[Llarry]

Having covered the Chinese navy, I guess the logical sequel would be the Russian Navy. The Russian Navy is of course the successor to the Soviet Navy, which was a very formidable force during the Cold War era. In recent years, as the Russian economy had faltered, the navy that Russia inherited has become much less formidable, but it can be considered a large navy nonetheless.

The Russian Navy is divided into three main geographic areas. The Northern Fleet is based in N. Europe, the Black Sea Fleet in the Black Sea (in the news with the ongoing war in Ukraine), and the Pacific Fleet is based in the Vladivostok area and the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East.

The Russian Navy is particularly strong in submarines. There are 15 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines currently active: eight old Delta class boats and seven newer Borey units. These constitute a significant part of the Russian strategic nuclear force.

The Soviet Navy emphasized cruise missile submarines in order to attack U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. Ten boats are active: Six old Oscar II boats and 4 new Yasen boats. All are nuclear-powered and continue to emphasize anti-ship weapons.

There are a total of eight nuclear-powered attack submarines in service, all designed in the 1980s Soviet era. Four are Sierra-class boats, which have hulls made of titanium and are primarily tasked with attacking submarines. The Soviet titanium boats were a sensation in Western intelligence circles when first observed, with very high performance. The other four SSNs are later Akula (steel) class, also built late in the Cold War era. The large pods above the stern fin on the boats are for towed sonar arrays.

The Soviet/Russian safety record in nuclear submarines is unfortunate, with several serious accidents or losses. The other thing that can be said of Russian Navy ships in general is that they spend relatively little time at sea and are often in poor material condition. The numbers of active ships may be misleading as fewer are effective,

The Russian Navy has a large number of conventional Diesel-electric submarines, all of the 1980s-on Kilo class. 65 Kilos are in service. Others have been exported.

A single aircraft carrier is active; its sibling was sold to China and is active in the PLA Navy. The carrier is currently inactive under repair and is forecast to resume operations next year. Though large, it is conventionally powered and does not have catapults, relying instead on a ski jump to launch high-performance Su-33 Flanker fighters. It also embarks helicopters.

A major fleet asset is the battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov, which is the largest cruiser constructed by any navy. The Nakhimov has a hybrid nuclear/steam propulsion plant, with the nuclear portion good for 20 knots, and the boilers/steam turbines used to boost speed to 30+ knots as required. As befits a 28,000-ton behemoth, it is very heavily armed with missiles and carries three helicopters. It embarks a crew of over 700.

There are two other smaller cruisers in the fleet (originally three; one sunk by Ukraine) that displace over 12,000 tons and are also heavily armed. One each are in the Northern and Pacific Fleets.

There are a total of ten missile destroyers of two classes in service. Again, both date from the Soviet era. Four of the larger Sovremenny class were sold and are active in the PLA Navy.

The Russian Navy has a total of seven missile frigates: Five are older and two are large new frigates built in the last five years, with more on the way.

In common with the Cold War Soviet Navy, the Russian Navy has a large number of corvettes. 20 are antisubmarine-oriented, 17 are antiship missile ships; these all displace around 1,000 tons. Four of the missile corvettes are relatively new. There are also eight newer and larger multipurpose corvettes (or small frigates) of 2,200 tons.

The Russian Navy is deficient in the underway replenishment ships needed for prolonged operations at sea but has older oilers which can refuel the fleet. Befitting their geography, the Navy has seven icebreakers in operation.

The Sukhoi SU-33 Flankers operating from the aircraft carrier were built in very limited numbers -- about 22 were built, so when at-sea air operations are conducted, basically all the aircraft are embarked. Helicopters are much more numerous and embarked on combatant ships down to frigate size. The standard is the Kamov Ka-25 Helix, first flown in 1973, which operates in both antisubmarine and utility versions.

During the Soviet era, the Navy had a large land-based aviation force, including air defense interceptors and bombers carrying antiship missiles. These were all transferred to the Russian Air Force. There are two land-based Navy aircraft still active: The Ilyushin Il-38 patrol aircraft and the Tupolev Tu-142 Bear maritime version of the Tu-95. The Tu-142 is flown in two versions: The Tu-142MK long-range patrol/ASW aircraft and the Tu-142MR aircraft which is tasked with relaying communications to the strategic missile submarines in the event of nuclear war. (The odd pod above the Il-38 cockpit is an ELINT installation).

As seen by the damage that Ukraine has been able to inflict on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Russian Navy appears to be woefully deficient in combat readiness. I doubt that the Northern or Pacific Fleets are in much better shape.