Foreign Warship On Bosphorus

Russian destroyer Smetlivy passing through Bosphorus on 1 May 2014. Photo: Ivan Watson via Twitter.

http://turkishnavy.net/2014/05/03/foreign-warship-on-bosphorus-part-2/

Photo : http://charly015.blogspot.in/

China, Russia Military Ties Deepen With Naval Drill in East China Sea

China announced that it plans to hold joint naval drills with Russia in the East China Sea later this month.“These drills are regular exercises held by China and Russia’s navies, and the purpose is to deepen practical cooperation between the two militaries, to raise the ability to jointly deal with maritime security threats,” China’s Defense Ministry said in a statement published on its website.Voice of America reports that the joint naval drills will be held in late May off the coast of Shanghai. This is significantly north of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands that have been the source of ongoing tensions between Japan and China in recent years. Russia also has an ongoing territorial dispute with Japan over the Kuril Islands located even further north off the far eastern coast of Russia.

Few details have been released about the scope of the naval drills at this time.Still, the announcement is not surprising, and is not likely aimed at Japan in particular. As China’s Defense Ministry noted, Russia and China have a history of holding joint naval drills, and their military ties have grown stronger in recent years. For example, last July, Moscow and Beijing held a massive naval drill with live firing exercises off the coast of the Russian city of Vladivostok. According to Chinese media reports at the time, the drill was the People’s Liberation Army’s largest ever with a foreign country.


Read More:

http://thediplomat.com/2014/05/china-russia-military-ties-deepen-with-naval-drill-in-east-china-sea/

French Warship Deliveries to Russia Not Affected by Sanctions

Mistral-class amphibious assault ship

The delivery of two French warships to Russia will not be affected by the current EU sanctions imposed in light of the situation in Ukraine, French Permanent Representative to the UN Gerard Araud told ."At the moment they are not affected by the sanctions," he said, adding that the sanctions are only target individuals.

"Of course, if there are new sanctions, they should be respected, but so far sanctions do not affect the deliveries," Araud confirmed.In 2011, Russia and France signed a contract worth 1.2 billion euros for the construction of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy. The first ship, the Vladivostok, built at the STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, is due to be delivered by the end of the year and the second, the Sevastopol, is scheduled to be handed over next year.

The ships, to be commissioned into Russia's Pacific Fleet, are capable of each carrying 16 helicopters, four landing craft, 70 armored vehicles, and 450 soldiers.


http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140430/189483772/French-Warship-Deliveries-to-Russia-Not-Affected-by-Sanctions.html

2 New Missile Corvettes to Join Russia’s Caspian Flotilla

Small missile ship Grad Sviyazhsk

Russia’s two newest missile corvettes, the Grad Sviyazhsk and the Uglich, have successfully undergone navy sea trials and will be assigned to the Caspian flotilla by July, a spokesman for the Southern Military District said Wednesday.

“The two ships are due to join the Russian navy at the end of the first half of 2014. Most likely, they will be assigned to the Caspian flotilla by July 1,” the spokesman said.
He added the pair will be the first Buyan-M-class corvettes to join the Caspian flotilla.

Anatoly Shlemov, head of the state defense contracts department at the United Shipbuilding Corporation, earlier said the Russian navy would receive ten warships this year.

The Navy is expecting the Veliky Ustyug corvette by late this year and six more warships of the same class by 2020, he said.Corvettes of the Buyan-M class have a displacement of 950 tons and a maximum speed of 25 knots. They are armed with Kalibr (SS-N-27) anti-ship missiles, 100-mm and 30-mm guns, as well as Igla-1M air defense missiles.The Caspian flotilla is based in Astrakhan.

http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140430/189489195/2-New-Missile-Corvettes-to-Join-Russias-Caspian-Flotilla.html

Russia starts production of MiG-29K for Russian Naval Aviation after completion of Indian Navy's order

Royal Navy warship 'monitoring' Russian naval vessel

HMS Dragon, a Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer. Credit: MoD

A Royal Navy warship is monitoring the activity of a Russian destroyer as it transits past United Kingdom territorial waters, the Ministry of Defence has said. HMS Dragon, one of the Royal Navy's newest Type 45 destroyers moved into position last week north of Scotland to be able to respond to the activity of the Russian vessel, Vice Admiral Kulakov, the MoD said on their website.

