuroyedov also presided over the Navy during the 2000 Kursk submarine sinking that killed 118 crew members. Last year, he publicly said that a Russian nuclear-powered missile cruiser was in such dire condition that it could explode at any moment. ( ) He was forced to retract the statement.

At a meeting at his suburban residence with the two admirals and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, Putin told Kuroyedov that the Navy he inherited when he took command in 1997 was in poor shape and that it had showed signs of improvement.

"At the same time, there were difficult events, tragedies," Putin said during the meeting, which was attended by reporters. "But I would like to underline once again that with all these problems, all these tragedies, the main thing is that the Navy is undergoing a revival."

He told Masorin that he faced a difficult task, in spite of progress.

"We have seen the level of training of navy pilots and sailors, which has grown. Many naval ships have been repaired and others were launched and some of them were already commissioned," Putin said.

"We would not be able to solve all these problems even with the state's economic potential growing if we do not strengthen discipline and order and solve tasks of social protection of seamen."

Unlike the Kursk sinking, the August mini-sub crisis ended with all seven crewmen surviving unhurt - thanks to an underwater robotic vehicle sent from Britain.

The need for foreign help underlined the troubles of a Navy that once was formidable but has fallen prey to money shortages and, many critics say, poor leadership. Sea rescue vehicles were among the first Soviet-built vessels to be scrapped amid the desperate funding shortages that followed the 1991 Soviet collapse.

[Ryan Ruck]

And then this – Russia’s New Navy Chief Stakes Future on Nuclear Forces

Russia’s newly appointed navy chief, Admiral Vladimir Masorin, sets priority on the development of the nation’s strategic naval nuclear forces, he told a news conference in Moscow Monday, the RIA-Novosti news agency reports.

“To begin with, attention will be paid to the development of the strategic naval nuclear forces,” the navy chief said. On the whole, the Russian Navy will adhere to the policies adopted by the team of his predecessor, Masorin said.

“We need to continue pursuing the targets already set. They were set not by some specific individual but by the General Staff of the Navy. If we start all anew we will get nowhere,” Masorin said.

Also, the new chief plans to pay attention to the development of naval aviation and the marines. He underscored that in his work he will be guided by the provisions of the key acts for the development of the navy.

“The fleet in this country is being built not as Masorin or some other person dictates; there are fundamental documents and I, for one, am set to abide by them,” the admiral said.

So, did Putin use this as a chance to install an even bigger hardliner?

[Ryan Ruck]

Indian, Russian Navies Begin Joint Exercises

NEW DELHI, Oct. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- The joint exercises of Indian and Russian navies began Tuesday, though Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov had to skip the inaugural ceremony since water logging at the airport prevented them from landing at the port city Visakhapatnam.

"They were unable to go as the airport is still water-logged because of heavy rains over the weekend. But the exercise is on as planned," Indo-Asian News Service quoted a navy spokesperson as saying.

The exercises, christened INDRA-2005, are being conducted on the eastern seaboard off the Visakhapatnam coast. The first joint exercise INDRA-2003 was held in 2003.

The Russian Navy has sent its Pacific Fleet's flagship, the missile cruiser Varyag, anti-submarine ships Admiral Tributs and Admiral Panteleyev, tanker Pechenega and tugboat Kalar for the exercises.

During the exercises, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet, Vice Admiral Sergei Viktorovich Avramenko is embarked on the Varyag, the Flag-Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Sureesh Mehta, will be aboard Indian Navy Ship (INS) Mumbai, the flagship of the Eastern Fleet.

The exercises will include surface firing, air defense and anti-submarine warfare maneuvers and a debriefing on the last day Oct 20.

The exercises are expected to give a new dimension to the relationship between the armed forces of the two countries towards building mutual trust and better understanding of each other, an Indian Navy spokesperson said.

[Ryan Ruck]

Five Russian Warships To Visit Indonesia

Five naval ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet will pay a visit to Indonesia, the first of its kind since 1968, Indonesian Navy said Friday.

"The ships will be at an anchor at the Tanjung Priok Naval Base on Nov. 29," spokesman First Admiral Abdul Malik told Xinhua in telephone.

He said that during the ships' anchorage at the naval base, Russian senior naval officers will pay courtesy calls on the Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono, Commander-in-Chief of the Indonesian Defense Forces Endriartono Sutarto, Head of Staff of the Navy Slamet Soebijanto and meet other officials.

