Russia Dispatches One More Warship To Mediterranean

The Russian Navy says one of its corvettes is heading to the Mediterranean Sea to join the country’s group of warships in the region.

A spokesman for the Black Sea Fleet said the Mirazh, armed with Malakhit cruise missiles, left its Crimean base at Sevastopol on October 6.

The Mirazh follows another two Black Sea Fleet corvettes, equipped with Kalibr long-range cruise missiles, which had been due to reach the Mediterranean late on October 5.

The navy said the deployments are part of a "planned rotation" of Moscow's naval forces in the region.

The moves come after Moscow confirmed it had sent an S-300 antiaircraft missile system to its naval base in Syria's port of Tartus.

They also follow Washington’s announcement that it is suspending talks with Russia on trying to end the violence in Syria.

Russia to Strengthen Mediterranean Force With ‘Stealth’ Subs

The combat capability of Russia’s naval task force in the Mediterranean will increase significantly following the first deliveries of Varshavyanka-class submarines to the Black Sea Fleet in 2015, Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov said Thursday.
 

Russia formed a permanent naval task force in the Mediterranean last year to defend its interests in the region. The move was widely seen, however, as a response to calls for international intervention in the worsening civil war in Syria, Russia’s longtime ally.
 

The task force currently consists of 12 warships and auxiliary vessels, including the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky and aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.
 

According to Chirkov, the Russian warships are taking part in an international operation to remove chemical weapons stockpiles from Syria.
 

“In general, the tasks assigned to the Mediterranean group are absolutely clear: to thwart any threat to Russia’s borders and security,” the admiral said, adding that it is normal practice for any country to keep naval assets in vital regions around the globe.
 

Chirkov said that the first Varshavyanka-class diesel-electric submarine, the Novorossiisk, will join the Black Sea Fleet in 2015.
 

The Defense Ministry has ordered a total of six Varshavyanka-class subs, dubbed “black holes in the ocean” by the US Navy because they are nearly undetectable when submerged.
 

According to the Admiralty shipyard in St. Petersburg, the second and third subs in the series will be floated out in May and June, respectively, “to be delivered to the customer by yearend.”
 

Construction of the fourth submarine – the Krasnodar – began at the shipyard Thursday.
 

The Varshavyanka-class (Project 636) is an improved version of the Kilo-class submarines and features advanced stealth technology, extended combat range and the ability to strike land, surface and underwater targets.
 

The submarines are mainly intended for anti-shipping and anti-submarine missions in relatively shallow waters.
 

The vessels, crewed by 52 submariners, have an underwater speed of 20 knots and a cruising range of 400 miles (650 kilometers) with the ability to patrol for 45 days. They are armed with 18 torpedoes and eight surface-to-air missiles.
 

The Black Sea Fleet has not received new submarines for decades and currently operates only one boat: the Kilo-class Alrosa, which joined the navy in 1990.

Russia removes military personnel from Syria

Russia has withdrawn all its military personnel from Syria and left its strategic Tartus naval centre unstaffed because of the escalating security threat in the war-torn country, the Vedomosti daily said Wednesday.

The respected business daily cited an unnamed source in the Russian defence ministry as saying that no Russian defence ministry military or civilian personnel were now present in Syria, a Soviet-era ally of Moscow.

The source said the decision was taken to limit the dangers posed to Russians amid a raging civil war and to reduce the threat of political damage that could result from Russians being killed by either side.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov had appeared to confirm the evacuation of military staff in an interview with the London-published Arabic-language daily Al-Hayat published on Friday.

"Today, the Russian defence ministry does not have a single person in Syria," he said.

"In Tartus, we never had a base in the first place. It is a technical facility for maintaining ships sailing in the Mediterranean," he added.

The facility in the Mediterranean port of Tartus, located in the Alawite Muslim heartland region of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, is Russia's only such asset outside the former Soviet Union.

Created as the result of an agreement between Damascus and Moscow in 1971, the Tartus facility was believed in recent months to have been staffed by just a few dozen Russian defence ministry personnel.

