News for the Week

Frukus

The United States, France, United Kingdom, and Russia are conducting join operations and drills in the Baltic Sea. These are annual exercises that build cooperation and security measures between the countries. The following ships are participating in the exercises.

United States-USS Normandy (CG-60)

France- DeGrasse

Russian- Yaroslav Mudriy

United Kingdom- HMS York

Here is a quote from the commanding officer of the USS Normandy,Capt. Kevin Hill

“Another essential part to promoting peace and security throughout a region is that we and our partner nations need to be able to work together and stand tall to deter an enemy threat. With these security exercises, we showed that we are more than capable of coming together to stand up for freedom and democracy in a way that says we stand united. We will continue to ensure that the waters of the world are secure and free of oppression.”

Here is an article about FRUKUS

Yuri Dolgorukiy

The Yuri Dolgorukiy has completed all of its sea trials and will soon be accepted into the fleet. The planned day of turnover will be Navy Day, 29 July. Also mentioned by the shipyard is that the former Admiral Gorshkov will be turned over to the Indian Navy by the 4th of December.  

For the Russian speakers out there here is the article. 

Russia's First Submarine

I have always been interested in submarines, and this is what lead me to read submarine classics like 20000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Hunt for Red October. The latter book is what sparked my interest in the Soviet and then Russian Navies. So it got me thinking about the first submarine in the Russian Navy.

There were reports of some submarine development during the time of Peter the Great, and some other developments during the 19th century. The first real combat submarine however was called the Дельфин, Russian: "Dolphin".  

The submarine was designed by Russian engineers and naval officers for the Construction Commission for Submarines which later became the Rubin Design Bureau. 

During operations and testing the Delfin sank in the Neva river killing 24 men. This was the first Russian Navy's accident with a submarine. 

The submarine was salvaged and transferred to the Pacific, where it participated in combat operations during the Russo-Japanese War. 

During the First World War the submarine was transferred to the Northern Flotilla.

She served until 1917, and was later scrapped. 

This submarine gave the Russian's experience in submarine operations and warfare. 

Russian Marines-aka Naval Infantry

Amid this weeks conflicting news reports about Russia sending ships loaded with marines to Syria, I thought that I would spend some time in this update covering the Russian Naval Infantry. 

The Naval Infantry was officially formed in 1705, and has fought in every major conflict since then. 

Naval Infantry at the battle of Stalingrad

It is a small organization consisting of around 12000 men. They don't often use heavy weapons and are meant to be used as an initial strike force that would later be reinforced. 

In wartime they would seize strategically important islands and port facilities. 

Each major fleet has at least one regiment of Naval Infantry. 

If actually sent to Syria, these troops would be used to increase the security at the port of Tartus, and help in the evacuation of Russian citizens. 

Syria Update

I wanted to update the situation in Syria as it concerns the Russian Navy. As we all know Syria has a serious domestic crisis on its hands. Russia is concerned about its influence in the region, as well as protecting the port facilities in Tartus, Syria. In a bold statement the Russian General Staff announced,

“The Mediterranean Sea is a zone of the Black Sea Fleet responsibility. Hence, warships may go there in the case it is necessary to protect the Russian logistics base in Tartous, Syria. Several warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, including large landing ships with marines aboard, are fully prepared to go on the voyage,”

While many could see this as a sign that the Russian's are trying to escalate the situation by helping the Syrian government, I see it as simply a move to protect Russian assets in the port of Tartus.

Here is a link to the article.

On Friday I will provide a history update instead of the usual news update. That is if everything remains as is.

Syria and the Russian Navy

Once again it's Friday and we are ready for the end of week news.  The big news out of Russia this week has been the sale of attack helicopters to Syria, with the US condemning the sale and Russia defending it. So how does this effect the Russian Navy? The Russian Navy maintains a port complex in the Syrian city of Tartus. This base is very important from a prestige and logistical point of view. If the current Syrian regime were to fall, Russia is very worried about losing its influence. 

Other News:

Yuri Dolgorukiy surfacing during sea trials.

The Yuri Dolgorukiy put to sea to finish sea trials. The article is in Russian.

Yekaterinburg on fire while in drydock

It will take up to two years to repair the ballistic missile submarine Yekaterinburg, which was damaged in a fire in December. Again the article is in Russian. 

What's in a Name?

Astrkhan. You can see the name on the side of the ship

As I read about the Russian Navy I often have wondered where the ship names came from. Some like the Настойчивый Persistent which is an Sovremennyy class destroyer in service with the Baltic  Fleet, follow the British manner of naming ships. In the British Navy you will find ships such as the Invicible, Tireless, etc.