The group includes Missile Cruiser 'Varyag', Big Antisubmarine Warfare Ships 'Admiral Panteleev' and 'Admiral Tributs' as well as two auxiliary ships 'Pachenga' and 'Kalar', according to Antara news service.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian Pacific Fleet Makes Asia-Pacific Tour

ON BOARD THE MISSILE CRUISER VARYAG, JAKARTA October 28 (RIA Novosti, Mikhail Tsyganov) - A group of ships from the Russian Pacific Fleet headed by the Varyag missile cruiser arrived early Friday in Indonesia to mark the first Russian fleet presence in the area since 1968, the Russian military attaché to Jakarta said.

Vice Admiral and Deputy Pacific Fleet Commander Sergei Avramenko who runs the unit said the ships had arrived in Indonesia after conducting the Russian-Indian navy exercise Indra-2005 in the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.

"The main goal of our cruise is to demonstrate that Russia is a great sea power," he said, adding that it would contribute to international cooperation and promote stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

The naval unit, including the Admiral Tributs and the Admiral Panteleyev large anti-submarine ships, is scheduled to leave the Indonesian Western Fleet base of Tanjung Priok for Singapore November 2 on the first official visit of the Russian navy to the country. It is then scheduled to visit Thailand and Vietnam before it returns to its main base in the Russian far-eastern city of Vladivostok.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia Ready to Hold Joint Naval Exercises With Indonesia

Russia is ready to help improve the capability and mobility of the Indonesian Navy through a joint military exercise, the deputy commander of Russia’s Pacific Fleet said.

Vice Admiral Sergei Avramenko, quoted by the Asia Pulse news service, said military cooperation including naval ties between Indonesia and Russia were long standing and were running smoothly.

On Friday, five Russian warships from the Pacific Fleet, including Varyag, Admiral Panteleyev, and Admiral Tributs, paid a goodwill visit to the Indonesian port of Tanjung Priok. The visit of five Russian warships to Indonesia was part of the Russian Pacific Fleet’s scheduled activities following a four-day joint naval exercise with India. The warships will be in Indonesia until Nov. 2 before proceeding to Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam.

He added that cooperation had started in 1890 when several Russian ships visited Indonesia and was continued in 1968. In return, Indonesian ships including the KRI Dewaruci made an honorary visit to Vladivostok on the sidelines of its voyage to Europe in 2003.

Avramenko said the Russian assistance that can be provided through a joint military exercise should be made in detail so that it will be useful for the respective navies. “We are in principle ready to provide help if it is needed,” he said.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian Navy To Start Sorties In Mediterranean

Russia said on Wednesday it would start the first major navy sortie into the Mediterranean since Soviet times, the latest move by an increasingly assertive Moscow to demonstrate its military might.

"The aim of the sorties is to ensure a naval presence in tactically important regions of the world ocean," Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told President Vladimir Putin, who wished the sailors well. The rest of the meeting was closed.

Serdyukov said 11 ships, including an aircraft carrier, would take part in the sortie and be backed up by 47 aircraft -- including strategic bombers.

Buoyed by huge oil revenues, Russia under Putin has been boosting military spending while at the same time using diplomacy to broaden Moscow's influence.

Earlier this year Putin announced that long-range strategic bombers would resume patrols around the world and Russia's long-range nuclear forces have test-fired new missiles.

But analysts say the navy, once the focus of national pride and symbol of the Soviet Union's military might, is still reeling from more than a decade of underfunding.

A series of accidents -- such as the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine in 2000 -- have hurt the Russian navy's reputation at home and abroad.

Serdyukov said the navy's flagship aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, and anti-submarine ships had set out for the Mediterranean on Wednesday from the Northern Fleet's base in Severomorsk, in the Arctic Circle.

Black Sea fleet ships and aircraft support would meet them in the Mediterranean. He said military exercises would be held during the sorties and that the group would visit six foreign states. He did not name them.

He also said Northern Fleet would make sorties into the northern Atlantic.

Russia has long been talking about reviving a permanent naval base in the Mediterranean. During the Cold War, the Soviet navy had a permanent presence on the Mediterranean, using the Syrian port of Tartus as a supply point.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia Launches First Naval Power Build-Up In The Mediterranean In Response To The US About-Face

President Vladimir Putin and defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov decided to send a sortie of six Russian warships, led by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier and the Moskva guided missile cruiser, to the Mediterranean. This will be the first prolonged stay of a Russian carrier to the eastern Mediterranean vicinity of Israel's shores and waters patrolled by the US Sixth Fleet. On its decks are 47 warplanes and 10 helicopters. The Moskva is the Russian Navy's Black Sea flagship.

