Russian Navy: Status and News #5

Russian NB in Sudan: Extending Moscow’s Influence in ME and N Africa

Marines of Caspian Flotilla: https://iz.ru/1016392/aleksei-ramm-bogdan-stepovoi/more-vnutri-kaspiiskii-region-usilili-chernymi-beretami

GarryB wrote:

So this was the Otvet. Not quite fake...

I am so glad this is Otvet... the thought that they are only now testing 91ER1 would be frustrating as it is a mature system, though it is designed for torpedo tube launch from both surface ship and submarine, that is no surprise as many of the UKSK launched weapons are 533mm weapons originally used from torpedo tubes anyway.

Part of the problem with Russian systems is that news releases and technical information often are released with no word of actual testing and service entry in the Russian military, so you can end up reading about a system for decades only to find out it is only just entering Russian service.

The R-77 is a good example... it was actually tested in the late 1980s and was probably ready before AMRAAM but was not adopted at the time by the Russian military... they are not cheap missiles, but more importantly very few of their aircraft in the 90s and 00s could use them anyway, which would have made them even more expensive...

They bought token amounts of the original RVV-AE which was bought in greater numbers by China and India than by Russia, but now Russia is buying further developed versions so that is OK.

Further upgrades of the R-27s should not be ignored... new digital controls and digital sensors and improved components radically improve performance... needless to say the standard US Naval SAM for medium range defence is the ESSM, which is just a digital upgraded Sparrow missile of the same generation... and they seem to think it is wonderful.

Knowing Russia, the 91ER1 probably is the 'Otvet'

Maybe with a new torpedo.

Potential and prospects of the Caspian flotilla

The Red Banner Caspian Flotilla is the smallest formation of the Russian Navy, but it solves the problem of protecting one of the most important areas. In recent years, systematic and effective modernization has been carried out, which has made it possible to significantly increase all the main indicators of the flotilla. At the same time, the updating processes are continuing - and in the future they will give new remarkable results.

Ship composition

The basis of the CFL is made up of warships and boats, as well as auxiliary vessels of all main classes. In recent years, the flotilla has received a lot of new pennants of different classes. To date, the share of modern samples in the ship-and-boat structure has been brought to 80%. It is curious that in 2016 its share reached 86%, but then slightly decreased due to natural processes.

The main combat units of the KFL are modern ships with guided missile weapons. These are two patrol boats / corvettes of project 11661 "Gepard", commissioned in 2003 and 2012, as well as three small missile ships of project 21631 "Buyan-M" and a missile boat of project 12411T. There are small artillery ships of project 21630 "Buyan" (3 units), as well as artillery boats of project 1204 (4 units) and 1 boat of project 1400M.

Combat ships and boats carry a variety of weapons. Of greatest interest is the Kalibr-NK missile system with a range of thousands of kilometers. Its potential was demonstrated back in 2015, and since then the number of launch vehicles and deployed missiles has grown significantly.

KFL has a fairly developed amphibious fleet. There are eight landing boats of projects 1176, 11770 and 21820 to support the combat work of the marines. At least 7-8 anti-sabotage boats of various types have been put into service. There is a developed grouping of raid and base minesweepers of several projects in the amount of 8 units.

Search and rescue support of the flotilla is assigned to 11 pennants. Among them are several sea rescue tugs, fire fighting vessels and offshore diving boats. 15 vessels of all main classes are responsible for logistical support, incl. sea ​​and harbor tugs, tankers and weapons transports. There are hydrographic boats and ships - only 5 units.

The construction of ships, vessels and boats for the KFL continues, and in the near future it is expected that new combat and auxiliary units will be commissioned. In addition, scheduled repairs with restoration or modernization are carried out.

Coastal troops

The CFL includes not the most numerous, but rather developed coastal troops. Due to recent changes in the organizational structure and the formation of new units and subdivisions, it was possible to significantly increase their potential. In addition, the previously absent samples entered service with the BV KFl, with the help of which they expanded the range of tasks to be solved.

The largest unit in BV is the 177th Marine Regiment, formed in 2018. It has two battalions stationed in Astrakhan and Kaspiysk. It is armed with modern weapons and equipment. The basis of the regiment's fleet is the BTR-82 amphibious armored personnel carriers.

At the beginning of the year, the 51st separate coastal missile division received a new materiel. Its task is to protect the coast from enemy ships using the Bal missile system. The coastal forces had systems of this class earlier, but several years ago they were transferred to the Black Sea Fleet. Now there are missile systems on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

Modern capabilities

In its current form, the Caspian Flotilla is a sufficiently developed and powerful formation of the Navy, capable of solving several key tasks in its region and, what is important, beyond its borders. Both containment and strikes against enemy targets are provided.

The size of the Russian flotilla, at least, is not inferior to the naval associations of other countries of the Caspian region. At the same time, there are significant advantages in the form of novelty and high characteristics of weapons and equipment, as well as in the form of a high level of personnel training.

