Russian Navy

Russian Navy
Военно-морской Флот Российской Федерации
Voyenno-Мorskoy Flot Rossiyskoy Federatsii

Emblem of the Russian Navy
Active January 17, 1992 – present
(current form)
Country Russia
Type Navy
Size 130,000 personnel (2014), incl. Naval Infantry and Naval Aviation[1]
271 ships (excl. auxiliaries)
Approx. 359 aircraft[2][1]
Part of Russian Armed Forces
Headquarters Admiralty building, Saint Petersburg
Motto(s) "С нами Бог и Андреевский флаг!" (God and St. Andrew's flag are with us!)
March "Экипаж—Одна семья" (The Crew—One Family)
Anniversaries Navy Day (last Sunday in July)
Submariner's Day (19 March)
Fleet 1 aircraft carrier
4 cruisers
15 destroyers
5 frigates
81 corvettes
19 landing ship tanks
19 landing craft
9 special-purpose ships
18 patrol boats
45 mine countermeasures vessel
62 submarines
Engagements

As Russian Navy:

Commanders
Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Korolev (Acting)
Insignia
Naval Ensign
Naval Jack
Patch
Navies of Russia

Imperial Russia

Imperial Navy (1696–1917)

White movement fleet (1917—1922)

Soviet Union

Soviet Navy (1918–1991)

Russian Federation

Russian Navy (1991–Present)

The Russian Navy (Russian: Военно-морской Флот Российской Федерации (ВМФ России), tr. Voyenno-morskoy Flot Rossiyskoy Federatsii (VMF Rossii), lit. Military-Maritime Fleet of the Russian Federation) is the naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. The present Russian Navy was formed in January 1992, succeeding the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which had itself succeeded the Soviet Navy following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991.

The regular Russian Navy was established by Peter the Great (Peter I) in October 1696. Ascribed to Peter I is the oft quoted statement: "A ruler that has but an army has one hand, but he who has a navy has both." The symbols of the Russian Navy, the St. Andrew's flag and ensign (seen to the right), and most of its traditions were established personally by Peter I.

Neither Jane's Fighting Ships nor the International Institute for Strategic Studies list any standard ship prefixes for the vessels of the Russian Navy. For official U.S. Navy photographs, they are sometimes referred to as "RFS"—"Russian Federation Ship". However, the Russian Navy does not use this convention for itself.

The Russian Navy possesses the vast majority of the former Soviet naval forces, and currently comprises the Northern Fleet, the Russian Pacific Fleet, the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Russian Baltic Fleet, the Russian Caspian Flotilla, Naval Aviation, and the coastal troops (consisting of the naval infantry and the coastal missile and artillery troops).

A recently approved rearmament program has placed the development of the navy on an equal footing with the strategic nuclear forces for the first time in Soviet and Russian history. The program, covering the period until 2015, is expected to see the replacement of 45 percent of the inventory of the Russian Navy.[3] Out of 4.9 trillion rubles ($192.16 billion) allocated for military rearmament, 25 percent will go into building new ships. "We are already building practically as many ships as we did in Soviet times," First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said during a visit to Severodvinsk in July 2007, "The problem now is not lack of money, but how to optimize production so that the navy can get new ships three, not five, years after laying them down."[4]

The Russian Navy suffered severely since the dissolution of the Soviet Union due to insufficient maintenance, lack of funding and subsequent effects on the training of personnel and timely replacement of equipment. Another setback is attributed to Russia's domestic shipbuilding industry which is reported to have been in decline as to their capabilities of constructing contemporary hardware efficiently. Some analysts even say that because of this Russia's naval capabilities have been facing a slow but certain "irreversible collapse".[5][6] Some analysts say that the recent rise in gas and oil prices has enabled a sort of renaissance of the Russian Navy due to increased available funds, which may allow Russia to begin "developing the capacity to modernize".[7] In August 2014, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russian naval capabilities would be bolstered with new weapons and equipment within the next six years in response to NATO deployments in eastern Europe and recent developments in Ukraine.[8]

Origins

Flag of the Commander-in-Chief, Russian Navy.

The origins of the Russian navy may be traced to the period between the 4th and the 6th century. The first Slavic flotillas consisted of small sailing ships and rowboats, which had been seaworthy and able to navigate in riverbeds. During the 9th through 12th centuries, there were flotillas in the Kievan Rus' consisting of hundreds of vessels with one, two, or three masts. The citizens of Novgorod are known to have conducted military campaigns in the Baltic Sea (e.g., the siege of Sigtuna in 1187)—although contemporary Scandinavian sources state that the fleet was from Karelia or Estonia. Lad'ya (ладья in Russian, or sea boat) was a typical boat used by the army of Novgorod (length 30 meters with a width of five to six meters, and two or three masts, with the armament of battering rams and catapults, complement: 50 to 60 men). There were also smaller sailboats and rowboats, such as ushkuys (ушкуи) for sailing in rivers, lakes and skerries, kochis (кочи), and nosads (носады), used for cargo transportation.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Cossacks conducted military campaigns against the Crimean Khanate and Ottoman Empire, using sailboats and rowboats. The Don Cossacks called them strugs (струг). These boats were capable of transporting up to 80 men. The Cossack flotillas numbered 80 to 100 boats. The centralized Russian state had been fighting for its own access to the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov since the 17th Century. By the end of that century, the Russians had accumulated some valuable experience in using riverboats together with land forces.

Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, the construction of the first three-masted ship to be built entirely within Russia was finished in 1636. She was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein with a European design. She was christened the Frederick. In 1667–69, the Russians tried to build naval ships in a village of Dedinovo on the shores of the Oka River for the purpose of defending the trade routes along the Volga River, which led to the Caspian Sea. In 1668, they built a 26-gun ship, the Oryol (Орёл, or "eagle"), a yacht, a boat with a mast and bowsprit, and a few rowboats.

During much of the seventeenth century Russian merchants and Cossacks, using koch boats, sailed across the White Sea, exploring the rivers Lena, Kolyma and Indigirka, and founding settlements in the region of the upper Amur. Unquestionably the most celebrated Russian explorer was Semyon Dezhnev, who, in 1648, sailed the entire length of present-day Russia along the Arctic coast. Rounding the Chukotsk Peninsula, Dezhnev passed through the Bering Sea and sailed into the Pacific Ocean.

Imperial Russian Navy

Main article: Imperial Russian Navy

The regular Russian Navy was created at the initiative of Peter the Great. During the Second Azov campaign of 1696 against the Ottoman Empire, the Russians employed for the first time 2 warships, 4 fireships, 23 galleys and 1300 strugs, built on the Voronezh River. After the Azov fortress was taken, at Peter I's request the Boyar Duma understood the vital importance of a navy for successful warfare and passed a decree on commencing the construction of a regular navy on 20 October 1696.[9][10] This date is considered the official birthday of the regular Russian Navy. Early on in his reign, Peter made a tour to western Europe, England, and Holland. In Holland, he became acquainted with the work of the mathematicians Hans Gouda, Dirk Raven, and Hans Isbrandtsen Hoogzaat, which sparked his enthusiasm for the value of mathematics. A major result of this tour was the hiring of large numbers of foreign specialists of various expertise, including mathematicians. Among those hired was Henry (or Harry) Farquharson, called in Russia Andrei Danilovich (Daniloff) Farkhvarson or Farvarson (1675–1739), who had taught mathematics and astronomy at the University of Aberdeen and was recommended by Halley and Jacob Daniel Bruce (1670–1735), while John Colson was hired to teach Bruce mathematics. Farquaharson's task in Russia was to create and administer a School of Mathematics and Navigation. It was under Farquharson's guidance that he and Tsar Peter wrote the mathematics curriculum for the new school. He was accompanied by Stephen Gwyn (1684–1720) and Richard Grice (1682?–1709), who were graduates of the England's Royal Mathematical School. In 1700 at Voronezh the first major ships launched for the fledgling Russian Navy—for use with the Azov Fleet—were the 58-gun Goto Predestinatsiya (God's Providence), the 80-gun Staryy Orel (Old Eagle), and the 70-gun Staryy Dub (Old Oak).[9]

Eugene Lanceray. Fleet of Peter the Great (1709).

During the Great Northern War of 1700-1721, the Russians built the Baltic Fleet and the city of St. Petersburg. In 1703-1723, the main base of the Baltic Fleet was located in St. Petersburg and then in Kronshtadt. Other bases were later established in Vyborg, Helsingfors, Revel (now Tallinn) and Åbo. At first, Vladimirskiy Prikaz was in charge of shipbuilding. Later on, these functions were transferred to the Russian Admiralty.

Basic principles of the Russian Navy, its educational and training methods, as well as methods for conducting military action were all summarized in the Naval Regulations [Морской устав] (1720). Peter the Great, Feodor Apraksin, Alexey Senyavin, Naum Senyavin and Mikhail Golitsyn are generally credited for the development of the Russian art of naval warfare. Main principles of naval warfare were further developed by Grigoriy Spiridov, Feodor Ushakov, and Dmitriy Senyavin.

The Russo-Turkish Wars of Catherine the Great resulted in the establishment of the Black Sea Fleet, with its bases in Sevastopol and Kherson. It was at that time that Russian warships started to venture into the Mediterranean on a regular basis. In 1770, Grigoriy Spiridov's squadron gained supremacy in the Aegean Sea by destroying the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Chesma. After having advanced to the Danube, the Russians formed the Danube Military Flotilla for the purpose of guarding the Danube estuary from the Turks and they came in 1771 as guests to Dubrovnik in the Republic of Ragusa.[11] The Beluga caviar from the Danube was famous and the merchants from the Republic of Ragusa dominated the import-export business in Serbia with the Habsburg Monarchy.[12] The Russian Navy captured in 1780 two British cargo vessels, their cargo were hemp and iron.[13] The Republic of Ragusa became one of the chief carriers of the Mediterranean in 1783 with the help of the USA, when Britain acknowledges the United States independence, although the Americans agreed to allow Dubrovnik's ships free passage in their ports.