According to our Moscow sources, the Kremlin is determined not to be left lagging behind the new Bush administration's steps towards an accommodation with Iran, which were signaled by the US National Intelligence Estimate absolving Tehran of running a military nuclear program from 2003.

DEBKAfile's military sources report that the Russian fleet, which has already set out for its new mission from the North and Black Seas, will have the use of naval facilities at Syria's Tartus port. Its presence for several months will be a complication for the Israel navy's operations opposite the Lebanese and Syrian coasts, especially if the Russians are joined at Tartus by Iranian submarines or warships.

The Kremlin also decided to send a sortie of ships to the northeastern Atlantic.

[Ryan Ruck]

Around The World In 71 Days: Russian Navy Sets Sail

Around the world in 71 days: Russian navy sets sail The Russian fleet is once again sailing the world's oceans. Eleven ships from the Northern fleet have set sail on a range of voyages that will cover much of the globe. During a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said the mission would last 71 days.

The Defence Minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, has briefed President Putin on the new initiative.

"From Wednesday until February 3, 2008, the ships of the Northern Fleet are scheduled to go to the north-eastern Atlantic and also the Mediterranean Sea. The aim is to ensure a naval presence in the important regions of the world's oceans and to provide conditions to navigate Russian ships safely," he said.

"In all, four combat ships, seven vessels, 47 planes and 10 helicopters are taking part. The vessels will cover more than 12,000 miles in 71 days," Serdyukov added.

In the Black Sea, the ships will be joined by battle groups from the Baltic, Northern and Black Sea fleets. Together, they will conduct joint military exercises and tactical training.

The present Russian Navy was formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Back then, in 1991, its activities were severely hampered by a lack of funding.

Now the country has given the development of the navy equal priority with strategic nuclear forces.

Russia plans to replace 45% of its military inventory by 2015. It is hoped that this will serve to revive the proud traditions of a country whose navy was once a formidable force.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian Su-33 Warplanes Exercise In Mediterranean

Russian Navy carrier Su-33 aircraft and combat helicopters have launched a training exercise over the Mediterranean, an aide to the Russian Navy commander said on Tuesday.

Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said a Joint Naval Task Force, comprised of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, the Udaloy-Class Large Anti-submarine Ship Admiral Levchenko, the Sergei Osipov auxiliary vessel, and other vessels continued to perform a variety of missions in the central part of the Mediterranean Sea.

The Admiral Kuznetsov's main fixed-wing aircraft is the multirole Su-33 (NATO reporting name 'Flanker-D'), which can perform air superiority, fleet defense, and air support missions and can also be used for reconnaissance and the searching for naval mines.

The two-month expedition, which started on December 5, is aimed at ensuring a naval presence "in the operationally key areas of the world oceans" and establishing conditions for secure Russian maritime navigation.

Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said previously that a total of four warships and seven other vessels of Russia's Northern, Black Sea and Baltic Fleets, as well as 47 airplanes and 10 helicopters, would take part in the 12,000-mile expedition.

In mid-August, Putin announced the resumption of strategic patrol flights, saying that although the country halted long-distance strategic flights to remote regions in 1992 with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing economic and political chaos, other nations had continued the practice, compromising Russian national security.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia's Naval Task Force Exercises In The Atlantic. Video

A Russian naval task force held exercises in the Atlantic jointly with the anti-submarine aircraft of the Northern Fleet and the long-range aircraft of the Air Force. RIA Novosti received this video from the Navy's information and public relations service.

See Video At Link

[Ryan Ruck]

Thirty Russian Aircraft Take Part In Exercises Over Two Oceans

Over 30 Russian strategic bombers and long-range interceptors are participating in joint exercises with a naval task group in the Atlantic and Arctic, an Air Force spokesman said on Friday.

"Two Tu-160 Blackjack, two Tu-95MS Bear and eight Tu-22M3 Backfire-C strategic bombers, two A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning aircraft, four MiG-31 Foxhound and 12 Su-27 Flanker fighters and two Il-78 Midas aerial tankers have been conducting drills since 9.00 a.m. Moscow time [6.a.m. GMT] over the Atlantic and the Arctic oceans," Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky said.