The main task of the CFL remains to maintain peace and security in the Caspian Sea region, to protect the maritime borders and the coast of Russia, and with them other nearby regions, from a possible attack. Surface forces and coastal troops are able to detect and destroy in time any strike group of third countries in the region.

As practice has already shown, the offensive capabilities of the CFL are of particular importance. Ships carrying cruise missiles, without leaving the Caspian Sea, are capable of attacking targets at ranges of up to 2-2.5 thousand km. Thus, the largest region, from the Middle East to Central Asia, is under the control of corvettes and RTOs.

In the wake of recent events, the situation in the Transcaucasus is of particular importance. This region is included in the CFL's area of ​​responsibility, and it is she who will have to respond to aggressive actions of third countries. It is important that the capabilities of the flotilla will make it possible to solve combat missions not only in the region, but also beyond its borders. The target for missiles from the Caspian Sea may be remote facilities of countries intending to advance their interests by destabilizing the situation in the Caucasus.

It should be borne in mind that the CFL is not the only component of the Russian armed forces. The Red Banner Black Sea Fleet and many formations of the Southern Military District are also responsible for protecting the southern borders. The well-known events of recent years show their potential - and demonstrate what the armed forces as a whole are capable of.

It should be recalled that CFL turns out to be not only a military but also a diplomatic instrument. The countries of the Caspian region maintain equal international relations, and their fleets contribute to this. KFL ships have repeatedly made friendly visits to foreign ports, and also regularly participate in international maneuvers. Such processes contribute to the reduction of tensions and the growth of trust.

Quality or quantity

For a number of objective reasons, the Caspian Flotilla has never been able to compare with other fleets in terms of the number of ships and vessels or the size of coastal troops. In addition, for a long time its development and renewal were far from being a priority. However, in recent years the situation has changed dramatically.

The CFL remains the smallest formation of the Russian Navy, which affects its appearance and potential. However, opportunities were found for the active development of the flotilla and the build-up of combat capabilities without a significant increase in numbers. In fact, it was in the interests of the CFL that small missile and artillery ships of new types were created, capable of carrying modern and effective weapons.

Despite all the difficulties and problems, in a limited time, it was possible to carry out a massive rearmament of the CFL, bringing the share of modern samples to 80-86 percent. Other measures led to an increase in other key indicators. At the same time, the process of military construction and modernization does not stop. New facilities for various purposes are being commissioned, new divisions are being formed and modern samples are being supplied.

Thus, it is quite easy to predict the future of the Red Banner Caspian Flotilla. In recent years, its appearance and capabilities have changed significantly, and the results achieved will be maintained for the foreseeable future. In addition, new steps of various kinds should be expected, which will again lead to the strengthening of naval forces and coastal forces. CFl will remain small in quantitative terms - but in terms of quality it will meet all the requirements.

The last Kara cruiser.

Isos wrote:The last Kara cruiser.

Looks more like the Ochakov. Sunk on purpose in 2014. Kerch was the last Kara cruiser.

walle83 wrote:Looks more like the Ochakov. Sunk on purpose in 2014. Kerch was the last Kara cruiser.

Ochakov was refloated after being sunk as a block ship.

AFAIK she is currently at Inkerman and is yet to be scrapped, so she does in fact count as being the last Kara cruiser.

IMO those old cruisers would be pretty useful today. Put 4 pantsir, 6-8 57mm guns and 12-24 buks on them for AD so that it intercept enemy missiles and send it close to enemy formation then use the big guns to fire from 60km away.

It could even go near enemy port and blow everything inside.

Sure they would never be modernized. I was just saying they would still be a dangerous foe with minimal upgrades to their weapons.

Isos wrote:IMO those old cruisers would be pretty useful today. Put 4 pantsir, 6-8 57mm guns and 12-24 buks on them for AD so that it intercept enemy missiles and send it close to enemy formation then use the big guns to fire from 60km away.

It could even go near enemy port and blow everything inside.

Sverdlov-class cruisers aren't levithans like the USN Iowa class battleships. They have comparitively paulty 6" main guns as opposed to 16", hugely inferior armour and less than 1/3 of the displacement.

The best use for the Kutuzov is as a museum piece for generations of the Russian public to enjoy.

"This is a beautiful move": Russia has found justice for NATO destroyers in the Black Sea
08:00 18.12.2020

MOSCOW, December 18 - RIA Novosti, Andrey Kots. Determine the type of target, its parameters, find out the course and nationality - the Ministry of Defense is testing in the Black Sea the newest system of automatic illumination of the surface situation "Strategy". This development of the Research Institute for Long-Range Radio Communication (NIIDAR) will allow Russia to significantly secure its southern borders and prevent violations of the state border. "Strategy" covers all the means of tracking available to the Black Sea Fleet. About the system and its capabilities - in the material RIA Novosti.

