The Admiral Kuznetsov’s return reveals problems in Russian naval aviation readiness.

Admiral Kuznetsov in Severomorsk home base. pic.twitter.com/fKmjXZ0Lz6

— Military Advisor (@miladvisor) February 8, 2017

The Admiral Kuznetsov’s return reveals problems in Russian naval aviation readiness. (RBTH).

On Feb. 3 pilots of the Northern Fleet’s aviation group flew from the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier to their home base in Severomorsk-3. Only some of the aircraft, which include the Su-33, MiG-29K, Ka-52, Ka-29 and Ka-27, were transferred home. Technical breakdowns and a lack of trained aircraft carrier pilots are believed to be the main culprit behind the missing planes.


"All aircraft and pilots should be relocated to their home base from the aircraft carrier at the same time; no commander willingly relocates his regiment in stages," said a former high-ranking naval aviation officer, reported Vzglyad. "The entire engineering and technical staff should follow the aircraft as soon as possible, so that full maintenance can be done on the aircraft at the new airfield."

According to Vzglyad, it’s possible to make disappointing conclusions about the state of Russia's naval aviation: "Four fighter pilots and three helicopter pilots and the corresponding number of aircraft are all the forces that can take off from the deck of the Kuznetsov in a short space of time today.

Either they don't have more trained pilots, or the aircraft are out of order. Naval officers are well aware that during previous combat voyages the Kuznetsov regularly carried aircraft on its deck that in reality couldn’t get in the air – it was all for the purpose of public display."

Another problem may be a shortage of trained personnel. The number of pilots able to take off from the Kuznetsov may be very limited, the newspaper wrote.

"As of today Russian carrier aviation is not well developed, to put it mildly, which is something that the Admiral Kuznetsov's voyage to Syria demonstrated," said Alexander Khramchikhin, head of the analytical department at the Institute for Political and Military Analysis, reported Vzglyad.


According to other experts, the Kuznetsov's voyage was overall successful, bearing in mind that the goal was to project the Russian Navy’s power.

"The loss of these aircraft is the loss of billions of rubles of people's money," said Nenashev. "The ship repair and defense industries should make sure this doesn't happen again. The problems with cables may have happened because the Defense Ministry's ordering departments may not have allocated funds for modernization. Ship repair facilities are now ready to carry out comprehensive modernization."

Russia designing new high speed ‘aircraft carrier killer’ torpedo to boost naval power.

Russia designing new high speed ‘aircraft carrier killer’ torpedo to boost naval power. (Rbth).

In early October, Russian military analysts reported that a group of designers working for the navy were completing work on a completely new high-speed torpedo. The widely-known Shkval (“Squall”) torpedo, which for a long time was a global leader in terms of speed and the destructive force of its warhead, will be replaced by a new torpedo, called Khishchnik (“Predator”).

No specific information is available yet on what the new torpedo is like and what its technical characteristics are: The project is classified. It is only known that it is being developed by the Elektropribor design bureau, which specializes in aviation technology.


The connection is not accidental – after all, what is being developed is not just a torpedo but what is in effect an underwater missile whose engine has a lot in common with its airborne equivalents. One thing is certain: In terms of its main specifications, the Khishchnik will exceed its famous predecessor, the Shkval.

An ordinary torpedo has a speed of no more than 140 kilometers per hour (87 mph), which allows a ship targeted by it to maneuver and avoid being hit. The Shkval, however, leaves the enemy practically no chance: Its speed is nearly three times the speed of a standard torpedo. This means that a targeted ship has just a third of the standard time for maneuver. In real naval combat that means a nearly inevitable hit.


The secret of the Shkval’s speed is in its special engine, which runs on solid fuel. While an ordinary torpedo gains speed with the help of spinning propellers, the Shkval uses supercavitation. A special design of its engine makes it possible to achieve a unique physical effect, whereby a gas bubble forms around the moving torpedo. That allows the projectile to move virtually in a vacuum, minimizing drag. Read the full story here.

Russian Website Calls For Volunteers For Russia's Military Activity In Syria.

Russian Website Calls For Volunteers For Russia's Military Activity In Syria. MEMRI.

A Russian website, Dobrovolec.org, has posted a call for volunteers to enlist for Russia's military activity in Syria.

Dobrovolec was founded in the winter of 2014, during the Crimean crisis, and at that time called for volunteers to enlist for military activity in Ukraine. It describes itself as non-profit "military volunteer movement" that is not affiliated with any political, religious or commercial organization.