During the Mediterranean expedition of 1799, Fyodor Ushakov single-handedly carved out the Greek Republic of Seven Islands, proceeding to clear from the French Corfu and all the Ionian islands. His squadron then blocked the French bases in Italy, notably Genoa and Ancona, and successfully assaulted Naples and Rome. Ushakov, proclaimed a patron saint of the Russian Navy in the 21st century, was succeeded in command by Dmitriy Senyavin who reasserted Russian control of the southern Adriatic, disrupted Dubrovnik's sea trade, and destroyed the Ottoman Fleet in the Battle of Athos (1807). Between 1803 and 1855, Russian sailors undertook over 40 circumnavigations and distant voyages, which played an important role in exploration of the Far East and culminated in Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen's discovery of Antarctica.

The Russian Admiralty in St. Petersburg is famed for a gilded steeple topped by a golden weather-vane in the shape of a sailing ship.

Notwithstanding these triumphs, Russia's slow technical and economic development in the first half of the 19th century caused her to fall behind other world powers in the field of steamboat construction. It was in 1826 that the Russians built their first armed steamboat Izhora. At the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1853, steamships were few and sailing ships heavily predominated. The Battle of Sinope, won by Pavel Nakhimov, is remembered in history as the last significant naval battle involving sailing ships. During the Siege of Sevastopol in 1854–1855, Russian sailors set an example of using all means possible for defending their base from land and sea. Although the Russians introduced modern naval mining in the Baltic and repelled the Siege of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy in the Pacific, Sevastopol was finally surrendered on honourable terms but only after the Russians sank their ships to prevent outside use of the harbor. In accordance with the Treaty of Paris, Russia lost its right to have a military fleet in the Black Sea.

As a consequence, the Russian sailing fleet lost its significance and was rapidly replaced by steamboats, including the first steel armored gunship Opyt and one of the first seafaring ironclads Pyotr Velikiy. On 16 January 1877 Admiral Stepan Makarov became the first to launch torpedoes from a boat in combat. He also proposed the idea and oversaw the construction of the world's first ocean-going icebreaker "Yermak", commanding it in two Arctic expeditions in 1899 and 1901. At about the same time, Aleksey Krylov elaborated the modern floodability theory.

The Russian Navy was considered the third strongest in the world on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War, which turned to be a catastrophe for the Russian military in general and the Russian Navy in particular. Although neither party lacked courage, the Russians were defeated by the Japanese in the Battle of Port Arthur, which was the first time in warfare that mines were used for offensive purposes. The warships of the Baltic Fleet sent to the Far East were lost in the Battle of Tsushima.

Soon after the war Russia devoted a significant portion of its military spending to an ambitious shipbuilding program aimed at replacing lost warships with modern dreadnoughts. During World War I, the fleets played a limited role in the Eastern Front, due to heavy defensive and offensive mining on both sides. Characteristically, the Black Sea Fleet succeeded in mining the Bosporus, thus preventing the Ottoman Fleet from entering the Black Sea. After the revolution forced Russia to quit the war, the Baltic Fleet was evacuated from Helsinki and Tallinn to Kronshtadt during the Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet and many of the ships of the Black Sea Fleet found their last refuge in Bizerte.

Soviet Navy

Main article: Soviet Navy

For the most part, Russian sailors welcomed the Russian Revolution of 1917, in which they participated. Earlier, in 1905, sailors of the Imperial Russian battleship Potemkin in the Black Sea Navy revolted. In 1906 rebellious soldiers gained control of some Helsinki coastal fortifications during events known as the Viapori Rebellion, which was subsequently put down, following bombardments from ships of the Baltic Fleet which remained loyal to the Tsarist government. The first ship of the Soviet Navy could be considered to be the rebellious Imperial Russian cruiser Avrora, whose blank shot from its forecastle gun signaled the October Revolution according to Soviet narratives. In March 1921, the sailors of Kronshtadt rebelled against the Bolsheviks, demanding freedom of speech and closing of concentration camps, but this belated revolt was ruthlessly suppressed by Leon Trotsky.

After the Revolution, the Navy's restoration was slow, and only with the beginning of industrialisation in 1930 was a large shipbuilding program developed, but not accomplished before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Union's portion of World War II. As a result, the Soviet Navy during World War II consisted of some old World War I-era ships, some modern pre-war built cruisers and destroyers, and a number of torpedo boats. Unfortunately, much of the Soviet fleet on the Baltic Sea was blocked in Leningrad and Kronshtadt by Finnish and German minefields during 1941–1944 and maimed by mines and air attacks, nevertheless numerous sorties by attack boats and submarines actions were conducted. On the Black Sea with the loss of the main naval base—Sevastopol, and effective actions of axis aviation as well as minefields the effectiveness of large surface ships was limited. The Northern Fleet, composed mostly of destroyers (World War I Novik-class and more modern design 7 and 7U vessels), played a role in anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defence of allied convoys heading to Murmansk.

