Northern Fleet Military Digest – Issue 8 – 27 November – 03 December 2023

Key takeaways from last week’s developments

• The Northern Fleet began the winter training period;
• Yasen-M-class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine and Admiral Gorshkov-class frigate will soon join the Northern Fleet.

Executive summary

On Tuesday (28NOV), the Northern Fleet summarised the summer training period, emphasising the high quality of task execution by the Northern Fleet’s units and formations to secure crucial Russian interests in the Arctic region as well as the effectiveness of the operations of the Northern Fleet’s soldiers in the war in Ukraine. Moreover, according to the press release, the Northern Fleet completed the process of admitting new conscript soldiers. The press service, however, did not provide information about the number of troops that recently joined its ranks. On Friday (01DEC), the Northern Fleet held the celebrations marking the beginning of a winter training period.

Image 1. Celebration of the beginning of the winter training period in the Northern Fleet, 01DEC (Source: mil.ru)

Ground domain activities

On Tuesday (28NOV), the deputy commander of the Northern Fleet’s 14^th Army Corps, Major General Vladimir Zavadsky, died in Ukraine.

Born in 1978, Zavadsky graduated from the Moscow Military Combined Arms School in 2000 and the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 2010. In 2023, he finished the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. He started his military career as the commander of a motor rifle platoon and was involved in (combat) operations in Tajikistan, the North Caucasus region, the Republic of Dagestan, the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, the Syrian Arab Republic and Ukraine. The circumstances of his death are unclear, but a Russian source claimed on Wednesday (29NOV) that Zavadsky stepped onto a mine in “the rear area”.

Image 2. Major General Vladimir Zavadsky (Source: x.com)

Air domain activities

On Wednesday (29NOV), MiG-31 interceptor/attack aircraft, presumably from the 98^th Mixed Aviation Regiment (98^th MAR) stationed in Monchegorsk Air Base (Murmansk Oblast), conducted a training flight aimed at practising interception at very high altitudes (up to 10,000 meters). According to the statement, the MiG-31 interceptor took off to identify, intercept and escort a potential enemy target violating Russian airspace (simulated by a Su-24 bomber from the same Regiment).

Naval domain activities

Last week, the Admiral Gorshkov-class (Project 22350) frigate Admiral Gorshkov continued to practice cooperation with the Northern Fleet’s naval aviation. On Tuesday (28NOV), Admiral Gorshkov conducted an exercise focused on performing landings on the ship’s deck. The training involved an unspecified number of Ka-27 helicopters (anti-submarine variant) from the 830^th Anti-Submarine Helicopter Regiment. The helicopters carried out more than 30 take-offs and landings.

Image 3. Northern Fleet’s Ka-27 helicopter taking off from the Admiral Gorshkov-class (Project 22350) frigate Admiral Gorshkov during last week’s exercise (Source: mil.ru)

In the previous Northern Fleet Military Digest issue, we described Russian plans to increase the number of Yasen-class (Project 885 and 885M) nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines from nine to 12, of which half will join the Northern Fleet (11^th Submarine Divizion, Zapadnaya Litsa Naval Base). On Wednesday (29NOV), Russians launched one of the newly constructed Yasen-class submarines (Arkhangelsk) intended to join the Northern Fleet. The event took place in JSC PO Sevmash shipyard (Severodvinsk). Arkhangelsk will now begin the sea trials (presumably in the Barents and White Seas), which will likely end in 2024.

The fleet currently operates two Yasens. The K-560 Severodvinsk was laid down on 21DEC1993 and was comissioned 20 years later, on 30DEC2013. The second vessel, K-561 Kazan, was laid down on 27JUL2009 and delivered to the Navy on 05MAY2021. Arkhangelsk has been in construction since 19MAR2015, and it was initially to be handed over in DEC2021. The same goes for K-573 Novosibirsk and K-571 Krasnoyarsk, which are currently undergoing sea trials.

Image 4. Launching ceremony of Yasen-class (Project 885M) nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine Arkhangelsk, 29NOV (Source: x.com)

On Friday (01DEC), the Admiral Gorshkov-class (Project 22350) frigate Admiral Golovko returned to the Severnaya Verf shipyard in Sankt Petersburg after completing sea trials at the Northern Fleet’s naval training areas in the Barents Sea. The frigate will undergo final maintenance, after which it will join the Northern Fleet (likely in 2023) as the third ship of Admiral Gorshkov-class.

On Saturday (02DEC), the Admiral Gorshkov-class (Project 22350) frigate Admiral Kasatonov returned to its home Severomorsk Naval Base (the main base of the Northern Fleet) after completing a number of exercises in the White Sea. According to the statement, the frigate conducted naval combat training with a simulated naval target combined with air defence and anti-sabotage activities.

Also on Saturday, the Northern Fleet’s Kaliningradneft-class (Project REF-675) medium seagoing tanker Kama reportedly entered the Norwegian Sea. The purpose of the deployment remains unknown.