Wired – Satellite monitors discovered two vessels with their trackers turned off in the area of the pipeline prior to the suspected sabotage in September.

War On the Rocks – Russia’s naval strategy in the Black Sea cannot be divorced from its wider military objectives. A major defeat of Russia’s forces on Ukrainian territory is likely to force the Kremlin into its Black Sea bastion, from where it can seek to use its relative naval strength to maintain a military status quo, lock in a frozen conflict or buy enough time to rearm for future attacks on Ukraine. Russia still feels as though it has some degree of strategic depth in the Black Sea.

USNI News – The Russian Navy still outnumbers and outguns the Ukrainians in the northern Black Sea. Despite the dominance on paper, the Russian Navy is on its back foot after several successful attacks from the smaller Ukrainian forces.

ferra.ru – The ship Askold, armed with Caliber missiles and the marine version of the Pantsir complex, will complete sea trials in December and will start the state tests in early 2023. (In Russian)

(Thanks to Alain)

USNI News – Russia has continued to use long-range cruise missiles fired from ships in the Black Sea to hit civilian targets in Ukraine over the last several weeks

El Snorkel – Apparently NATO countries are taking positions to be ready, if necessary, to be able to deny the use of the eastern Mediterranean to the Russian fleet. (In Spanish)

(Thanks to Alain)

Naval News – Media hype claims that a unique Russian submarine, the Belgorod, has ‘vanished’. This may be exaggerated. Naval News can share images of the submarine operating on the surface in the Arctic.

War Zone – EU and other officials say the available evidence increasingly points to deliberate acts causing ruptures in two Baltic Sea gas pipelines.

Naval News – The changing tide of the Ukraine War appear to have led the Russian Navy to ‘regroup’ its forces in the Black Sea. Early during the invasion they loitered boldly close to Odessa. Now the Black Sea Fleet barely sails out of sight of Crimea for fear of Harpoon missiles. Its submarines too have recently shifted their base further from the shadow of Ukrainian attack.

Naval News – Nuclear submarines are the most powerful, and most survivable, assets in the Russian Navy. Against the backdrop of dramatic naval losses in the war in Ukraine, they are the ace up the sleeve. Now a nuclear submarine appears to be playing cat and mouse with NATO forces in the Mediterranean.

Naval News – Russia is prevented from moving its warships from the Mediterrean to the Black Sea because Turkey closed the Bosporus to warships. The narrow straits control access. Yet Russia has been able to transport advanced weapons systems, such as S-300 missiles, through the straits to support the war in Ukraine.

USNI News – A group of 14 Russian Navy ships transited through La Pérouse Strait from the Western Pacific Ocean into the Sea of Japan ahead of Russian military drills scheduled to start next week, the Japan Ministry of Defense said on Monday.

Forbes – The commanders of the Russian navy’s Black Sea Fleet are scared to send their surviving surface warships beyond sight of the Crimean coast.

Breaking Defense – Russia’s new maritime doctrine signals its intent to challenge the United States and allies on the seas, but there is skepticism about the country’s ability to build a fleet capable of doing that given its limited options for shipyards and weakened supply chains.

Covert Shores – Russia’s main naval base in the Black Sea, Sevastopol, is guarded by the latest S-400 air-defense system. The real S-400 missiles have recently been moved from their permanent launch site however. Russian TV has shown inflatable replacements at the site. These are decoys, a common and well-publicised Russian tactic.

(Thanks to Alain)

War Zone – Russia’s Arktur design features a number of interesting elements, including a new drive concept and what appear to be unmanned guard submarines.

The Guardian – Russia has claimed that its Black Sea fleet headquarters in Sevastopol have been hit by a Ukrainian drone strike, wounding five people and prompting officials to cancel festivities planned for Navy Day.

USNI News – Russia launched missiles from a submarine to strike a civilian business center in Vinnytsia.

War Zone – Reports from Russia suggest the country is the latest to develop an anti-ship ballistic missile, or ASBM, the class of weapon that’s popularly dubbed ‘carrier killer.’ The previously unknown missile project, known by the Russian name Zmeyevik (meaning serpentinite, a type of rock), would potentially add a powerful new dynamic to the Kremlin’s anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) strategy.

USNI News – A Russian Navy submarine armed with a strategic nuclear torpedo the size of a school bus was delivered to the Kremlin this week, according to an announcement from the shipyard.

War Zone – Deployment of decoy barges and smokescreens implies Russia is preparing for a possible attack on its highly prized Kerch Strait Bridge.

BMPD – It is reported that on June 25, 2022, a large diesel-electric submarine B-588 “Ufa” (factory number 01617) of project 06363, built for the Russian Navy in St. Petersburg at JSC “Admiralty Shipyards” (part of JSC “United Shipbuilding Corporation” – USC) for the first time entered the factory sea trials. This is the fourth of six project 06363 submarines under construction for the Pacific Fleet. (In Russian)

(Thanks to Alain)

Naval News – Russia is locked in increased tensions with NATO, primarily as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. The strategically relevant exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic may be another flashpoint. Now Russia has deployed advanced anti-ship missiles to firing positions on the coast.

CIMSEC – While Moskva was a large and capable surface warship that invited comparisons with the losses of larger combatants, the Russian cruiser’s demise may have much more in common with that of the Royal Navy Type 42 destroyer Sheffield than Belgrano or any World War II warship.

War Zone – After an eventful career, the sole pump-jet-driven Kilo class submarine is likely about to embark on combat operations against Ukraine.