During the Cold War, the Soviets gave their navy a number of missions, in addition to its role as one of the legs of the nuclear triad, the navy was supposed to destroy American SSBNs and carrier groups, interdict NATO lines of communications, and assist the ground forces in continental theatre offensives.[14] They were quick to equip their surface fleet with missiles of various sorts. In fact, it became a hallmark of Soviet design to place large anti-ship missiles onto relatively small and fast missile boats. The Soviet Navy also possessed several very large guided missile cruisers with great firepower, such as those of the Kirov class and the Slava class cruisers. In the 1980s the Soviet Navy acquired its first true aircraft carrier, Tbilisi (subsequently renamed Admiral Kuznetsov).[15]

In some respects, including speed and reactor technology later Soviet submarines were, and remain, some of the world's best. Their primary shortcomings were insufficient noise damping (American boats were quieter) and sonar technology. The Soviets possessed numerous purpose-built guided missile submarines, such as the Oscar-class submarine, as well as many ballistic missile submarines, such as the Delta class submarines, and attack submarines, such as the Victor and Akula-class submarines. The Soviet Navy's Typhoon class ballistic missile boats are the world's largest submarines. The Soviet attack submarine force was, like the rest of the navy, geared towards the interception of NATO convoys, but also targeted American aircraft carrier battle groups.

Modern Russian Navy

Russian Navy work uniform

The 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union led to a severe decline in the Russian Navy. Defense expenditures were severely reduced. Many ships were scrapped or laid up as accommodation ships at naval bases, and the building program was essentially stopped. Sergey Gorshkov's buildup during the Soviet period had emphasised ships over support facilities, but Gorshkov had also retained ships in service beyond their effective lifetimes, so a reduction had been inevitable in any event.[16] The situation was exacerbated by the impractical range of vessel types which the Soviet military-industrial complex, with the support of the leadership, had forced on the navy—taking modifications into account, the Soviet Navy in the mid-1980s had nearly 250 different classes of ship.[17] The Kiev class aircraft carrying cruisers and many other ships were prematurely retired, and the incomplete second Admiral Kuznetsov class aircraft carrier Varyag was eventually sold to the People's Republic of China by Ukraine. Funds were only allocated for the completion of ships ordered prior to the collapse of the USSR, as well as for refits and repairs on fleet ships taken out of service since. However, the construction times for these ships tended to stretch out extensively: in 2003 it was reported that the Akula-class submarine Nerpa had been under construction for fifteen years.[18] Storage of decommissioned nuclear submarines in ports near Murmansk became a significant issue, with the Bellona Foundation reporting details of lowered readiness. Naval support bases outside Russia, such as Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam, were gradually closed, with the exception of the modest technical support base in Tartus, Syria to support ships deployed to the Mediterranean. Naval Aviation declined as well from its height as Soviet Naval Aviation, dropping from an estimated 60,000 personnel with some 1,100 combat aircraft in 1992 to 35,000 personnel with around 270 combat aircraft in 2006.[19] In 2002, out of 584 naval aviation crews only 156 were combat ready, and 77 ready for night flying. Average annual flying time was 21.7 hours, compared to 24 hours in 1999.[20]

Training and readiness also suffered severely. In 1995, only two missile submarines at a time were being maintained on station, from the Northern and Pacific Fleets.[21] The decline culminated in the loss of the Oscar II-class Kursk submarine during the Northern Fleet summer exercise that was intended to back up the publication of a new naval doctrine.[22] The exercise was to have culminated with the deployment of the Admiral Kuznetsov task group to the Mediterranean.

As of 2006, The Russian Navy had 50 nuclear submarines with only 26 operational compared to 170 in 1991. The Navy planned to reduce the number to 20 submarines, including ten strategic missile submarines and ten multi-purpose (attack) submarines, according to unofficial reports.[23] As of February 2008, The Russian Navy had 44 nuclear submarines with 24 operational; 19 diesel-electric submarines, 16 operational; and 56 first and second rank surface combatants, 37 operational.[24] Despite this improvement, the November 2008 accident on board the Akula-class submarine attack boat Nerpa during sea trials before lease to India represents a concern for the future.[25]

In 2009, Admiral Popov (Ret.), former commander of the Russian Northern Fleet, said that the Russian Navy would greatly decline in combat capabilities by 2015 if the current rate of new ship construction remained unchanged, due to the retirement of ocean-going ships.[26]

In 2012, President Vladimir Putin announced a plan to build 51 modern ships and 24 submarines by 2020.[27] Of the 24 submarines, 16 will be nuclear-powered.[28] On 10 January 2013, the Russian Navy finally accepted its first new Borei class SSBN (Yury Dolgorukiy) for service.[29] A second Borei (Aleksandr Nevskiy) was undergoing sea trials and entered service on 21 December 2013.[30] A third Borei class boat (Vladimir Monomakh) was launched and began trials in early 2013, and was commissioned in late 2014.[31]

Leadership

ADM Vladimir Korolev

Structure

Since 2012 the headquarters of the Russian Navy (Russian Navy Main Staff) is once again located in the Admiralty in Saint Petersburg. Russian naval manpower is a mixture of conscripts serving one-year terms and volunteers (Officers and Ratings). In 2006 the IISS assessed there were 142,000 personnel in the Russian Navy. As of 2008 the conscription term was reduced to one year and a major downsizing and reorganization were underway. In 2008, plans were announced to move the headquarters to the Admiralty building in St. Petersburg, the historic location of the headquarters of the Imperial Russian Navy. The Navy staff finally relocated there in November 2012.[32]

Naval Infantry

Russian Naval Infantrymen during the Vostok Strategic Exercise in Vladivostok, 2010.

