Mediterranean Sea Task Force
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Mediterranean Sea Task Force
The permanent task force of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean Sea () is a task force of the Russian Navy responsible for projecting Russian power in the Middle East through the Mediterranean Sea. The Soviet Navy's 5th Operational Squadron had fulfilled a similar role from its formation in 1967 to its deactivation on 31 December 1992. The present permanent task force was established in 2013. In September 2013, the Russian Ministry of Defence re-established a fleet in the Mediterranean using a combination of ships from the Black Sea Fleet and Northern Fleet stationed in Syria. It has been reported to comprise 15 warships and auxiliary vessels with vessels from the Baltic Fleet also providing contingents for operations in the region. Component Vessels 2020 As of 2020, Russian naval units in the Mediterranean regularly included: * 2 Improved Kilo-class submarines (drawn from the Black Sea Fleet ostensibly en route for maintenance in the Baltic to comply with provisions of th ...
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Naval Warfare
Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. The Military, armed forces branch designated for naval warfare is a navy. Naval operations can be broadly divided into riverine/littoral applications (brown-water navy), open-ocean applications (blue-water navy), between riverine/littoral and open-ocean applications (green-water navy), although these distinctions are more about strategic scope than tactical or operational division. The strategic offensive purpose of naval warfare is Power projection, projection of force by water, and its strategic defensive purpose is to challenge the similar projection of force by enemies. History Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large landmasses, transportation before the advent of extensive rail transport, railways was largely dependent upon rivers, lakes, canals, and other navigable waterways ...
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Northern Fleet
The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the territories of the Russian Empire, sea trade routes and fisheries in the White Sea near the coast of the Kola Peninsula. The order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy of 25 May 2014 determined 1733 as the year of foundation of the Northern Fleet, and June 1 as its annual holiday". In its modern iteration, the Arctic Ocean Flotilla of the former Imperial Navy evolved into a full fleet of the Soviet Navy in 1933 as the Northern Flotilla. After being awarded the Order of the Red Banner in 1965, it was officially known as the Red Banner Northern Fleet. During the Soviet era the Northern Fleet operated more than 200 submarines, ranging from diesel-electric submarine, diesel-electric to Nuclear submarine, nuclear-powered Ballistic missile s ...
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Tu-142
The Tupolev Tu-142 (142; NATO reporting name: Bear F/J) is a Soviet/Russian maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft derived from the Tu-95 turboprop strategic bomber. A specialised communications variant designated ''Tu-142MR'' was tasked with long-range communications duties with Soviet ballistic missile submarines. The Tu-142 was designed by the Tupolev design bureau, and manufactured by the Kuibyshev Aviation and Taganrog Machinery Plants from 1968 to 1994. Formerly operated by the Soviet Navy and Ukrainian Air Force, the Tu-142 currently serves with the Russian Navy. Developed in response to the American Polaris programme, the Tu-142 grew out of the need for a viable Soviet ASW platform. It succeeded the failed Tu-95PLO project, Tupolev's first attempt at modifying the Tu-95 for maritime use. The Tu-142 differed from the Tu-95 in having a stretched fuselage to accommodate specialised equipment for its ASW and surveillance roles, a reinforced und ...
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Mikoyan MiG-31
The Mikoyan MiG-31 (; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed for the Soviet Air Forces by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25 "Foxbat"; the MiG-31 is based on and shares design elements with the MiG-25. The MiG-31 is one of the fastest known operational combat aircraft in the world as of 2021, with a top speed around . It continues to be operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The other operator, the Kazakh Air Defence Forces, retired the type in 2023. The Russian Defence Ministry expects the MiG-31 to remain in service until at least 2030; that was confirmed in 2020 when an announcement was made to extend the service lifetime of the existing airframes from 2,500 to 3,500 hours. Development Background The single-seat MiG-25 could achieve high speed, altitude, and rate of climb, but it lacked manoeuvrability at interceptio ...
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Su-35
The Sukhoi Su-35 (-35; NATO reporting name: Flanker-E/M, occasionally nicknamed "Super Flanker") is the designation for two improved derivatives of the Su-27 air-defence fighter. They are single-seat, twin-engine, supermaneuverable, 4.5 generation air superiority fighters, designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and built by Sukhoi. The type was originally developed by the Soviet Union from the Su-27 and was known as the Su-27M. It incorporated canards and a multi-function radar giving it multi-role capabilities. The first prototype made its maiden flight in June 1988. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union Sukhoi re-designated it as the Su-35 to attract export orders. Fourteen aircraft were produced and used for tests and demonstrations; one example had thrust-vectoring engines and was in turn redesignated the Su-37. A sole Su-35UB two-seat trainer was also built in the late 1990s that resembled the Su-30MK family. In 2003, Sukhoi embarked on a second "deep" mo ...
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Su-24
The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, night fighter, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, Twinjet, twin engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for its crew of two. It was the first of the USSR's aircraft to carry an integrated digital Nav/attack system, navigation/attack system. The Su-24 started development in the early 1960s and first flew in 1967. It entered service in 1974 and production ceased in 1993. It remains in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces, Syrian Air Force, Ukrainian Air Force, Algerian Air Force and various other air forces to which it was exported. Development Background One of the conditions for accepting the Sukhoi Su-7, Sukhoi Su-7B into service in 1961 was the requirement for Sukhoi to develop an all-weather variant capable of precision air strikes. Preliminary investigations with ''S-28'' and ''S-32'' aircraft revealed that the basic Su-7 design was to ...