During the exercises, which will run until February 2, Russian pilots are practicing reconnaissance, missile and bomb strikes on an "aggressor force", and are flying simulated air combat and air patrolling missions.

Drobyshevsky said that all flights by Russian aircraft were performed in strict compliance with international laws on the use of air space over neutral waters, without violating the borders of other states.

Russia's naval task force, comprising the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, the Udaloy-Class destroyers Admiral Levchenko and Admiral Chabanenko, as well as auxiliary vessels, is currently on a two-month tour of duty in the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic.

The flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva guided missile cruiser, joined up with Russian naval warships in the Mediterranean on January 18 to participate in the current maneuvers.

The current operation is the first large-scale Russian Navy exercise in the Atlantic in 15 years. All combat ships and aircraft involved carry full combat ammunition loads.

Commander of Russia's Northern Fleet Vice-Admiral Nikolai Maksimov, who is heading the task force, earlier said that the current tour of duty in the Mediterranean, which started on December 5, was aimed at ensuring Russia's naval presence "in key operational areas of the world's oceans" and establishing conditions for secure Russian maritime navigation.

[Ryan Ruck]

Some video of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in action.

CAUTION! MUTE THE AUDIO!

You'll thank me later!

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian Navy Resumes Military Presence Near Spitsbergen

The Russian Navy has resumed a military presence around the Arctic Ocean archipelago of Spitsbergen, which belongs to Norway, a navy statement said on Monday.

"Russia's fleet has resumed a warship presence in the Arctic, including in the area of Spitsbergen," the statement said.

Russia does not recognize Norway's exclusive right to the 200-mile economic zone near Spitsbergen.

The statement also said that "the large ASW ship, Severomorsk, has already entered the area to fulfill its tasks." It will be joined, starting from July 17, by the Marshal Ustinov, a Russian Slava-class missile cruiser.

According to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an exclusive economic zone extends for 200 nautical miles (370 km) beyond the baselines of a country's territorial sea.

A coastal nation has control of all economic resources within its exclusive economic zone, including fishing, mining and oil exploration.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian Frigate to Join Anti-Terror Operation in Mediterranean

A Russian warship from the Black Sea fleet departed on Friday from a naval base in Sevastopol to join a NATO-led counter-terror operation in the Mediterranean, a Navy spokesman said.

Ladny, a Krivak-class guided missile frigate, is being accompanied by a tanker and a tugboat.

"On August 15, the Russian combat ship will join a NATO task force in the Mediterranean in the framework of the Active Endeavor operation," Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said.

NATO's Operation Active Endeavor was launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Under the operation, NATO ships and aircraft monitor and escort shipping across the Mediterranean to prevent terrorist activity.

Russia joined the operation in 2005 and also regularly participates in the Black Sea Harmony counterterrorist operations in the Black Sea.

Following the Operation Active Endeavor, Ladny will take part in IONIEX-2008 bilateral exercises with the Italian navy.

In 2007, Russian naval ships took part in nine joint exercises with foreign navies, including Blackseafor with the participation of Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia, and Open Spirit 2007, involving Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belgium, France, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia.

[American Patriot]

Russian ship spotted near Japan's Okinawa -- report
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakin...nawa----report

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 21:40:00 08/08/2008

TOKYO—A Russian navy intelligence ship has been in the Pacific off Japan's southern Okinawa island, possibly to monitor radio wave data from US forces, Japan's Kyodo News reported Friday.

A Japanese destroyer found the ship moving and stopping repeatedly in the high seas some 30-60 kilometers (18-37 miles) east of the island of Okinawa on Wednesday, the report said citing Japanese Defense Ministry sources.

The Russian vessel stopped its engines and began floating on Thursday afternoon at a point some 70 kilometers east of the southern tip of the island, Kyodo said.

More than half of the 40,000 US troops in Japan are based in Okinawa.

US troops are stationed in Japan under a security treaty with the country, which has been constitutionally pacifist since World War II.

[American Patriot]

Report: Russian navy blockades Georgia

1 day ago

MOSCOW (AP) — A news agency says the Russian navy has deployed ships to blockade Georgia's Black Sea coast.

The Interfax news agency says the Moskva missile cruiser and other Russian Black Sea Fleet ships have been deployed to Georgia's coast to prevent any weapons supplies.

A Russian navy spokesman refused to comment on the report Sunday.