The Russian Naval Infantry are the amphibious force of the Russian Navy and can trace their origins back to 1705, when Peter I issued a decree for an infantry regiment "of naval equipage". Since its formation it has seen action in the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, the Russo-Japanese War, the First and Second World Wars, and the Chechen and Georgian conflicts. Under the leadership of Admiral Gorshkov during the Cold War, the Soviet Navy expanded the reach of the Naval Infantry and deployed it worldwide on numerous occasions, but since the dissolution of the Soviet Union its role has been greatly reduced.

The Naval Infantry and Coastal Troops are led by the Deputy Commander for Naval Infantry/Commandant of the Naval Infantry of the Russian Navy, Major General (NI) Aleksandr Kolpatsenko. Their motto: "Where We Are, There is Victory!"

Naval Aviation

A Sukhoi Su-33 from the 279th Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment, on Admiral Kuznetsov's flight deck.

The first naval aviation units in Russia were formed in 1912–1914 as a part of the Soviet Baltic Fleet and the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. Since its formation, it has participated in the Russian Civil War, World War II and in many other conflicts throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. During the Cold War the naval aviation pursued a policy of deploying large numbers of bombers in maritime strike roles to counter the U.S. Navy's extensive fleet of aircraft carriers, by 1989 it operated over 1,000 fixed-wing aircraft with the majority being bombers such as the Tu-22M "Backfire" and the Tu-16 "Badger".[33] Since the fall of the Soviet Union however, it has been significantly reduced in size.

As of 2007, the Russian Naval Aviation consists of the following components:[34]

Equipment

Ships and Submarines

Aircraft

Military Districts and Fleets

The Russian Navy consists of four fleets and one flotilla with 3 of 4 fleets and the Caspian Flotilla subordinated to the newly formed Military Districts-Joint Operational Strategic Commands.

Joint Strategic Command Northern Fleet

Northern Fleet

The Northern Fleet, showing major bases and headquarters.

The Russian Northern Fleet, established as a modern formation in 1933, is headquartered at Severomorsk and spread around various bases in the greater Murmansk area. This is the main fleet of the Russian Navy and currently comprises:[35]

The Fleet also includes many corvettes, patrol ships, light amphibious ships and support and logistic ships.

Western Military District - Western Joint Strategic Command

Baltic Fleet

Baltic Fleet HQ building in Kaliningrad.
Main article: Baltic Fleet

The Baltic Fleet, established on 18 May 1703, is based in Baltiysk and Kronshtadt, with its headquarters in the city of Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Oblast. The Fleet consists of;[35]

The Baltic Fleet also includes many corvettes, patrol ships, minehunters, light amphibious ships and support vessels.

Southern Military District - Southern Joint Strategic Command

The Black Sea Fleet

Main article: Black Sea Fleet

The Black Sea Fleet, established on 2 May 1783 and is based at the Sevastopol, Karantinnaya, and Streletskaya Bays in Sevastopol which is also the location of its headquarters, and at Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Kray. The fleet also has various other facilities on the Crimean Peninsula and facilities in Krasnodar Kray. The Fleet consists of;[35]

The Fleet also includes a small number of corvettes, patrol and coastal protection ships, light amphibious ships, and support vessels.

Caspian Flotilla

Main article: Caspian Flotilla

The Caspian Flotilla, established on 4 November 1722, is based in Astrakhan and Makhachkala with its headquarters in Astrakhan. The Fleet consists of;[35]

The Fleet also includes a 4 artillery and 3 rocket corvettes and some patrol ships.

Eastern Military District - Eastern Joint Strategic Command

Pacific Fleet

The Pacific Fleet, established on 10 May 1731 and is headquartered in Vladivostok and based around Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. The Fleet consists of;[35]

The Pacific Fleet also includes coastal combatants such as corvettes, patrol ships, mine warfare ships, light amphibious ships, and support vessels. There are also naval aviation and coastal troops and naval infantry components.

Future and modernisation

Further information: Future of the Russian Navy

Russia's military budget expanded from 1998 until 2015, but economic problems including a sharp decline in the oil price mean it will be cut in 2016.[36] Higher expenditure led to an increase in numbers of ships under construction, initially focusing on submarines, such as the conventional Petersburg (Lada) class and nuclear Severodvinsk (Yasen) class. Some older vessels have been refitted as well. Jane's Fighting Ships commented in 2004 that the construction programme was too focused on Cold War scenarios, given the submarine emphasis.[37] According to the Russian Defense Ministry, share of modern armament in the Navy has reached more than 50% in 2014.[38] A report from mid-July 2015 estimated the figure at nearly 40%.[39]

The Steregushchiy class corvettes, the lead ship of which was laid down on 21 December 2001, is the first new surface construction since the collapse of the Soviet Union,[40] while the new Admiral Sergei Gorshkov class frigates marks the first attempt of the Navy to return to the construction of large blue water capable vessels.[41] The Russian Navy plans to procure two new classes of destroyer, the general-purpose Project 21956 in the 2010s and the Leader-class anti-air destroyer in the 2020s. The latter will likely carry the S-500 anti-ballistic missile system.[42]

On 28 April 2010, the Ukrainian parliament ratified an agreement to extend Russia's lease of Crimean base facilities to 2042 with an option for five more years, through 2047.[43] Subsequent to the recent Russian annexation of Crimea, this agreement has been officially invalidated by the Russian Federation State Duma. The Russian Navy has also revealed that the Russia's Black Sea Fleet will receive 30 new ships by 2020 and will become self-sufficient with its own infrastructure in the Crimean peninsula. The fleet will be updated with new warships, submarines, and auxiliary vessels within the next six years. The new ships being built for the Black Sea Fleet include six Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates and six Varshavyanka-class (Improved Kilo-class) diesel-electric submarines.[44]

On 27 December 2015, state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation declared that by 2019 the company would have the technical ability to build aircraft and helicopter carriers, which came as some surprise to analysts as previously the company had stated carrier-building would not take place until 2025 at the earliest. Russia's only existing carrier, the Soviet era Admiral Kuznetsov will remain in service at least until 2030.[45]

Deployments and increase in activity

Missile cruiser Peter the Great during the exercise.