Its "About Us" section states: "Our initiative was founded as a project to promote the organization of self-defense units during the events of the 'Russian Spring' in Crimea and eastern Ukraine... Our activity is not limited to the conflicts in Novorossiya–Ukraine; currently we are actively participating in organizing a volunteer movement in Syria…"

The website also states that it is not in the business of recruiting mercenaries, because this contravenes Russian law. However, in its call for volunteers to fight in Syria, it states that enlistment will be "contract-based."

"We hereby announce that we are enlisting volunteers to participate in special activities as part of the Russian mission aimed at stabilizing the situation in the [Middle East] region, protecting important facilities, and strengthening Russia's military-political presence in Syria in order to prevent the formation there of a pro-American or extremist religious regime that will threaten the entire civilized world.

It should be noted that Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, head of the armed forces committee in Russia’s parliament, did not rule out that a Russian volunteer unit, including fighters who gained experience in Donbass (in eastern Ukraine), may join the Syrian government forces. Read the full story here.

Russia has ground troop battalion,"considerable and growing" naval presence, advanced tanks in Syria: U.S. NATO envoy.

Russia has ground troop battalion,"considerable and growing" naval presence, advanced tanks in Syria: U.S. NATO envoy. (Reuters).

Russia's military build-up in Syria includes a "considerable and growing" naval presence, long-range rockets and a battalion of ground troops backed by Moscow's most modern tanks, the U.S. ambassador to NATO said on Wednesday.

Speaking on the eve of a NATO defense ministers meeting to be dominated by Russia's intervention in Syria's civil war, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute said Moscow had managed a "quite impressive" military deployment over the past week to its Syria naval base in Tartous and its army base in Latakia.

"There is a considerable and growing Russia naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean, more than 10 ships now, which is a bit out of the ordinary," he told a news briefing.

"The recent Russian reinforcements over the last week or so feature a battalion-size ground force ... There is artillery, there are long-range rocket capabilities, there are air defense capabilities," Lute said. A battalion is typically around 1,000 soldiers.

"(It is) all arms, combined arms, attack aircraft, it is the attack helicopters and artillery, rocket artillery." Russia's ground forces in Syria include some of its most advanced tanks, Lute said. Hmmm......Great way to test your military hardware for real. Wouldn't surprise me to see an Iranian assault as well. Read the full story here.

Russia May Use Navy to Blockade Syrian Coast and possibly deliver artillery strikes

Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship #Moskva left Sevastopol for 'Drills' in #Mediterranean. http://t.co/yihznqYVJ9 pic.twitter.com/hMk8ji1ySa

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) September 24, 2015

Russia May Use Navy to Blockade Syrian Coast and possibly deliver artillery strikes. (SP).

Russia's Black Sea Fleet may be used in Syria to blockade the Syrian coastline and deliver armaments, as well as possibly deliver artillery strikes, the head of Russian State Duma's defense committee and former Black Sea Fleet commander Vladimir Komoyedov said.

Russia began precision strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on September 30. According to Russia's Defense Ministry, Russia's air force has in the past two days destroyed terrorist headquarters, an explosives factory, a training camp and other targets. The targets are chosen based on Russian and Syrian reconnaissance data.

"Regarding the large-scale use of the Black Sea Fleet in this operation, I don't think it will happen, but in terms of a coastal blockade, I think that it's quite [possible]. The delivery of artillery strikes hasn't been excluded; the ships are ready for this, but there is no point in it for now. The terrorists are in deep, where the artillery cannot reach," Komoyedov said. 

Hmmmm........Seems my 'gut feeling' did not betray me ...again.Read the full story here.

@WTEpaminondas @BritsForIsrael @IsraelMatzav #ISIL meets #Russian #Tomahawk missiles? https://t.co/clxN1F2uni

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) September 24, 2015

Russia developing 'Shtorm' super Aircraft carrier.

Russia developing 'Shtorm' super Aircraft carrier. (RBTH).

The St. Petersburg Krylov State Research Center has designed the Project 23000E 'Shtorm' heavy aircraft carrier, the nplus1.ru portal wrote, referring to Janes.com.

"The ship is tasked to accomplish a variety of missions in remote oceanic areas, strike on ground and seaborne enemy targets by use of its own weapons and seaborne aircraft and protect the airspace," Nplus1.ru has quoted Krylov State Research Center Director Valery Polyakov as saying.