In what the MoD are calling a "well-established and standard" response, HMS Dragon will track the Russian vessel as she transits south.

SSBN Yekaterinburg 667BDRM Dolphin

Image of strategic submarine SSBN Yekaterinburg 667BDRM Dolphin project or Delta IV class at Zvezdochka shipyard without the ceramic dome covering the main antenna sonar.



http://forums.airbase.ru/2008/02/t60319,32--podvodnye-lodki-proekta-667bdrm.html

Russia to build network of modern naval bases in Arctic – Putin

Russia will build a unified network of naval facilities on its Arctic territories to host advanced warships and submarines as part of a plan to boost protection of the country’s interests and borders in the region, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday, according to RIA Novosti.“We need to strengthen our military infrastructure. In particular, to create in our part of the Arctic a unified network of naval facilities for new-generation ships and submarines,” the president said at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council.

He said that Russia should boost security at its Arctic borders.Putin ordered the military in December to boost its presence in the Arctic and complete the development of military infrastructure in the region in 2014.The Defense Ministry has already announced plans to reopen airfields and ports on the New Siberian Islands and the Franz Josef Land archipelago, as well as at least seven airstrips on the continental part of the Arctic Circle that were mothballed in 1993.
The military is also planning to form a new strategic military command in the Arctic, dubbed the Northern Fleet-Unified Strategic Command, by the end of 2014.

Putin reiterated that Russia is actively developing this promising region and should have all means for protection of its security and economic interests there.“The oil and gas production facilities, loading stations and pipelines must be well protected from terrorists and other potential threats,” Putin said.

The Russian president called on experts to defend Russia’s territorial claims to the Arctic shelf, just like they did during this year’s successful claim to 52,000-square-kilometer area in the Sea of Okhotsk off Japan.“Our experts must act similarly, for bilateral as well as multilateral consultations with Arctic countries’ governments, and safeguard each parcel of the continental shelf in the Russian part of the Arctic, and marine areas,” Putin said.

Turkey vulnerable to rising Russian power in the Black Sea

With the annexation of Crimea, Turkey faces a stronger and bolder Russian naval power in the Black Sea. A resurgent Russia may be tempted to exploit its temporary naval dominance to alter current Black Sea energy exploitation and transportation arrangements more in its favor and to the detriment of Turkey and its partners in the Caucasus. The politically motivated stoppage of Turkey’s National Warship Project’s production schedule has created a window of vulnerability in Turkey’s Black Sea naval defenses in the face of rapidly rising Russian naval power.

Background: 

The $3 billion “National Warship” Project, known by its Turkish abbreviation MILGEM, seeks to upgrade the Turkish fleet by replacing and augmenting its older foreign-made warships with eight domestically produced Ada-class anti-submarine warfare corvettes and subsequently four intermediate-class TF 100 frigates. After gaining experience from the building of the slightly larger but more lethal TF 100 anti-air warfare frigates, Turkey then intends to build a series of TF 2000 frigates. Double the size of the TF 100, the TF 2000 anti-air warfare frigate will significantly advance the Turkish fleet’s transformation into a blue-water navy.

Aside from being an intermediate phase for the development of the TF 2000, the TF 100 frigates are of present vital importance as replacements for the German-made Meko 200 frigates that form an essential component of Turkey’s force projection in the Black Sea. The TF 100 frigates will be the first Turkish vessels to carry the American-manufactured RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) system capable of countering the current generation of supersonic anti-ship missiles.

Prior to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the head of Turkey’s Undersecretariat of Defense Industries Murat Bayar publicly acknowledged the need to replace the Meko 200 frigates with the ESSM-equipped TF 100s by 2020.