In the last years of the 1990s naval activity was very low. Even at the height of the Kosovo war crisis a planned task group deployment to the Mediterranean was reduced to the dispatch of the intelligence ship Liman. 2003 saw a major increase in activity, including several major exercises. A May joint exercise with the Indian Navy saw two Pacific Fleet destroyers and four vessels from the Black Sea Fleet, led by the Slava-class cruiser Moskva, deployed for three months into the Indian Ocean. The largest out-of-area deployment for a decade, the INDRA 2003 exercise, was highlighted by a series of missile launches by two Tu-160s and four Tu-95s, which made a 5,400-mile (8,700 km) round trip flight from Engels-2 air base near Saratov to the exercise area.[46] In August 2003 the Navy also participated in the Far Eastern exercise Vostok-2003, which saw the Slava-class cruiser Varyag and the Sovremennyy class destroyer Bystryy active, as well as an amphibious landing carried out by three Pacific Fleet Ropucha class LSTs. Warships and helicopters from the Japanese and South Korean navies also took part. The Northern Fleet followed in January 2004 when thirteen ships and seven submarines took part in exercises in the Barents Sea. The involvement of Admiral Kuznetsov and Kirov-class battlecruiser nuclear-powered cruiser Petr Velikiy was overshadowed however by two ballistic missile launch failures, made more embarrassing because President Vladimir Putin was afloat aboard the Typhoon-class SSBN Arkhangelsk to witness the tests. Neither of the Delta IV-class Novomoskovsk nor Kareliya were able to successfully launch what were apparently RSM-54 SLBMs.[47] Former Navy Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Kuroyedov's early dismissal may have resulted from these gaffes. He was replaced by Admiral Vladimir Masorin in September 2005.

Embarrassment for the Navy had continued, with a mine accident during rehearsals for the Baltic Fleet's celebration of Navy Day in St. Petersburg in July 2005 and the Priz class mini-submarine AS-28 having to be rescued by a joint British/U.S. effort using a Royal Navy unmanned submersible in the Far East in early August 2005. However exercises and operations continued; Peace Mission 2005 in August 2005 involved a new level of cooperation between Russia and the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. Two months later the Slava-class cruiser Varyag led Russian participation in INDRA 2005, held off Visakhapatnam between 14 and 20 October 2005. It included surface firings, air defence, and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises.[48]

Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy became Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy on September 11, 2007, having moved up from the Northern Fleet, which he had commanded since September 2005.[49]

On October 16, 2008, the speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament did not preclude Russia asking for a resumption of a naval presence in Yemen. Authorities in the Middle East country had been calling on Moscow to help fight piracy and possible terrorist threats. The U.S.S.R. had a major naval support base on Socotra Island of the former socialist state of South Yemen, which merged with North Yemen in 1990 to form the present-day Yemen. Speaking to journalists in Sana, the capital of Yemen, Federation Council Speaker Sergey Mironov said the new direction of Russia's foreign and defense policies and an increase in its naval missions would be taken into consideration when making a decision on the request. "It's possible that the aspects of using Yemen ports not only for visits by Russian warships, but also for more strategic goals will be considered," he said. Mironov also said a visit to Russia by the president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, could take place in the near future and that the issue of military technical cooperation could be raised during his visit.[50] Security Council chief Nikolay Patrushev said on 6 August 2012 that Russia will build a string of naval bases along its northern coast in the Arctic zone to serve as resupply bases for Russian warships and border guard vessels.[51]

Western Atlantic and U.S. eastern seaboard

North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

Syria

Caribbean Sea

East Africa: Somali Coast

Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea

Main article: Cam Ranh Air Base[87]