Most Russian Naval vessels have their ship number on the side

Many other ships in the Russian Navy bear the names of cities. While this may seem to be in the tradition of other Navies around the world, it also has a deeper meaning. After the fall of the Soviet Union the Russian Navy was in shambles. They had no money, and what money the Navy did have was used to decommission ships or was lost to corruption. It was around this time that ships of the Russian Navy started to adopt names. Before this many of the ships were simply know by their class and ship number, such as K-222 or BPK-650.  Many ships adopted names of major Russian cities, and in return the ships received support from the cities. It was a clever way of feeding the sailors and keeping the Russian Navy running.

The sail of the Yuri Dolgorukiy

 Another popular naming method is to name a ship after a famous historical figure such as an admiral. You can see this with the new Borei class submarines, with the first two ships of the class being named Yuri Dolgorukiy and Alexander Nevskiy.

It will be interesting to see what direction the Russian Navy moves in the future naming of ships.

 For an entire list of ships currently serving in the Russian Navy and the names of the ships check out this wikipedia page.

Exercises-Exercises



Russian sailor during Barents-2012



It seems as though the Russian Navy is doing a lot of exercises with a host of partners. As I wrote before I believe that this is Russia’s way of improving its reputation in the world. Because of the poor funding and accidents of the past 15 years or so the Russian Navy is not held in very high respect. However as they modernize their force the Russian Navy leadership is looking for ways to change the way they are viewed in the world.

Russian and Norwegain ships during an exercise

At the start of June  the Russian and Norwegian Navies kicked off another exercise called Barents 2012.

 

A spokesman from the Northern Fleet described the goal of the exercises,

“These exercises are aimed at searching for, saving and the evacuation of crew members of ships and aircraft that find themselves in SOS situations at sea.”

Amphibious operations during BALTOPS

The Russian Navy is also participating in BALTOPS-2012 in the Baltic Sea, and they just completed Farvater Mira-2012  with the Ukranian Navy.

Though not directly related to the Russian Navy, the news that the Russian built aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya  will start sea trails has a direct reflection on the state of Russian shipbuilding.

Afla class Submarine

 

If you take a look at the modern submarine force of the Russian Navy, many of those boats have roots in the Alfa class submarine. At the time when the first Alfa put to sea it was a revolution in submarine technology.  The Akula and new Yasen class submarines borrow heavily from technology developed from the Alfa class.

 

The Alfa’s featured a teardrop hull, with smoothing features around the sail and rudder. These submarines also used a lead-cooled nuclear reactor, which were smaller in size than conventional reactors. This allowed the Alfa’s to be smaller and size.

 

They were the fastest submarines in the world (with the lone exception of the K-222 Papa class).

In time of war these submarines would be used as interceptors, meaning that they would put to sea, and basically charge a US carrier battle group at high speed.

 

While they were never used in combat, and suffered from significant technical problems, the influence upon both the Russian Navy and the western navies cannot be overlooked.  If you care to read about it here is an article about how the CIA gathered information about the Alfa class.

In total there were seven units built. All were decommisioned by 1996.

Happy Anniversary to the Russian Northern Fleet

Peter the Great, the flagship of the Northern Fleet

On June 1^st, 1933 the Russian Northern Fleet was officially established. At that time it was known as the Northern Flotilla.

Replica of the St. Peter

Of course this was not the first time Russian Navy vessels sailed the northern waters. In 1694 Peter the great had two ships built, the St. Paul and the St. Peter. The St. Paul was a 44 gun vessel and the St. Peter was a yacht. These ships sailed with 8 English merchant vessels.  Later these ships were transferred to the Baltic.

Propoganda poster for the Soviet Navy

The north was largely ignored until the Soviet period. Now the Russian Northern Fleet is the most powerful fleet of all the Russian fleet.

Here is the article in Russian that listed some of the other achievements of the Northern Fleet.

Other news:

The new landing ship Ivan Gren should start sea-trials soon, and is set to join the fleet in early 2013. This ship is the lead ship in a new class that should complement the Mistral class ships.

The French frigate De Gras will visit Severomorsk in a friendship and cooperation visit. (Note:Article in Russian)

The Kuznetsov could play host to an ice hockey game. The plans are in the very early stages, but this would be the first time a hockey game is played on an aircraft carrier.

Let me know if there are any topics that you would like to be covered. Leave a comment and I'll get back to you.