The ship will have a length of 330 meters, a width of 40 meters, a draught of eleven meters and a speed of 30 knots. Its aircraft escort will consist of Mikoyan MiG-29K and Sukhoi T-50 carrier-based fighter aircraft, long-range radar detection aircraft and Kamov Ka-27 multirole helicopters.

Russian Navy Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov said earlier that a next-generation aircraft carrier was being designed for the Russian Navy.

"The work on the prospective aircraft carrier is in full swing. The Navy will get the aircraft carrier. The works are fully consistent with the requirements set out by the Navy command. The main requirement is that the aircraft carrier must have broad capacities both for the use of carrier-based aircraft and for effective operation within combined forces," Chirkov said.

At present, Russia possesses one aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov.

Russian ships can influence the situation in Syria.

Russian ships can influence the situation in Syria.HT: RBTH.

Recently, several Russian navy shipssailed to the Eastern Mediterranean. Large landing ships of the Black Sea and Baltic fleets—“Novocherkassk” and “Minsk,” respectively—and the reconnaissance Black Sea Fleet ship “Priazovie” set out on a Mediterranean journey from the Novorossiysk naval base. In the navy’s main headquarters, it was reported that the “Novocherkassk” is carrying a sub-unit of the Black Sea Fleet’s marine brigade.

If the “Novocherkassk” and “Minsk” is going to the Mediterranean Sea as part of the ship's permanent, Russian naval task-force rotation (which, according to the command, is scheduled to run until mid-September), the “Priazovie” is being directed to the region to raise intelligence on the situation off the coast of Syria.
This is a normal practice of any fleet in the case of increasing tension in a particular area of the ocean or the sea. The situation around Syria will be tracked on a full scale, because, in addition to reconnaissance ships, the ships from the Russian navy in the Mediterranean Sea will also be carrying out the opening and tracking of the situation, it was stated by Russia’s General Staff.
Currently, the members of the Russian inter fleet group in the Mediterranean Sea are large amphibious ships—“Admiral Nevelsky,” “Peresvet” and “Alexander Shabalin”—the guard ship “Fearless,” and support vessels. In addition, the large, anti-submarine ship “Admiral Panteleev,” on board of which there is the operational headquarters of the navy command in the far field, has already arrived in the designated area as planned.
In the coming days, large anti-submarine ships of the Northern Fleet will join the navy grouping and, later, it will be supported by the Black Sea Fleet missile cruiser “Moskva,” called by NATO as the “aircraft carrier killer.” It is assumed that, with the arrival of the cruiser in the middle of September, the operational command of the navy’s inter fleet group will be relocated there from the “Admiral Panteleev,” and “Moskva”will thus become the flagship of the Mediterranean group of navy ships.
In addition to this, in the near future, the Baltic Fleet destroyer “Pushy” and the Black Sea Fleet patrol ship“Nastoichiviy” will join the structure of the task force. At the navy’s headquarters, it was noted that the task of the crews patrol was delivered a few days ago, and the preparation for a long voyage is under way as a matter of urgency. The Pacific Fleet missile cruiser “Varyag” may join the group together with them.
As it was explained by the Russian navy, part of the Mediterranean grouping is adjusted “to match different versions of events” in the region.
"Today, we estimate the composition of our forces in the Eastern Mediterranean as sufficient for solving the above problems. For a comprehensive observation of the situation in the area, there are the navy’s task force reconnaissance and combat ships. If necessary, they, along with submarine forces, can have a serious impact on the current military situation, even now,” the navy stated.
However, the Russian Ministry of Defense stressed that the main task of a permanent Russian naval task force in the Mediterranean Sea is now a “comprehensive monitoring of air, underwater and above-water conditions in the area of location.” Russian warships have no plans to engage in combat in the Mediterranean.

Russian ships divert to Beirut, abandon Syrian port.

Russian ships divert to Beirut, abandon Syrian port.(AA).Russian warships will dock in Beirut instead of Syria’s Tartous port, where Moscow has a naval facility, the Interfax news agency reported Thursday.

“The escalating conflict in Syria and [doubts] over the entry of Russian ships into the port of Tartous forced us to search for safer ports for [docking], and one of them is in Beirut,” a diplomatic source told Interfax.

A flotilla of Russian Baltic Sea vessels came into the port in Beirut recently, added the source.