See also

References and sources

  1. 1 2 International Institute for Strategic Studies: The Military Balance 2014, p.185
  2. ↑ "World Air Forces 2015" (PDF). Flightglobal Insight. 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  3. ↑ RIA Novosti - Opinion & analysis - Unmanned aerial vehicles increase in numbers
  4. ↑ Russia's Navy gets ambitious Russian News & Information Agency
  5. ↑ Jane's.com, Russian Navy facing 'irreversible collapse'
  6. ↑ "The Shifting Strategic Priorities of the Russian Navy". The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Fedyszyn, Thomas R. (March 2013). "Renaissance of the Russian Navy?". Proceedings (United States Naval Institute). 138/3/1,309. ISSN 0041-798X.
  8. ↑ "Russia vows naval expansion to counter NATO; move in response to Ukraine tensions", Washington Times (20 August 2014)
  9. 1 2 The NAVY of the Russian Empire, St. Petersburg, 1996
  10. ↑ The date is based on the citation from the decision of the Boyar Duma (Russian: Боярская Дума) dated 20th October 1696 "Sea vessels there shall be..." ("Морским судам быть....") although the question was addressing the settlement of the Azov and the creation of the Sea of Azov fleet. This date was confirmed by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on July 22, 1992 during preparations for the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy.
  11. ↑ Ruđer Bošković, page 54, Željko Brnetić, Školska knjiga, 1990. ISBN 9788603998177
  12. ↑ Serbien und Montenegro: Raum und Bevölkerung, Geschichte, Sprache und Literatur, Kultur, Politik, Gesellschaft, Wirtschaft, Recht, p. 152, Walter Lukan, Ljubinka Trgovcevic, Dragan Vukcevic ISBN 9783825895396
  13. ↑ Adams Family Correspondence: October 1782-November 1784, page 417, Lyman Henry Butterfield, Marc Friedlaender, Richard Alan Ryerson, Harvard University Press, 1963.
  14. ↑ B N Makeyev, Voyenno-Morskiye Aspekty Natsionalnoy Bezopasnosti Rossii, Moscow: Komitet po Nerasprostraneniya i Kriticheskim Tekhnologiyam, 1997, p25, cited in Mikhail Tsypkin, Rudderless in a Storm: The Russian Navy 1992-2002, B58, Conflict Studies Research Centre, RMA Sandhurst, December 2002
  15. ↑ "The Self-Designing High-Reliability Organization: Aircraft Carrier Flight Operations at Sea." Rochlin, G. I.; La Porte, T. R.; Roberts, K. H. Footnote 39. Naval War College Review. Autumn, 1987, Vol. LI, No. 3. Archived December 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑ CSRC B58
  17. ↑ Captain First Rank S Topichev, 'What Fleet we had and how it should be reformed today', Morskoy sbornik (in Russian), No.12, 1996, p.13, cited in Greg Austin & Alexey Muraviev, The Armed Forces of Russia in Asia, I.B. Tauris, London, 2000, p.209
  18. ↑ Foreword to Jane's Fighting Ships 2003–2004, p.80
  19. ↑ IISS Military Balance, 1992-93 and 2006 editions
  20. ↑ Mikhail Khodarenok, 'Chernyy god Rossiyskogo Flota', NVO, 23 February 2001, cited in Mikhail Tsypkin, 'Rudderless in a Storm, CSRC B58, December 2002
  21. ↑ IISS Military Balance 1997/98, p.102
  22. ↑ Foreword to Jane's Fighting Ships 2001–02, p.80
  23. ↑ 3rd Atomic Submarine of the 4th Generation to be Ready in 5 years (Kommersant)
  24. ↑ Kommersant VLAST No.7(760) 25 February 2008
  25. ↑ "The Next Arms Race - APAC 2020, the decade ahead". The Diplomat. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  26. ↑ John Pike. "Russian Navy could be in dire straits by 2015 - expert". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  27. ↑ "Bid for naval dominance: Russia significantly boosts nuclear fleet". RT. 31 July 2012.
  28. ↑ Radyuhin, Vladimir (1 August 2012). "Russian Navy launches massive upgrade drive". The Hindu.
  29. ↑ "Finally flying colors: Yury Dolgoruky nuclear sub joins Russian Navy". RT. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  30. ↑ New Russian Ballistic Missile Sub To Join Fleet
  31. ↑ LaGrone, Sam (11 December 2014). "Russia Accepts Third Borei-class Boomer". USNI News. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  32. ↑ "Russian Navy HQ Moves to St. Petersburg", RIA Novosti, October 31, 2012
  33. ↑ John Pike. "Aviatsiya Voyenno-Morskoyo Flota (AV-MF, Naval Air Force)". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  34. ↑ Air Forces Monthly, p. 65
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 State of the Russian Navy |ssk|Russian Arms, Military Technology, Analysis of Russia's Military Forces. Warfare.ru. Retrieved on 2010-09-09.
  36. ↑ Hille, Kathrin (15 October 2014). "Russia's defence budget hit by slowdown". Financial Times.
  37. ↑ Foreword to Jane's Fighting Ships 2004–2005, p.30
  38. ↑ http://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/1660936
  39. ↑ http://ria.ru/defense_safety/20150716/1132598887.html
  40. ↑ Foreword to Jane's Fighting Ships, 2002–2003, p.79
  41. ↑ Project 22350 Admiral Sergei Gorshkov. Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved on 2010-09-09.
  42. ↑ "New-generation missile destroyer under development in Russia". TASS. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  43. ↑ YouTube
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  45. ↑ Fedoseyev, Lev (27 December 2015). "Russian state shipbuilder expected to be able to build aircraft carriers as of 2019". ITAR-TASS. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  46. ↑ Foreword to Jane's Fighting Ships, 2004–05, p.29
  47. ↑ Jane's Fighting Ships, 2004–05, p.29
  48. ↑ Jane's Fighting Ships, 2006–07, p.33
  49. ↑ Russian Ministry of Defence, Navy Commander-in-Chief. Retrieved December 2007. Archived December 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  50. ↑ Russia could resume naval presence in Yemen | World|RIA Novosti. En.rian.ru (2008-10-16). Retrieved on 2010-09-09.