Russia always insisted on calling it not a base but a "point of military-technical supply of the Russian Navy". But analysts have always seen its sheer existence as a huge asset for Moscow.

The Vedomosti report said the decision to remove defence ministry personnel did not cover technical experts who are hired by the Syrian government to help train its army use Russian-issued weapons.

Russia supplies ground-to-surface interceptor missiles to Syria as well as warplanes and helicopters and other heavy machinery meant for national self-defence.

Moscow defends its military sales to Syria by arguing that it is only fulfilling contracts signed before the current conflict broke out in March 2011.

Syria represents Russia's last strategic ally in the Middle East and the fall of Assad would deal a significant blow to Moscow's geopolitical aspirations.

Russia now intends to keep between three and five warships permanently stationed in the region as a show of its strategic interest in the Middle East, the Vedomosti report said.

Russia to create Mediterranean fleet to protect Syria

During the Cold War, the Mediterranean was the most important area of ​​strategic struggle between the West and the USSR. Many years have passed, a lot has happened, but the importance of the Mediterranean Sea has remained the same. Russia, a successor of the USSR, has lost some of its influence in the region over the years. It appears, though, that the country is not going to sit on its hands watching others taking its place under the Mediterranean sun.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in front of the military, announced plans to restore the permanent presence of the Russian Federation Fleet in the Mediterranean. Putin believes that such a move is not an act of "saber rattling." The president said that Russia had its own interests in the Mediterranean that are related to the national security of the country. The region is strategically important to Russia, and the country plans to deploy its warships in the Mediterranean Sea on a permanent basis.

According to the press service of the Defense Ministry of Russia, the Russian naval task force in the Mediterranean will include about ten ships of various classes of the North, Baltic and Black Sea fleets on a rotational basis. Depending on tasks, the number of warships in the compound can be increased. 

During the Soviet period (1967-1992), the Soviet Union had the 5^th Mediterranean squadron of naval ships operating in the Mediterranean Sea - 30-50 ships. The squadron was created to deal with "cold war" problems in the region.

Within the structure of the Mediterranean compound, Russia plans to have about a dozen ships and submarines. Mistral helicopter carriers that Russia purchased from France can also be involved in the project.

The headquarters for the new compound will be created this summer. Most likely, Russia's group of the Naval Fleet in the Mediterranean will be commanded from Sevastopol. It was also said that the compound would be used to solve problems in the Indian and Atlantic oceans, if required and needed.

The French Mistrals may become the command ship of the compound (Russia is expected to receive the first vessel from France in 2015).

The ships of this class have ample opportunities for long-term command operations at sea. In general, the Russian Navy, until the end of 2020, will receive  54 surface ships and 24 submarines.

Why does Russia need the Mediterranean fleet?

Many experts attribute this to the situation around Syria. In fact, there are plenty of reasons.

Russia has to take account of the danger of U.S. military intervention in the internal affairs of Syria - Russia's ally in the Middle East. At the end of 2012, the Russian fleet forced a group of American aircraft carriers out from the coastal waters of Syria. The operation was officially called the "exercise", but the result of that exercise was the return of CVN-69 Eisenhower aircraft carrier to its base in Norfolk.

At the end of January 2013, the "exercises" of the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean Sea ceased, and Russian ships returned to their bases. The Eisenhower understood that the danger had passed and the aircraft carrier returned to the Mediterranean Sea.

Rumors about a possible attack on Syria from the United States continue to emerge. This brings up a question of whether the Russian Federation needs to send its forces to the Mediterranean every time a U.S. aircraft carrier appears there.

First off, such monthly missions waste resources of the ships, not to mention the fact that they require significant funding. It was therefore decided to deploy Russian ships in the Mediterranean region on a regular basis. With their help, it will be easier for Russia to defend its interests in the Middle East. 

Thus, the Russian Defense Ministry has solved the problem of financing "military drills" in the Mediterranean. The ships will most likely be deployed in the port of Tartus.

One should bear in mind the fact that during the recent years, the Russian Navy began to develop rapidly. The Soviet Union used to have enormous influence on the Middle East. Modern Russia has its own interests, and, of course, it will be defending them. The deployment of Russian ships in the Mediterranean Sea is the beginning of a new concept of the Russian foreign policy. 

