With new vessels being constructed at a steady rate, new plans for modernization of existing ships and purchases of new vessels from abroad it seems that the Russian Navy is well on its way to completely bring its fleet to modern standards. With a more stable economy, Russia can now afford to rebuild and modernize its navy which had been neglected for two decades due to a lack of available funds.

Summary

While Russia has not published any concrete timetables for these modernizations, some plans mention the achievement of a modern fleet by 2020 while projects such as the construction of new aircraft carriers have a deadline as far away as 2050. No matter what the eventual deadline may be, it is clear that Russia has already initiated the progress and that all planned projects are starting to enter a more concrete phase in their development.

Submarines

One of the most important branches of the Russian Navy is the nuclear submarine branch, especially its ballistic submarines. Russia is one of the few countries where nuclear deterrence remains an important part of its national security strategy. To maintain this deterrence the development of a modern ballistic submarine is essential. Russia currently depends on its modernized Delta IV class submarines to provide this deterrence but these will be replaces in the future by Project 955 Borei class submarines. The first submarine of this class, the Yuri Dolgorukiy, is almost ready for operational deployment. The final test launches using the new SS-NX-30 Bulava SLBM have been conducted successfully. Two new submarines of the Borei class are currently being constructed as well. The Aleksandr Nevskiy has already been completely built and is ready to start its sea trials to enter service in 2012. The third vessel, the Vladimir Monomakh is currently still being built but is expected to also enter service during 2012. The Russian Navy eventually plans to construct a total of eight Borei class submarines.

Another class of modern Russian submarines is the Yasen class of nuclear attack submarines. Construction of the first submarine, the Severodvinsk, started in 1993 but was only finished during 2010 due to financial difficulties. Immediately after finishing construction of the Severodvinsk, Russia started constructing the next submarine of this class named Kazan. Because 17 years have passed since the beginning and the end of the construction of the Severodvinsk, the Kazan will be a seriously improved version of the Severodvinsk and will be equipped with more modern technology. Russia is currently planning to construct ten Yasen class submarines to replace the ageing Alpha, Akula and Oscar classes of submarines.

Corvettes and Destroyers

An large part of the modernization of the Russian surface fleet is the construction of the Steregushchy class corvette. The first ship of this class entered active duty during October of 2008 as part of the Russian Baltic Fleet. The second ship of this class entered service during October of 2011. Russia plans to construct a total of 30 of these corvettes and to divide them among its four fleets. The specific purpose of these corvettes is the protection of Russian coastal waters. These vessels will replace older corvettes. An important fact to be noted about the modern corvettes is that they will be able to cover a wider range of tasks than the older corvettes. Russia is also producing an export version of the Steregushchy class named Project 20382 Tigr of which Algeria is planning to buy two vessels. Russia also plans to construct 20 to 30 of its new Sergey Gorshkov class of frigates which it would divide among its four fleets to replace ageing frigates. One vessel of this class has already been completely constructed and is going through the process of becoming actively deployed during 2011 while another is currently under construction.

A more important project for the Russian surface fleet is the planned construction of a new class of destroyers. Even though this project does not carry a name yet, Russia is planning the construction of about 14 to 16 vessels of a new class of destroyers spanning the next two decades. These vessels are meant to become multi-purpose destroyers that can be deployed in surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and air-defense. The firepower concentrated on these destroyers would only be second to that of the nuclear cruiser Pyotr Velikiy. Crucial in the design of this new destroyer is its ability to launch different types of missiles. This new design is not only aimed at replacing older ships in the Russian Navy, it will seriously raise Russia’s maritime strength. These destroyers can be viewed as a direct answer to the American Arleigh Burke class of destroyers.

Capital Ships

With the construction of new corvettes and destroyers Russia is securing its Green Water Navy capability but Russian strategic goals require a powerful Blue Water Navy. A powerful Blue Water navy capability demands a number of capital ships such as cruisers and aircraft carriers. Russia currently owns one aircraft carrier named Admiral Kusnetsov, one nuclear cruiser of the Kirov class named Pyotr Velikiy and two cruisers of the Slava class named Moskva and Varyag. Russia, however, has plans to modernize a spare cruiser of the Slava class named Marshal Ustinov and deploy it to the Pacific Fleet. Russia is also bringing two Kirov class cruisers back into active duty after modernization. One will be deployed to the Northern Fleet and the other to the Pacific Fleet.