  51. ↑ Radyuhin, Vladimir (2012-08-08). "Russia to build naval strength in Arctic zone". The Hindu.
  52. ↑ Mark, Mazzetti; Thom Shanker (August 2, 2012). "Russian Subs Patrolling Off East Coast of U.S.". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-10-04. A pair of nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines has been patrolling off the eastern seaboard of the United States in recent days, a rare mission that has raised concerns inside the Pentagon and intelligence agencies about a more assertive stance by the Russian military.; Mark, Mazzetti; Thom Shanker (August 6, 2009). "Pentagon: Russian subs no cause for alarm". UPI. Retrieved 2012-10-04. The presence of two Russian submarines seen cruising off America's East Coast should not be cause for alarm, the U.S. Defense Department said.; and "Two Russian Nuclear Submarines Make USA Shake With Fear". Pravda. August 8, 2009. Retrieved 2012-10-04. Two Russian nuclear submarines have been patrolling the USA's East Coast during the recent several days, The New York Times wrote. One of the submarines was detected Tuesday about 200 miles off the US coast, anonymous sources at the Pentagon said.
  53. ↑ Phillip Ewing (August 20, 2012). "Pentagon Denies Russian Sub Patrolled Gulf of Mexico". United States Naval Institute. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
  54. ↑ Gertz, Bill (August 14, 2012). "Silent Running". Washington Free Beacon. Retrieved 2012-10-04. A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine armed with long-range cruise missiles operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks and its travel in strategic U.S. waters was only confirmed after it left the region, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.; Gertz, Bill (August 21, 2012). "Torpedo Run". Washington Free Beacon. Retrieved 2012-10-04. A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee has asked the Navy's top admiral to explain reports that a Russian submarine operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico recently.; "Reports of Russian sub in gulf downplayed". UPI. August 19, 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-04. Russia declined to confirm or deny a media report that one of its submarines spent a month in the Gulf of Mexico without the knowledge of the United States.; and "Russian submarine sailed incognito along the coast of the U.S.". Pravda. August 21, 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-04. A Russian nuclear submarine of project 971 ("Jaws", in NATO classification), armed with long-range cruise missiles, sailed for a long time without being detected in the waters along the U.S. coastline, the Gulf of Mexico, informs the Washington Free Beacon, citing an unnamed U.S. official.
  55. 1 2 Over 40 Russian planes to take part in naval drills in Atlantic RIA Novosti Retrieved on April 11, 2008
  56. 1 2 Thirty Russian aircraft take part in exercises over two oceans, RIA Novosti Retrieved on April 11, 2008
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  58. ↑ Russia to build up presence in global ocean - navy commander, RIA Novosti, Retrieved on April 11, 2008
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  60. ↑ Russian naval task force to visit Libya on Saturday | Russia|RIA Novosti. En.rian.ru. Retrieved on 2010-09-09.
  61. ↑
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  65. ↑ "Russian warship heading for Atlantic after exercise with Norway". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
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  67. ↑ David R. Sands, "Russia Expanding Navy into Mediterranean Sea", The Washington Times, August 7, 2007.
  68. ↑ "Big Russian flotilla led by Admiral Kuznetsov carrier heads for Syrian port". DEBKAfile. August 21, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
  69. ↑ "Syria and Russia strengthen naval cooperation" Itar-Tass news agency via Haaretz. Retrieved September 12, 2008. Archived September 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  70. ↑ "Russian navy ships head to Venezuela.". CNN. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008.
  71. ↑ "Russia sent military ships to base in Syria". Pravda. November 30, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
  72. ↑ Thomas Grove (November 28, 2011). "Russia sending warships to its base in Syria". Rueters. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
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  74. ↑ Reuters: Russia says to send battleship to Caribbean Sea
  75. ↑ [ITAR-TASS 22 Sep 2008]
  76. ↑ Russian naval task force starts Venezuela visit - 2 | World|RIA Novosti. En.rian.ru (2008-11-25). Retrieved on 2010-09-09.
  77. ↑ Interfax-AVN military news agency, Moscow, in Russian 2013 May 1
  78. ↑ Moscow Interfax-Agenstvo Voyennykh Novostey 24 Sep 2008
  79. ↑ (The Ukrainian merchant vessel Faina was seized by Somali pirates on 25 September. The deployment of the Neustrashimyy was not in response to the seizure of the Faina.)
  80. ↑
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  83. ↑ Морская коллегия. - Новости. Отряд кораблей Тихоокеанского флота в составе большого противолодочного корабля «Адмирал Виноградов» и танкера «Борис Бутома» закончил патрулирование в районе Африканского рога. Morskayakollegiya.ru (2010-08-30). Retrieved on 2010-09-09.
  84. ↑
  85. ↑ "Адмирал Пантелеев" вернулся во Владивосток после успешно выполненной миссии -Русское зарубежье, российские соотечественники, русские за границей, русские за рубежом, соотечественники, русскоязычное население, русские общины, диаспора, эмиграция. Russkie.org. Retrieved on 2010-09-09.
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  88. ↑ Moscow ITAR-TASS 1125 GMT 11 Jan 09

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