However, in September 2013, upon the commissioning of the TCG Büyükada, the second of MILGEM’s eight Ada-class corvettes, the Turkish government abruptly canceled RMK Marine’s contract to build the remaining six corvettes. A subsidiary the Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding A.Ş., the cancellation of RMK Marine’s contract appears to be part of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political vendetta against the Koç family for providing assistance to anti-Erdogan protesters from a Koç-owned Istanbul hotel during the summer 2013 Gezi Park demonstrations.

The next two corvettes will be produced by Turkey’s national shipyard while the government evaluates bids for the building of the four remaining corvettes. Despite Undersecretary Bayar’s optimistic forecasts that the government’s cancellations will delay the production schedule for the Ada-class corvettes by only one year, the cascade effect of the production stoppage in setting back the building of the TF 100 frigates, as well as the subsequent TF 2000s, has created a four- to eight-year window of vulnerability for Turkey in the Black Sea vis-à-vis a resurgent Russia.

Turkey’s strategic vulnerability was not anticipated because of the view in Turkish policy circles that Turkey enjoys a relative parity with Russia in the Black Sea. However, the approximate parity exists only when Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is matched against all the major assets of the Turkish navy. Prior to the Crimean conflict, Russia’s Black Sea fleet consisted of 24 major surface combatants and one diesel submarine while Turkey’s major naval assets consist of approximately 24 surface combatants and 14 submarines. The parity is illusory as it is unlikely that Turkey would be able to deploy all or most of its naval assets in a Black Sea conflict.



http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Turkey-vulnerable-to-rising-Russian-power-in-the-Black-Sea-349928

Russian ships will enter the Pakistani port of Karachi today

Destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov

Irkut tanker

A Russian Pacific Fleet squadron that took part in multilateral naval exercises earlier this month has entered the Indian Ocean and will visit Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, fleet spokesman Roman Martov told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

“The Pacific Fleet vessels led by the Primorsky mixed-forces unit's deputy commander, Rear Admiral Vladimir Dmitriyev, have sailed through the Strait of Malacca and set a course for the Indian Ocean,” Martov said.He specified that during their tour in the Indian Ocean the ships are planning to visit Pakistan’s port city of Karachi.

Russia’s large anti-submarine warship Marshal Shaposhnikov, tanker Irkut and service ship Alatau began their voyage in the Indian Ocean in mid-March. From March 29 to April 3 the Russian crews took part in the 2014 Komodo multilateral naval exercises, which focused on disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.

Ships from 17 countries took part in training for search and rescue operations, first aid measures and evacuation efforts from disaster areas.

Russian Navy to Begin Sea Trials of 2 New Nuclear Subs in Summer

Two new Russian nuclear-powered submarines will begin sea trials this summer, the country’s northern Sevmash shipyard said Monday.
Upon completion of the trials, the two boats – the Borei-class Vladimir Monomakh nuclear missile submarine and the Yasen-class Severodvinsk attack submarine – will be the newest addition to Russia’s sub fleet.

“Once navigation at sea opens this summer, the Vladimir Monomakh and Severodvinsk submarines will begin tests. Operations on all Sevmash nuclear submarines are run under the control of the leadership of the Russian Navy,” the company said in a statement.

Admiral Vladimir Korolev, the commander of the Northern Fleet, said Sunday the Vladimir Monomakh will enter into service later this year and will conduct a test launch of the navy’s new Bulava nuclear-capable ballistic missile before becoming fully operational.

Sevmash also said that hull work on the Yasen-class Novosibirsk submarine has been completed, and the boat will now undergo hydraulic testing, adding that the next Borei-class submarine, the Knyaz Vladimir, has completed such testing and is currently preparing to take on large equipment.

The Russian Navy is expected to receive 40 new warships and auxiliary vessels this year, including a variety of surface ships of various classes in addition to the nuclear submarines. The Russian Defense Ministry is currently carrying out a massive rearmament for the navy and air force as part of a series of modernization efforts.