The most notable capital ships that Russia is planning to obtain are the four Mistral class ships that Russia is purchasing from France. Two of these ships will be constructed within Russia. These amphibious landing vessels will enlarge Russia’s potential capability for power projection and can be deployed as helicopter carriers as well as amphibious landing docks. The first ship of this class is planned to enter service as helicopter carrier in the Pacific Fleet. It is not known whether the three other Mistral class ships will be divided over the remaining three fleets.

Russia also plans to construct new aircraft carriers. Russia has not made it a secret that it would like modern aircraft carriers to balance the strength of US Navy aircraft carriers. Russia, however, still lacks the necessary financial means to initiate the construction of these ships. This is mainly so because funds that have become available are being used mainly to construct submarines, corvettes and destroyers, the modernization of cruisers and the purchase of amphibious landing vessels. Russia reasonably aims for a deadline of 2050 to have new aircraft carriers enter active service, leaving a very comfortable gap for the development of these ships after the currently running projects that carry deadlines running from 2020 until 2025. Large questions remain concerning these aircraft carriers. Russia could be planning to construct five or six of these ships based on an estimate that recurs often. It is also unknown whether modern Russian aircraft carriers will use conventional propulsion, limiting their size to a tonnage of 60,000 and limiting their air component to around 30 to 50 planes as is usually the case. They could also opt for nuclear propulsion which would up the limit of tonnage to 100,000 and double the size of the air component to 100 planes which compares to the US Navy’s Nimitz class aircraft carriers. It is also a complete mystery which ships would be deployed to which fleet although it would make sense that the Northern and Pacific Fleets receive the largest number of aircraft carriers.

4 Fleets – Where are Russia’s Priorities?

Russia has organized its navy in four fleets; the Northern, Pacific, Baltic and Black Sea Fleets. A fifth naval component accounts for the naval presence in the Caspian Sea mostly as a counterweight to Kazakhstan and Iran. Russia currently does not have the means to spend the same amount of vessels and ships to every one of these fleets so it will be forced to prioritize some of them. When looking at future conflict regions several priorities can already be estimated.

The most interesting naval area of interest to Russia is currently the Arctic. Russia is hoping to make a successful claim to large parts of the bottom of the Arctic. The unexploited oil and gas reserves in the area would be able to secure Russia’s leading role as an energy suppliers, especially to the European market, for a long time. In order to strengthen its claim, Russia has decided to enlarge its military presence in the Arctic region. A powerful Northern Fleet is an essential part of this. The Northern Fleet is also the only Russian fleet that enjoys relatively open access to the Atlantic Ocean, unlike the Baltic Fleet.

In the near future the theater that will be of the largest maritime importance to Russia is, however, likely to be the Pacific. The growth of the Chinese navy, followed by that of surrounding navies and the presence of the US Navy, leaves Russia with no other choice than to bolster its military presence in that area. Russia requires the means to act decisively in the case of a conflict in the Asian region. The deployment of Borei class submarines, the first purchased Mistral class ship, the modernization of a Kirov class nuclear cruiser and the deployment of a Slava class cruiser to the Pacific Fleet show a clear concentration of modern Russian maritime firepower in this theater. The Pacific Fleet is being reinforced at a much higher rate than the Northern Fleet which signifies how Russia is aiming to become a power that matters in Asia that could compete with China and the United States.

Of the remaining two fleets, the Black Sea Fleet is the most important to Russia. With Ukraine and Georgia desiring membership of NATO, combined with a growing Turkish navy, Russia can see the Black Sea increasingly come under the control of NATO ships. A strong Black Sea Fleet is necessary to Russia for many reasons, future conflicts in the Caucasus region like the 2008 war against Georgia are but one example. The Black Sea Fleet is also important for the access to the Mediterranean of the Russian Navy, even though the access requires passage through waterways that are dominated by Turkey and treaties prohibit the navigation of aircraft carriers through these waterways. The Black Sea Fleet can deliver maritime support to Russia allies in the Mediterranean such as Syria and Algeria. It is also in a favorable position to deploy ships on anti-piracy missions along the coast of Somalia. The importance of Russia’s operations in the Mediterranean is greatly underlined by the Syrian naval base of Tartus that is being modernized by Russia. Russia has plans to base capital ships in Tartus, such as cruisers and aircraft carriers, which could circumvent the Dardanelles and thus the Montreux treaty that limits their navigation from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean. The problem with this intent is of course that if the current regime in Syria would fail to survive current unrests and Syria ended up on a political course oriented more to the west, Tartus could become less accessible to the Russian Navy. This could potentially lead to an equally difficult situation as Russia has been facing with its naval base in Sevastopol which currently houses the largest part of the Black Sea Fleet.