A Russian guided missile cruiser has carried out live-fire exercises just 30 kilometres from the Norwegian border.
The Marshal Ustinov, a Slava-class cruiser assigned to the Russian Northern Fleet, conducted artillery strikes and simulated combat drills on the Rybachii Peninsula, near the Barents Sea.
The drills, announced by the Russian Ministry of Defence, included live firing of the ship’s twin-barrelled AK-130 main gun at coastal targets, simulated missile engagements, and gunnery exercises against mock uncrewed surface vessels. Russian officials claimed all targets were successfully struck. The warship is also expected to conduct further anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, and anti-drone training in the coming days.
The Rybachii Peninsula lies less than 20 kilometres from Norway’s maritime boundary. The proximity of the exercise has drawn attention from defence analysts and regional observers, especially as it coincides with an uptick in Russian grey zone activity in northern Europe.
This is the second time in a month that the Marshal Ustinov has conducted exercises in the Barents Sea. In early March, the cruiser took part in drills involving artillery, missiles, and torpedo systems. The vessel, which measures 186 metres in length and displaces over 12,000 tonnes at full load, is armed with long-range S-300F Fort surface-to-air missiles, 16 P-1000 Vulkan anti-ship missiles, and a range of anti-submarine weapons including RBU-6000 rocket launchers and torpedoes.
The Marshal Ustinov also carries a helicopter and is equipped with advanced radar and sonar systems, making it one of the more capable surface ships in Russia’s Northern Fleet. It is based in Severomorsk and forms part of Russia’s standing presence in the Arctic region.
The timing of the exercise, during the Holy Week holiday period, has added to concerns in Oslo and elsewhere. Norway has repeatedly warned of increased Russian military activity near its northern waters, particularly since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. NATO’s recent strategic documents have highlighted the vulnerability of Arctic and North Atlantic shipping routes, undersea cables, and infrastructure to Russian disruption efforts.
Hmm, first time in awhile that I have seen ‘shipping routes’ mentioned in the press. Well done UKDJ…
NATO / eNATO surface escort fleet is wholly in adequate to deal with a major CRINK Axis effort to cut the North Atlantic trade routes. Yes I know that the idea is to pin them back north of the Greenland, Iceland, UK (GIUK) Gap, but that is all very well in principle but the best laid plans never survive contact with the enemy.
There are two issues to consider. While the Russian fleet is clearly in a poor state (the SLAVA class are Soviet era ships, so pretty old). The Russians are part of the CRINK Axis and China’s fleet is anything but old. Furthermore, China’s technology is closing in on the West’s as evidenced by the performance of the aircraft against Indian Air Force Rafales in the recent confrontation with Pakistan. So it is not inconceivable that China will help Russia improve its kit and or actively support them in a confrontation with NATO, especially if it draws USN units away from the Pacific and Taiwan…
It also takes about 5 to 10 years for the west to build a frigate these days so rebuilding our escort fleet is going to take quite sometime, time we may not have unless we really get on with it. The UK is building up momentum in this regard so stopping at 5x T31, and 8x T26 would be stupid in the extreme and mooning about the recruiting problem when we know there are huge delays in getting people through the system is dodging the issue – sort the b****y system out before wining about the yuth of today (me / our generation was viewed similarly back in the day and they stood firm in the Falklands and Gulf War One).
As the Parliamentary Defence Committee pointed out:- We need a bigger navy. One that can fight the Third Battle of the Atlantic and win. Otherwise, deterrence will fail..!
One day one of these gray zone actions will go way over the top either deliberately or by accident and the poop will hit the fan in a big way. The threat / risk profile is getting very ugly indeed.
Cheers CR
It’s a bit of a stretch to say all of the countries of the West need 5-10 years for frigates, the FREMMs and FDIs have been cracking on for example with the new Italian EVO model just having her keel laid. Add in Japan and ROK build rates and it’s much less than 5-10 years.
The USN seems to be making every mistake imaginable, while the stretch for the RN is mainly Treasury/No 10 related.
Amazingly the Marshal Ustinov was able to carry out this live fire and not sink itself in the process.
“Just another target” if it ever leaves the comparative safety of the Barents and Kara seas in a hot war.
And even then SSN would probably sink it.
This ship needed sinking. Blatant attempts like this by Putin to bully NATO members should only attract one response
Not a threat really- the SLAVA class cruisers can be sunk by a couple of harpoons or equivalents. Don’t believe me? just ask the RFS Moskva.- these ships are a liability and a danger to their crews.