The sea is in full view
Most modern maritime monitoring systems are, as a rule, radar stations tied into a common network and scanning the sea for many kilometers from the coastline. All information about the movements of ships is transmitted to a single center, where decisions are made. For example, about the interception of the intruder.

“Strategy” is also based on the principle of radar, ”Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of the magazine“ Arsenal of the Fatherland ”, explains to RIA Novosti. - It automatically determines the coordinates of all ships and vessels in the coverage area in real time. Draws the so-called signatures - this is an individual portrait of a ship at sea, by which one can recognize its type and affiliation. And, of course, it records the main parameters of the movement: course, speed. As far as I know, a similar system is being deployed in the Arctic zone. "

According to the expert, "Strategy" is unique in that it combines the capabilities of all radar stations, without exception, monitoring the Black Sea, both onshore and on ships. And to monitor remote areas, over-the-horizon radars can be connected to it, scanning an area within a radius of more than a thousand kilometers. The key feature of the new technology is high automation.

“Today, specialists from the so-called Center for Combat Command of the Fleets are engaged in monitoring the surface situation,” says Murakhovsky. “This is a structure in many ways from the Soviet era. Operators process huge amounts of data, often manually. Previously, it was the same, for example, in air defense, where there was a special position - a flatbed player. They marked all changes in the air situation on the screens with a transparent map with markers. Now computers are doing this. So in the new system, automation will take over most of the routine. "
According to the developers' assurances, "Strategy" will be able to use not only radar, but also satellite and ground-based automatic information systems, internal channels for transmitting object information of the fleet. In addition, it will interact in a two-way mode with the technical means and complexes from which it receives data.

NIIDAR specialists obviously have enough experience in this area - they were the ones who created the Voronezh-DM missile attack warning system stations, the Sunflower, Container over-the-horizon radars and many others put into service.

Often
The issue of controlling the situation in the Black Sea is by no means idle for Russia. In recent years, NATO pennants have come here regularly. At the end of September, Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff Sergei Rudskoy said that in 2020 the warships of the North Atlantic Alliance were in the Black Sea for a third longer than in 2019.
NATO activity peaked in July, when the Sea Breeze 2020 exercise was held. They were attended by about two thousand military personnel from the USA, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Georgia, Norway, Romania, Spain and Turkey, more than 25 ships, as well as aviation.

"Up to 40 percent of these ships are carriers of high-precision long-range weapons," Rudskoy said. "In particular, the US Navy destroyer Roosvelt, capable of carrying up to 90 Tomahawk cruise missiles, has repeatedly entered the Black Sea."

In fact, the only thing that keeps the NATO navy from constantly maneuvering in the Black Sea is the Montreux Convention, signed in 1936. The agreement defines the status of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, and also limits the presence of warships of non-Black Sea states in the water area for a period of three weeks. In addition, the convention provides that up to nine such ships with a total tonnage of no more than 30 thousand tons can be simultaneously in the Black Sea.

Most of all foreign navies are interested, of course, in Crimea. Ships of Western countries have repeatedly approached the peninsula, reconnaissance aircraft and drones make regular flights over the borders of the Russian airspace. The alliance is trying to determine the location of military installations in Crimea, as well as to understand at what frequencies communications, navigation and electronic warfare systems operate.

Regional advantage
The United States and its allies do not hide the fact that they are acutely worried about Russia's military capabilities in the Black Sea.
In December, the American strategic research center RAND even modeled the confrontation between the Black Sea Fleet and the NATO navies in the region, creating something like a board game. It turned out that in this water area Russia will defeat any coalition, even if the United States acts together with Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia.

Moscow really has something to respond to aggression - the naval forces deployed in the region are regularly replenished with new ships and submarines with powerful strike systems.
In addition, in the Crimea itself, which is often called a "land aircraft carrier", an impressive army group is located, equipped with the most modern air defense systems and anti-ship missile systems capable of striking sea targets at a considerable distance from the coast. They are mobile and can quickly change position, which makes them difficult to detect and destroy.

American analysts have come to the conclusion that Russia will keep the Black Sea under control, even without entering into an armed conflict with NATO countries. For this, Moscow has an impressive arsenal of non-lethal weapons. RAND experts include psychological attacks, cyber operations, information strikes, and electronic warfare

https://ria.ru/20201218/strategiya-1589760388.html

I didn't even realize there was still a Sverdlov-class that hasn't been long ago scrapped

Yikes!

flamming_python wrote:I didn't even realize there was still a Sverdlov-class that hasn't been long ago scrapped

Yikes!

Its the Mikhail Kutuzov, a museum ship. The last ship of the class.

A few remained in service until the early 90s as modified command ships until they were scrapped.

PapaDragon wrote:

flamming_python wrote:I didn't even realize there was still a Sverdlov-class that hasn't been long ago scrapped

Yikes!

Scraping a museum ship kinda defeats the whole purpose of having a museum ship in the first place

If it doesn't make money and cost too much to stay afloat they will use it as a practice target.

Would be nice to see what a zirkon could do against an empty armored ship.