Following manoeuvres by the Baltic Fleet in the Baltic Sea and the Russian Northern Fleet in the Barents Sea, units of the Black Sea Fleet have now also left their bases for exercises, according to the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation. Here, too, more than twenty ships and boats from the ports of Sevastopol and Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and from Kerch and Rostov-on-Don at both ends of the Sea of Azov are to form formations close to the Russian coast, but also for further-reaching projects (beyond the Bosporus?). With the exception of the fleet's flagship, the "Moskva" (Slava-class cruiser), there is at least one unit of almost every type class stationed in this region: "Admiral Essen" of the Grigorovich class (project 11356M), "Ladny" of the Krivak class, the Buyan-class corvettes "Gravyoron" and "Ingushetia" (project 21631) and the Tarantul corvette "Naberezhnye Chelny" (project 1241.1), to name just the most powerful ones, some of which are equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles or Tsirkon hypersonic weapons. Minesweepers, small submarines, amphibious landing ships and submarines also complete the spectrum.
The Black Sea Fleet
A detailed list of the units belonging to the smallest fleet in the Russian Federation would go beyond the scope of this news item. However, a corresponding list will appear here shortly in order to provide an overview of the tense situation.
What is happening in northern Europe?
The reported movements of the Northern Fleet are substantiated by further reports from Nordic press organisations and photo reports from the Norwegian Air Force. According to these reports, a convoy consisting of three larger units of the Northern Fleet has left the Barents Sea and, in heavy weather and at low speed, is in transit southwards along the Norwegian coast. For the time being, the declared firing area south-west of Ireland can be assumed to be a possible target until Russia provides clearer information. We have a Norwegian P-3C Orion to thank for the images of the formation north of the Norkaps, which consists of the cruiser "Marshal Ustinov" (Slava class, project 1164, 16 SS-N-12B Sandbox), the submarine gunship "Vitseadmiral Kulakov" (Udaloy class, project 1155, 2x4 SS-N-14 Silex) and the frigate "Admiral Kasatonov" (Gorshkov class, project 22350, 8 SS-N-27 Novator); The salvage tug "SB-406" will provide support. The convoy is also accompanied by the Norwegian Navy from the air and at sea.
Addendum from 30/01/2022Following vociferous protests from Irish fishing organisations, the Russian ambassador in Dublin withdrew the notification of the shooting project in the Irish EEZ at the beginning of February. The shooting projects are to take place shortly outside the Irish area of interest. The Irish Foreign Minister was pleased - probably also about the fact that cod are passing through the south-west sea area right now, giving fishermen full nets within the permitted quotas. They had announced that they wanted to fish the area specifically. Fisherman's Friends!
"Marshal Ustinov" of the Slava class north of the North Cape © Photo: 333 Squad NorAF/MoD Norway
"Vitseadmiral Kulakov" of the Udaloy class north of the North Cape © Photo: 333 Squad NorAF/MoD Norway
"Admiral Kasatonov" of the Gorshkov class north of Norkap © Photo: 333 Squad NorAF/MoD Norway
Salvage tug "SB-408" north of the North Cape © Photo: 333 Squad NorAF/MoD Norway
Local exercises of the Northern Fleet
Meanwhile, other units of the Russian Northern Fleet are exercising their capabilities near the Finnish-Norwegian border region near Murmansk. The "Admiral Gorshkov" (type ship, see above), the "Severomorsk" (Udaloy class, see above) and the large landing ship "Ivan Gren" (type ship, project 11711, 6,600 tonnes) as well as submarines, aviation and coastal defence forces are taking part, but obviously remain in the designated area.
European carrier group in the Mediterranean - Clemenceau 2022
Another Spanish F100-class frigate, the "Almirante Juan de Borbón" from Ferrol in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, has been on its way to the French naval port of Toulon for two days. There, it will meet up with the aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" of the Marine Nationale to form a group under its command from the other nations Italy, Greece, Belgium, Germany, Canada and the USA and begin the "Clemenceau 2022" exercise. France will also deploy the destroyers "Forbin" (Horizon class/air defence) and "Alsace" (Aquitaine class/FREMM). Around 30 aircraft and two submarines will also take part in the exercise. The unit also integrates parts of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2), which are already in the Mediterranean.
German participation
The respective German unit in the SNMG2 ("Lübeck" is currently replacing "Schleswig-Holstein" in this function) is designated as Task Unit 01 formal part of the NATO formation, but independently of this it is taking on the surveillance mission in the Aegean together with Greek and Turkish boats. However, this is not an absolute must - depending on the situation, the German unit can also be deployed directly to the SNMG2.
Carrier triple off Tripoli
Two other aircraft carriers are also set to join them: the Italian Navy's "Cavour" and the US Navy's "Harry S. Truman", which is already involved in the "Neptune Strike 2022" exercise. However, the airspace over the sea and around Italy will then be tight - so it will probably be necessary to make sure that every pigeon finds its flapping wing.
Italian aircraft carrier "Cavour" © Photo: MoD Italy
Spanish solo effort
While the Mediterranean is not considered a boundary for the forces involved in the "Clemenceau 2022" manoeuvre and sailing in the Black Sea is not ruled out in accordance with the developing situation, the Spanish frigate "Almirante Juan de Borbón" will remain in the Mediterranean area. The reason for this is that its sister ship, the frigate "Blas de Lezo" - as reported - is already reinforcing NATO's SNMG2 (Standing NATO Maritime Group). After all, the Mediterranean is large enough to be extremely useful even when at sea elsewhere.
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