In addition, the military and political situation in the world has been escalating, and Russia simply needs to have its armed forces present in certain key regions of the globe. This will give Russia an opportunity to feel more secure. Of course, it goes about the obvious military confrontation with the navy of the United States and NATO, but the very presence of the Russian Navy in this region can be a decisive factor in making certain strategic decisions.

Problems for the creation of the Mediterranean Fleet

Creating the Mediterranean fleet is a very difficult and long process that requires great effort in solving various problems. Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, former head of the General Staff of the Navy, is skeptical about the establishment of the Mediterranean Fleet. In his view, the current state of affairs in the Russian army will not let the country collect ten ships for the new squadron. This is nothing but wishful thinking, the admiral believes.

Northern, Baltic and Black fleets can provide the maximum of one or two combat-capable vessels, the admiral said. If formed, the group of such vessels will have their resources exhausted in just a year; repairs will be required afterwards.

Creating a Mediterranean squadron will require locations for its deployment. A naval base in Tartus, Syria, will have to be reconstructed, which is a long process. Rumor has it that the Russian Federation has offered financial assistance to Cyprus in exchange for an army base.

The whole point of creating such a squadron will be lost in case the Americans overthrow Assad.

Should this be the case, the presence of the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean will be pointless. The main goal of the Russian naval group in the region is to protect independent states in the region from U.S. military intervention. This is exactly the reason why Russia wants to create its fleet in the Mediterranean Sea.

Russian Pacific Fleet Warships Enter Mediterranean

A group of warships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet entered the Mediterranean waters for the first time in decades, a fleet spokesman said on Thursday

“The task force has successfully passed through the Suez Channel and entered the Mediterranean. It is the first time in decades that Pacific Fleet warships enter this region,” Capt. First Rank Roman Martov said.

The vessels are now en route to Cyprus and are scheduled to make a port call in Limassol.

The group, including the destroyer Admiral Panteleyev, the amphibious warfare ships Peresvet and Admiral Nevelskoi, the tanker Pechenga and the salvage/rescue tug Fotiy Krylov left the port of Vladivostok on March 19 to join Russia’s Mediterranean task force.

The task force currently includes the large anti-submarine ship Severomorsk, the frigate Yaroslav Mudry, the salvage/rescue tugs Altai and SB-921 and the tanker Lena from the Northern and Baltic Fleets, as well as the Ropucha-II Class landing ship Azov from the Black Sea Fleet.

The task force may be enlarged to include nuclear submarines, Navy Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov said last Sunday.

The Defense Ministry said in April Russia has begun setting up a naval task force in the Mediterranean, sending several warships from the Pacific Fleet to the region. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in March a permanent naval task force in the Mediterranean was needed to defend Russia’s interests in the region.

A senior Defense Ministry official said the Mediterranean task force's command and control agencies will be based either in Novorossiysk, Russia, or in Sevastopol, Ukraine.

Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, head of the parliamentary defense committee, previously told RIA Novosti that the Mediterranean task force should be comprised of 10 warships and support vessels as part of several tactical groups tasked with attack, antisubmarine warfare and minesweeping.

The Soviet Union maintained its 5th Mediterranean Squadron from 1967 until 1992. It was formed to counter the US Navy's 6th Fleet during the Cold War, and consisted of 30-50 warships and auxiliary vessels.

Russia’s Mediterranean Task Force to Include Nuclear Subs – Navy Chief

Russia’s Mediterranean task force will comprise 5-6 warships and may be enlarged to include nuclear submarines, Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov said on Sunday.

“Overall, already from this year, we plan to have 5-6 warships and support vessels [in the Mediterranean Sea], which will be replaced on a rotating basis from each of the fleets – the Black Sea, Baltic, Northern and, in some cases, even the Pacific Fleet. Depending on the scope of assignments and their complexity, the number of warships in the task force may be increased,” Chirkov told RIA Novosti.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier said a decision to deploy a permanent task force in the Mediterranean to defend Russia’s interests in the area had been made.