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Tupolev Tu-22M
The Tupolev Tu-22M (; NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev, Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. The bomber was reported as being designated Tu-26 by Western intelligence at one time. During the Cold War, the Tu-22M was operated by the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) in a missile carrier strategic bombing role, and by the Soviet Naval Aviation (''Aviatsiya Voyenno-Morskogo Flota'', AVMF) in a long-range maritime anti-shipping role. In 2024, the Russian Air Force had 57 aircraft in service, according to the 2024 Military Balance report by International Institute for Strategic Studies. However, in 2023, Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (Ukraine), Main Directorate of Intelligence estimated that Russia had only 27 aircraft in operable condition. Development In 1962, after the introduction of the Tupolev Tu-22, it became increasingly clear that the aircraft was inadequate in i ...
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Khmeimim Air Base
Khmeimim Air Base (), also Hmeimim Air Base (), is a Syrian airbase currently operated by Russia, located south-east of the city of Latakia in , Latakia Governorate, Syria and approximately 2 miles north-east of the coastal town of Jableh. The airbase shares some airfield facilities with Latakia Airport. The legal status of the base is regulated by a treaty Russia and Syria signed in August 2015. At the end of 2017, Russia said it had decided to turn the Khmeimim base into a component of its permanent military contingent stationed in Syria. During the late stages of the Syrian civil war, following 2024 Syrian opposition offensives and the military offensive of a Turkish-backed coalition of forces organized as the Syrian National Army, the Assad regime fell and the Russian base in Latakia came under threat. On 7 December 2024, it was reported that Russia was preparing to evacuate its assets from the airbase. Russian forces were observed transferring S-400 and Tor air defence sy ...
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Alligator-class Landing Ship
The Tapir-class landing ship, Soviet designation Project 1171 landing ship (NATO reporting name: Alligator) is a class of Soviet/Russian general purpose, beachable amphibious warfare ships (Soviet classification: large landing ship; ). History In Soviet post–World War II analysis of Amphibious warfare, amphibious operations, the recommendation was made that the Soviet Navy should start building dedicated amphibious ships. Among the first ships, launching in 1967, was the of medium landing ships, whose 900-ton vessels could transport six tanks and 180 troops. A newer type of amphibious warship followed in the late 1950s, a true Landing Ship, Tank (LST) that was named Project 1171 and also designated Tapir. Labelled "Large Landing Ship", her displacement was 4,360 tons full load and could transport up to 313 troops and 20 tanks. Additional vehicles could be stored on the upper deck. NATO gave these ships the code name "Alligator", and several subtypes were created. The design ...
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Ropucha-class Landing Ship
The Ropucha class (NATO reporting name, Polish for "toad"), Soviet designation Project 775, is a class of landing ship (large landing ship or Bol'shoy Desantnyy Korabl' - (''BDK'' - ) in Soviet classification) built in Poland for the Soviet Navy. The ships were built in the Stocznia Północna shipyards in Gdańsk, Poland. They were designed for beach landings, and can carry 450 tons of cargo. The ships have both bow and stern doors for loading and unloading vehicles, and the of vehicle deck stretch the length of the hull. Up to 25 armored personnel carriers can be embarked. While designed for roll-on/roll-off operations, they can also be loaded using dockside cranes. For this purpose there is a long sliding hatch-cover above the bow section for access to the vehicle deck. There are no facilities for helicopters. The Soviet Navy commissioned a total of 28 ships of this type from 1975 to 1991. The last three ships were of the improved variant Project 775M, also called Ropu ...
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Montreux Convention
The (Montreux) Convention regarding the Regime of the Straits, often known simply as the Montreux Convention, is an international agreement governing the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits in Turkey. Signed on 20 July 1936 at the Montreux Palace in Switzerland, it went into effect on 9 November 1936, addressing the long running Straits Question over who should control the strategically vital link between the Black and Mediterranean seas. The Montreux Convention regulates maritime traffic through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits in Turkey. It guarantees "complete freedom" of passage for all civilian vessels in times of peace. In peacetime, military vessels are limited in number, tonnage and weaponry, with specific provisions governing their mode of entry and duration of stay. If they want to pass through the Strait, warships must provide advance notification to the Turkish authorities, which, in turn, must inform the parties to the convention.Defined as warships displacing m ...
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Kilo-class Submarine
The Kilo-class submarines are a group of diesel-electric attack submarines designed by the Rubin Design Bureau in the Soviet Union in the 1970s and built originally for the Soviet Navy. The first version had the Soviet designation Project 877 ''Paltus'' (, meaning "halibut"), NATO reporting name Kilo. They entered operational service in 1980 and continued being built until the mid-1990s, when production switched to the more advanced Project 636 ''Varshavyanka'' variant, also known in the West as the Improved Kilo class. The design was updated again by the Russian Navy in the mid-2010s, to a variant called Project 636.3, also known as Improved Kilo II. Role The Project 877 attack submarines were mainly intended for anti-shipping and anti-submarine operations in relatively shallow waters. Original Project 877 boats are equipped with Rubikon MGK-400 sonar system (with NATO reporting name Shark Gill), which includes a mine detection and avoidance sonar MG-519 Arfa (with NAT ...
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