First Borey-Class Strategic Sub Ready for Combat Patrols - Russian Navy

The first Borey-class ballistic missile submarine could be put on combat duty this year after taking weaponry on board, a senior Russian Navy commander said Wednesday.
"Upon receiving new weapons on board this year, the Yury Dolgoruky submarine will be ready to perform its duties," said Rear Admiral Alexander Moiseev, commander of the submarine forces of the Northern Fleet.

The Yury Dolgoruky joined the Northern Fleet in January 2013 while the second Borey-class boat, the Alexander Nevsky, was commissioned by the Navy in December last year.
The third boat, the Vladimir Monomakh, is undergoing sea and state trials, and the fourth Borey-class submarine, the Knyaz Vladimir, has been under construction at the Sevmash shipyard in northern Russia since July 2012.

The Borey is Russia’s first post-Soviet ballistic missile submarine class and will form the mainstay of the strategic submarine fleet, replacing aging Typhoon, Delta-3 and Delta-4 class boats. Russia expects eight Borey-class submarines to enter service by 2020.
The new Borey-class boats, with a length of nearly two football fields, can carry sixteen Bulava missiles, each fitted with up to 10 independently-targetable nuclear warheads.

Ballistic missile submarines comprise one leg of Russia’s strategic nuclear triad along with land-based ICBMs and the bomber force.


http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140416/189245693/First-Borey-Class-Strategic-Sub-Ready-for-Combat-Patrols--.html

Submarine classes of Russian Navy

http://charly015.blogspot.com/2014/04/poster-de-las-clases-de-submarinos-de.html

Airbus Defence and Space Pleiades Satellite captures Russian Navy's amphibious landing in Sebastopol

March 13, 2014


Pleiades Satellite Image - LSTM-class Ropucha Yamal 156 in Sevastopol

http://www.astrium-geo.com

In Sevastopol continuing operations strengthening of Russian positions. The images show March 13 launched an amphibious operation, with numerous military vehicles leaving the LSTM (Ropucha class) Yamal 156.

The presence of class Ropucha LSTM is clear evidence of Russian military activity in the area, but since these activities occur in the vicinity of permanent military units of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, could be classified "training". Maybe the Yamal has been downloaded a mobile complex coastal defense Bal missile antiship cruise in a video recorded at ground level has been seen moving south to one mile area amphibious landing



http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.astrium-geo.com%2Fes%2F5671-enfrentamiento-entre-rusia-y-ucrania-en-la-zona-de-crimea&edit-text=&act=url

Russian Warship Movements Through Turkish Straits

Read more for more movements thru Turkish Straits:
http://turkishnavy.net/2014/04/14/russian-warship-movements-through-turkish-straits-part-46/

On 11 April 2014, Friday the Amur class repair ship from Russian Black Sea Fleet PM-138 passed through Bosphorus on her Syrian deployment. This means that PM-56 currently stationed in Tartus Syria will be returning home soon.

Russia Begins Transfer of First Warship Back to Ukraine

http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140411/189165021/Russia-Begins-Transfer-of-First-Warship-Back-to-Ukraine--Source.html

Russia has begun the process of transferring the first Ukrainian naval vessel in Crimea back to Ukraine, a source in the Black Sea Fleet Headquarters told RIA Novosti on Friday.
“Two Black Sea tugs have begun taking the missile boat from Karantinnaya Bay in Sevastopol,” the source said, referring to Ukraine’s Priluki missile boat.

Once the Priluki leaves the port of Sevastopol, the boat will be towed to neutral waters by a Russian sea-going tug where it will be met by representatives of Ukraine.Last week, Vitaly Yarema, the first deputy prime minister of the interim government in Kiev, avoided giving a specific deadline for the complete removal of troops and equipment from Crimea.“I cannot say for sure, as it depends on a number of factors such as the pace and availability of transportation and the functioning of the railroad as well. But as of today there is nothing to hinder the process,” he said.

Russian officials have said the country is ready to hand over all Ukrainian weaponry left in Crimea if Kiev provides transportation.“The Russian Defense Ministry is ready and willing to complete this work by June,” General Dmitry Bulgakov told reporters Wednesday.