However, the source insisted that Russia was not considering abandoning its position in Tartous for the moment. The Syrian port currently serves as a refueling station for Russian ships, its acts as Moscow’s only Mediterranean Port.

“The port of Tartous continues to be the only official [facility] for Russian ships [in the Mediterranean],” the source explained. “Once events in Syria become more predictable, we will be able to [come to] a position on continuing the use of Tartous.” Read the full story here.

"Flexability" - Russia's New Stealth Corvette to Start Trials in March.

Stealth Corvette Steregushchiy

"Flexability" - Russia's New Stealth Corvette to Start Trials in March.(RN).- The crew of new Russian stealth corvette the Boyky, the third Project 20380 (Steregushchy class) vessel, will begin state trials in March, Baltic Fleet spokesman Capt. 2nd Class Vladimir Matveyev said Monday.
Matveyev said in November 2012 that the Boyky, built by St. Petersburg’s Severnaya Verf shipyard for the Russian Navy, has successfully completed main systems tests in its initial sea trials.
He added that the Boyky has moved to the port of Baltiysk in the Kaliningrad Region for second-stage sea trials.
The 20380 class ships, designed by the Almaz naval design bureau, are optimized for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare and to provide support for land operations. The class incorporates stealth technology, which has considerably reduced its radar and infrared signatures.
The 20380 class can be equipped with Kh-35 anti-ship missiles and 3M54 Klub cruise missiles, Kashtan anti-aircraft gun/missile systems, a main 100-mm gun, two 30-mm close-range air defense guns, and torpedo tubes, according to naval-technology.com.
The Steregushchy class corvette also has a hangar and deck for operation of a Kamov Ka-27 anti-submarine warfare helicopter and is fitted with a Vinyetka-EM towed sonar array.Read the full story here.

Russian Navy to start exercises off the coast of Syria.

Russian Cruiser 'Moskva'.

Russian Navy to start exercises off the coast of Syria.(RN).Ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and Baltic Fleets are to start exercises off the coast of Syria the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.Ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and Baltic Fleets are to start exercises off the coast of Syria the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.
"A tactical group of Black Sea Fleet warships headed by the cruiser Moskva will undertake exercises in the eastern sector of the Mediterranean Sea," the Ministry said. "The tanker Ivan Bubnov has fuelled the ships and emergency drills have been carried out. On January 10 the tanker filled its fuel and water tanks and food stores at the Cyprus port of Larnaka."
A Baltic Fleet group consisting of the patrol vessel Yaroslav Mudry and tanker Lena will dock at Valetta on Malta for storing and to allow the crew to rest, the Ministry said. The ships will then head for the eastern Mediterranean, where the two ships will practice stores transfer at sea in day and night and the Yaroslav Mudry will carry out anti-submarine warfare drills.
Meanwhile the navy's large frigate Severomorsk will visit the Greek port of Suda during an anti-piracy mission to the Gulf of Aden from January 14-18. "Russian Naval Infantry soldiers will visit a NATO training center to get additional training" during the visit, the Ministry said.
The Russian Navy maintains a small base at Tartus on Syria's Mediterranean coast. Syria is currently locked in a civil war between government forces and rebels that the UN estimates has cost the lives of at least 30,000 people, while other estimates put the death toll at around twice that number.Read the full story here.

Russian Navy to Get Over 50 New Warships by 2016, the U.S. Navy headed down to the low 200s total if we go through [planned defense cuts].

Russian Navy to Get Over 50 New Warships by 2016, the U.S. Navy headed down to the low 200s total if we go through [planned defense cuts].(RN).The Russian Navy will get over 50 new warships by 2016, including strategic nuclear submarines and special operations support vessels, the Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.
“By 2016, the combat strength of the Navy will be replenished with 18 surface warships of various ranks and designation, and also 30 special-purpose and counter-subversion vessels. It is also planned to put 6 multi-purpose and strategic submarines into operation,” the ministry said in a statement.
The quality of new generations of surface warships and submarines being built for the Russian Navy will improve with stronger state acceptance control at the shipyards involved in the Navy’s shipbuilding program, the statement said.
“The implementation of the shipbuilding program envisages serial construction along with the introduction of new technical and modernization solutions into each subsequently built warship,” the statement said.
Russia is currently in the middle of a huge rearmament program, with $659 billion to be spent on arms procurement by 2020, according to the Defense Ministry.
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday unprecedented naval drills in the Mediterranean and Black Seas in late January with the involvement of warships from the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific Fleets.
“The Russian Navy’s drills of this scope will be held for the first time over the past few decades and are designed to improve control, ensure and practice multiservice force interaction of the fleets in the far-off maritime zones,” the ministry’s press office said.
The drills will be held in line with the Russian Armed Forces’ 2013 combat training plan and will aim to “practice the issues of establishing a multiservice grouping of forces (troops) outside Russia, planning its use and conducting joint actions as part of a united naval grouping based on a common plan,” the press office said. Hmmmm......“And so the question,” Obama added, “is not a game of ‘Battleship,’ where we’re counting ships. It’s what are our capabilities?”Read the full story here.

