The Barents Observer – Putin has expressed great ambitions for the Northern Sea Route, but his plans are far from materialization.

The Barents Observer – While Russia is midway into its nuclear submarine modernisation program with the new 4th generation ballistic missile carriers of the Borei-class, priority is also given to keep afloat the Soviet-era Delta-IV class vessels deployed with the Northern Fleet. 

The Barents Observer – A key part of combat training for the Russian navy’s new frigates in 2025 will be long-distance sailings. In Severomorsk, the Admiral Gorshkov was welcomed home after a voyage that lasted 226 days.

Naval News – As almost every year, December 2024 brought interesting news about the Russian Navy. In keeping with “good Soviet tradition,” by the end of each year Russian shipyards sought to complete important stages of new shipbuilding. 2024, despite the devastating Russian war in Ukraine, was an interesting and fruitful year for the Kremlin’s naval forces in this regard.

Naval News – The Russian Navy is significantly weakened in the Mediterranean. The collapse of the Assad regime in Syria has denied them their permanent base there. And with it, their ability to maintain conventional submarines there for any length of time. The only boat known to be there has just left, leaving no Russian submarines in the Mediterranean.

War on the Rocks – Russia wields a formidable capability to target NATO’s undersea infrastructure in critical regions such as the Baltic, Barents, and North Seas, as well as across the world’s oceans: its “research” vessels. These are ostensibly civilian ships used for scientific exploration that double as intelligence-gathering platforms. Equipped with advanced surveillance technology, these ships often operate near critical undersea infrastructure, raising concerns about covert espionage and sabotage capabilities under the guise of academic study.