Talks between Russia and Ukraine on arms transfers has centered on ground forces and equipment. There are still some 70 Ukrainian warships and other service vessels located in the waters of the Crimean Peninsula, with no established time frame for their return.
The republic of Crimea held a referendum on March 16 to decide on the status of its autonomy. The official result of the referendum was a 97 percent vote in favor of integrating the region into the Russian Federation, with an overwhelming voter turnout of 83 percent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the federal law ratifying the agreement between the autonomous republic of Crimea and the Russian Federation to join Russia on March 21.
Although widely denounced by the West, Russia welcomed the results of the referendum, proclaiming it fully legitimate and in accordance with international law.

US warship heading to Black Sea

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Andrew Biehn, the commanding officer of the USS Truxtun, and Cmdr. Andrew Bates, the guided missile destroyer's executive officer, salute the Romanian frigate ROS Regina Maria aboard the Truxtun in the Black Sea on March 12, 2014.

A U.S. Navy warship is on its way to the Black Sea as part of the ongoing response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, State Department officials said.In the immediate aftermath of Russia’s takeover of Crimea, the guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun sailed into the Black Sea, where it conducted exercises with the Bulgarian and Romanian navies, practicing basic maneuvers and drills.

However, the Truxtun left the Black Sea on March 21 to continue its scheduled deployment as part of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group, currently in the Middle East. A new Navy warship in the Black Sea would be a replacement for the Truxtun, said officials.The U.S. Navy would not confirm which ship it would be sending into the area. But two destroyers — the USS Donald Cook and the USS Ramage — are currently in the vicinity, taking part in an exercise in the eastern Mediterranean with the Greek and Israeli navies.

“We are making plans to meet the intent vocalized by (U.S. and NATO officials) to lay out a sustainable maritime presence in the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, but we do not have anything to announce at this time,” said Capt. Gregory Hicks of the U.S. European Command. He said the Navy routinely operates ships in the Black Sea to demonstrate U.S. commitment to working closely with allies in the region.On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the deployment of U.S. warships in the Black Sea during a joint news conference with Kazakhstan’s foreign minister.

Russian Navy puts into service ICBM Liner - source

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_04_02/Russian-Navy-puts-into-service-ICBM-Liner-source-7722/

The Russian Navy has put into service seaborne ICBM Liner designed by the Makeyev State Missile Center based in Miass, Chelyabinsk region, a source from the Russian defense sector said.

"The ICBM Liner system was put into service in the beginning of this year. These missiles will be deployed on nuclear-powered strategic submarines of Project 667BDRM," he added, Interfax reports.
According to open sources, ICBM Liner can carry a multivariate warhead in contrast to its predecessor, ICBM Sineva. The Sineva warhead consists of four units, and ICBM Liner can carry either ten small-sized warhead units capable of penetration through missile defense or eight units of the same class but with a higher capacity for missile defense penetration or four medium-sized units with missile defense penetration capacities.

ICBM Liner was successfully test fired on May 20 and September 29, 2012. ICBM Sineva and Liner will make it possible to extend the period of operation of missile carrying submarines of Project 667BDRM until 2030.

Some experts point out that it would not be quite right to call ICBM Liner a brand new missile. "In fact, this is the same Sineva, but with a different, better warhead," one analyst said. He recalled that Liner was the project name of a new warhead rather than a missile. "This theory is supported with the meager number of test launches of the 'new' missile, which was tested as Sineva a long time ago, and the similar indication of both missiles, R-29RMU2 for Sineva and R-29RMU2."

Russian Navy's project 12700 minesweeper

Translated from Russian:

Aleksandrit, which is a milestone in shipbuilding to have fiber helmet largest built in one piece glass



http://forums.airbase.ru/2011/01/t79733,5--protivominnyj-korabl-proekta-12700.html

Zaporizhzhia Submarine returned back to Ukraine by Russians after it was found to be obsolete

On March 22nd 2014 Russia had seized Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Submarine

Russian sailor removes Ukrainian navy emblem