Russian Navy to hold biggest war games in decades late January in the Mediterranean and Black seas.

Borey class ballistic missile nuclear submarine

Russian Navy to hold biggest war games in decades late January in the Mediterranean and Black seas.(RT).The four major Russian Navy fleets will hold a joint exercise in late January in the Mediterranean and Black seas. It will be the biggest such event in decades.
­Commands for the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific fleets have been preparing for the exercises since December of last year, the Russian Defense Ministry has announced. Warships detached for the event are currently sailing to those regions.
“The primary goal of the exercise is to train issues regarding formation of a battle group consisting of troops of different branches outside of the Russian Federation, planning of its deployment and managing a coordinated action of a joint Navy group in accordance with a common plan,” the ministry’s information department explained.
The exercise will include several scenarios, including the loading of amphibious troops from an unprepared coast in the Northern Caucasus onto transport vessels.
The announcement comes days after the launch of the nuclear-powered submarine Vladimir Monomakh, the third Borei-class strategic submarine cruiser produced in Russia. The vessel, armed with Bulava ICBMs, will become part of the country’s nuclear deterrence force after completing sea trials.
The Russian Navy's five fleets each have their own headquarters. The strongest, the Northern fleet is based in Severomorsk in north-west of the country. The Baltic fleet is based in Kaliningrad, the western Russian enclave on the coast of the Baltic Sea.
The Black Sea fleet is based in Sevastopol, Ukraine, from which Russia rents a naval base. The Pacific fleet is based in Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East. The Caspian flotilla is the smallest in the Russian Navy, but is the strongest naval force in the enclosed Caspian Sea.Read the full story here.

Russian Warships Gather in Mediterranean for Drills.

Russian Warships Gather in Mediterranean for Drills.(Fars).About a dozen Russian warships are converging on the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Aden as part of a large-scale strategic exercise, a high-ranking representative of the General Staff of Russia's Armed Forces said.
"This part of the world's oceans is very important from the point of view of Russia's geopolitical interests, including the fact that the Russian Navy has a logistical base here (in Syria)," he said Tuesday, Ria Novosti reported.
The warships will conduct air-defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine drills and call at some foreign ports, including Tartus in Syria, he said.
He declined to specify whether the large landing ships were carrying military equipment for Syria.
"The main aim of sending the ships to the Mediterranean is to accomplish the missions set by the navy command, conduct exercises and show the flag," he said.
On Monday, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov dismissed media reports there were commando units and military equipment for Syria on board some of the warships.
A naval task force from Russia's Northern Fleet left the Severomorsk base last Wednesday and set course for the Horn of Africa on a new anti-piracy mission, the Defense Ministry said.
It includes the large antisubmarine ship Severomorsk, the salvage tug Altai, and the tanker Dubna, as well as a contingent of naval infantry subunits. The force will travel the length of the Mediterranean, pass through the Suez Canal and relieve the Pacific Fleet task force that has been there on an anti-piracy mission since November.
A Baltic Fleet task force set sail last Tuesday for the Eastern Mediterranean where it will relieve a group of Black Sea warships. The force includes the frigate Yaroslav Mudry, the large landing ships Kaliningrad and Alexander Shabalin, the salvage tug SB-921 and the tanker Lena.
The new anti-piracy mission is expected to reach the region by mid-January.
Russia keeps a naval task force in the Gulf of Aden as part of the international effort to fight piracy off the Somali coast.
On Monday, large landing ships Azov and Nikolai Filchenkov from Russia's Black Sea Fleet left Novorossiysk for the Syrian port of Tartus. The ships are carrying naval infantry units for protection during the voyage. They are expected to join the Black Sea Fleet task force comprising the missile cruiser Moskva and the frigate Smetlivy in the Aegean Sea on December 28 before heading to Tartus.Read the full story here.More here.