Barents Observer – NATO aircraft are in the skies over the Barents Sea watching as nuclear- and diesel submarines, surface warships, support vessels on Monday sailed out from the Kola Peninsula.

The Aviationist – For the first time, five Russian Navy Il-38 and Il-38N aircraft have taken part together in an Anti-Submarine Warfare exercise laying sea bottom mines.

Barents Observer – A Bal missile can take out ships up to 5,000 tons and is aimed at protecting the territorial waters now becoming more accessible for shipping as the Arctic sea ice retreats.

Tass – The Rubin Central Design Bureau (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) has developed the first Russian patrol ship with a diving capability for foreign customers.

(Thanks to Alain)

War Zone – The deployment of additional naval assets to the Black Sea comes as other signs, including a spike in GPS jamming, point to a new looming crisis.

Naval News – The delivery of Kirov-class nuclear powered cruiser (project 11442M) Admiral Nakhimov to the Russian Navy won’t be possible until 2023, a defense industry source told TASS. The vessel, which is being upgraded by Sevmash Shipyard, was supposed to be handed over in late 2022.

Naval News – Few corners of the submarine world are seen as sneakier than covert operations against undersea communications cables. It is estimated that 97% of global communications are transmitted by undersea cables. This includes trillions of dollars of financial transactions. These cables have been described as ‘Indispensable but insecure’. They are thought to be particularly vulnerable to the Russian Navy’s seabed warfare platforms. And it is not just internet traffic which could be under threat, but energy infrastructure, military communications and sensor networks.

Naval News – Few corners of the submarine world are seen as sneakier than covert operations against undersea communications cables. It is estimated that 97% of global communications are transmitted by undersea cables. This includes trillions of dollars of financial transactions. These cables have been described as ‘Indispensable but insecure’. They are thought to be particularly vulnerable to the Russian Navy’s seabed warfare platforms. And it is not just internet traffic which could be under threat, but energy infrastructure, military communications and sensor networks.

War Zone – The unprecedented exercise served as a bold statement of Russia’s presence and capabilities in the increasingly tense Arctic region.

StrategyPage – In early 2021, when Russia announced its planned warship deliveries, one delivery was considered doubtful. This involved actually putting a second Lada class diesel-electric boat into service by the end of 2021. 

StrategyPage – After a decade of effort Russia is finally completing its coastal defense rebuilding program.

Covert Shores – Russia’s FPI (Advanced Research Foundation) recently revealed some details of a new uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) called Sarma. Although few details have emerged the associated graphic indicates a craft approximately in the Large-Displacement UUV category (LDUUV). This makes it roughly the same size as the existing Klavesin (Harpsichord) family.

TASS – Russian shipbuilders consider a possibility to create a universal sea complex (UMK) and a line of projects on a unified platform. The Nevsky Design Bureau told TASS about the project and its significance for the Russian Navy.

USNI News – Russia’s latest super-sized submarine, Belgorod, has been a conundrum for interested observers. While its existence is far from secret, Moscow has gone to great pains to keep certain key details out of the public domain. While navies traditionally hide the screw, or propeller, from the cameras, in Belgorod’s case the reverse was true: the screws were on display at the 2019 launch ceremony, but no photographs of the forward section were ever published.

Naval News – The Belgorod nuclear-powered special mission submarine of project 09852 is preparing to sail out for the first time.

Sandboxx – What may surprise you is that amateur submarines were really a consolation prize for drug smugglers out of Colombia. Their first choice? An actual Soviet Foxtrot-class submarine. What’s even crazier, however, is that the Russians seemed to be more than happy to sell them one.

Naval News – The Buyan-M-class corvette (project 21631) “Graivoron” was commissioned with the Russian Navy Black Sea fleet on 30 January 2021.

(Thanks to Alain)

War Zone – An advanced electrically-powered torpedo has entered service with the Russian Navy, marking the first time the service has introduced a new weapon of this type since the Soviet era.

Barents Observer – Vladimir Putin’s Russia is indeed seriously going to deploy a new leg to its nuclear triad, the unmanned underwater nuclear-powered Poseidon. A multi-billion storage and maintenance facility at the Kola Peninsula will be up and running by June 2022, aimed at serving at least 30 such drones.

Naval News – The Russian Navy is preparing to accept hypersonic air ballistic Kinzhal missile into service. In particular, the naval aviation of the Northern fleet will be armed with it. The missile can hit a target with a high precision in minutes and no country has reliable defense against it.

War Zone – While refit work on Russia’s aging aircraft carrier seems to have slowed, its two new amphibious assault ships are set to grow even bigger.

Barents Observer – Russia is building a coastal base for its unmanned underwater “doomsday nuke” to extend its lifespan.

War Zone – The Russian Navy says that a former commander of the now-decommissioned Sovremenny class destroyer Bespokoynyy conspired with others and stole the ship’s two bronze propellers while it was in dry dock being converted into a floating museum. The alleged caper sounds like it was ripped straight from the plot of a comedic Hollywood heist movie, with the thieves reportedly swapping out the pair of screws, each weighing approximately 13 tons, for ones made out of a cheaper metal.

Naval News – The Russian shipbuilding industry properly performed in 2020 and supplied eight warships and two submarines to the Navy. In 2019, which was free of coronavirus problems, the Navy received six warships and one submarine

Barents Observer – Government developers call for the building of Russian cruise vessels that can bring wealthy travelers to the far northern Franz Josef Land.