The Russian navy commander also said nuclear submarines could be deployed in the Mediterranean, if necessary.

“Possibly. In a perspective. They [submarines] were present there during the existence of the 5th squadron. There were both nuclear and diesel submarines there. Everything will depend on the situation,” he said.

The Soviet Union maintained its 5th Mediterranean Squadron in that sea from 1967 until 1992. It was formed to counter the US Navy 6th Fleet during the Cold War, and consisted of 30-50 warships and auxiliary vessels at different times.

Russia also plans to use its Mediterranean task force for missions in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the country’s Navy chief said.

“No doubt, if necessary, when some tasks arise in other nearby regions, in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the task force may be used,” Chirkov said.

Now the Russian Navy is training officers who will perform their duties at sea on a permanent basis, he said.

“These persons must be comprehensively trained to solve tasks not only in the Mediterranean but also in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans,” he said.

The headquarters of Russia’s Mediterranean taskforce will be set up already in the summer of 2013, he said.

“The headquarters will be established in the summer of this year and its officers will stay aboard one of the flagships in the Mediterranean Sea,” he said.

Turkey increases navy force in Mediterranean

Turkey is reinforcing its position in the Mediterranean Sea following the escalation in tension along its border with Syria.

A number of warships and submarines have been sent to bases in the Mediterranean from the northwestern province of Gölcük where the main base of the Naval Forces is located. The ships were fully loaded with arms labeled "war load."

Tension has escalated between the two countries after a Syrian shell bomb hit the Akçakale region in the southeastern Turkish province of Şanlıurfa. Turkey reciprocated by bombing Syrian army targets, and on Oct. 4 the Turkish Parliament passed a motion for a one-year mandate authorizing the military use of ground troops for cross-border operations into "foreign countries."

Russia, Israel turn up heat in Mediterranean Sea

Russia and Israel became the latest powers after NATO’s naval deployments in the eastern Mediterranean Sea last week amid the continuing crisis over last month’s downing of a Turkish jet by the Syrian forces, with Moscow upping the ante by announcing the deployment of a destroyer to the region.

Russia has sent a naval flotilla of six warships, led by an anti-submarine destroyer, to its naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus, while Israel is separately preparing to boost the strength of its naval forces in the eastern Mediterranean in order to protect the country’s energy investments there, Israeli media reported.

Russia has also dispatched the destroyer-class warship Smetlivy, which patroled the waters off the coast of Syria in April and May, to Syria. The ship was seen leaving the Black Sea port of Sevastopol yesterday morning. “The Smetlivy is leaving for Syria today. ... The vessel is expected to reach the Turkish straits tomorrow morning,” the Navy source said on condition of anonymity.

The Admiral Chabanenko and three landing craft have left their home port of Severomorsk in the Arctic Circle on their way to the Mediterranean, where they will be joined by the Russian patrol ship Yaroslav Mudry as well as an assistance vessel, a source told Interfax agency.

Separately, four Russian warships passed the Dardanelles and sailed into the Aegean Sea yesterday, according to Doğan news agency. Turkish coastguard boats accompanied the four vessels, the Nikolai Filchenkov, the Caesar Kunikov, Caktarz and the SB-5, the report said. “The program of the voyage includes a call in the Syrian port of Tartus,” the unnamed source told the news agency in reference to the Chabanenko and accompanying vessels.

The source said the trip was being conducted in line with plans to ensure the Russian fleet’s military readiness. According to Interfax, the source insisted that the deployment “was not linked to the escalation of the situation in Syria.”

Interfax quoted a military source as saying the ships were carrying marines on a training mission as well as food, water and fuel for Russia’s naval maintenance and repair base in Syria’s Mediterranean port of Tartus.

$1 billion plan

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of General Staff Gen. Benny Gantz have proposed a plan to increase the number of vessels and soldiers in the area. The plan seeks to add four new warships to the Israeli Navy while also deploying more troops in the area and utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles for patrol duties.

The $1 billion plan reportedly aims to protect Israel’s off-shore natural gas platforms in the eastern Mediterranean from “terrorist attacks.” Israel is currently running a limited patrol duty with five warships.

The burden on the Navy is likely to increase when the platforms start to pump natural gas in 2012. Joint gas exploration by Israel and Greek Cyprus has raised tensions between Turkey and the two countries. Ankara responded to the exploration by sending warships and a gas exploration vessel of its own, straining ties even further.

The moves came after a key NATO maritime group began flexing its muscles in the Mediterranean as it set off from Istanbul last week with a mission to combat terrorism in the sea. The Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 will conduct its mission in the eastern Mediterranean at a time of increased tensions in the area.

Israel to beef up military presence in eastern Mediterranean

Israel is preparing to boost the strength of its naval forces in the eastern Mediterranean in order to protect the country's energy investments there, daily Hürriyet reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of General Staff Gen. Benny Gantz have proposed a plan to increase the number of vessels and soldiers in the area.

The plan seeks to add four new warships to the Israeli Navy while also deploying more troops in the area and utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles for patrol duties.

The $1 billion plan reportedly aims to protect Israel's off-shore natural gas platforms in the eastern Mediterranean from "terrorist attacks."

The off-shore platforms are privately owned and some of them are located as far as 360 kilometers from the Israeli coastline, within international waters.

Israel is currently running a limited patrol duty with five warships. The burden on the Navy is likely to increase when the platforms start to pump natural gas in 2012, the report said.

Joint gas exploration by Israel and Greek Cyprus has raised tensions between Turkey and the two countries. Ankara responded to the exploration by sending warships and a gas exploration vessel of its own, straining ties even further.

Israel also has an ongoing dispute with Lebanon as the two countries do not have a set sea border between them.

NATO started naval exercises off the coast of Syria

A key NATO maritime group has begun flexing its muscles in the Mediterranean as it sets off from Istanbul with a mission to combat terrorism in the sea.

The task of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 is “to give a clear message to terrorists in the region that NATO is on duty,” German Rear Adm. Thorsten Kahler told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday. Germany recently took over the leadership of the mission from Turkey.

The group will conduct its mission in the eastern Mediterranean at a time of increased tensions in the area following the recent downing of a Turkish jet by Syrian forces and continued energy exploration off Greek Cyprus’ southern coast that has upset Turkey and Turkish Cyprus.

This anti-terrorism mission is “the only Article 5 mission of NATO so far, coming from Sept. 11 of course, and [it has been] making the Mediterranean a safer place and preventing terrorism,” Kahler said.

Under Article 5 of the NATO convention, an armed attack against one of the alliance’s members is considered an attack against them all, effectively necessitating a combined response.

“Terrorism is not dead and we have to make sure that the message of NATO is understood. People and especially NATO are not willing to accept terrorism coming to the Mediterranean. We have to publish that message clearly,” Kahler said.

Rear Adm. Kahler said the group would be heading further into the Mediterranean on July 7.

“We are not telling our whole schedule, but we will stay in the region.” Asked whether there was such a lack of security in the region that an anti-terrorist mission was necessary, he said NATO did not know how many terrorists there were around the world. “So what we have to make sure is to tell the terrorists to be careful; we are here and providing security for NATO member states,” he said.

Three frigates from Turkey, France and Germany

He also said they were in Istanbul “to say thank you” to Turkey, which is one of the biggest providers of ships. The group was handed over in a ceremony held at the Aksaz Naval Base in the southwestern district of Marmaris on June 15. The maritime group consists of three frigates registered under three different countries. Turkey’s Gediz, France’s Courbet and Germany’s Bayern have 545 sailors on board in total.

The frigates also have their own choppers and helicopter landing sites, as well as ship-to-ship and ship-to-air missiles, automatic light naval guns and 100- 76- and 27-mm guns.

According to official information from the alliance, Mark 46 torpedoes, which are designed to attack high-performance submarines, are also included among the group’s armaments.

Rear Adm. Sinan Azmi Tosun, the previous Turkish commander of the group, said they had

conducted operations against 10 pirate ships, arresting 175 suspected pirates.