Russian Navy Flotilla Conducts Exercises in the Red Sea

The Russian Pacific Fleet flotilla that conducted exercises with Myanmar's Navy in mid-November has now appeared in the Red Sea, and may be about to transit north through the Suez Canal.

The flotilla consists of the Udaloy Class frigate RFS Marshal Shaposhnikov (F543) and the Boris Chilikin Class oiler Boris Butoma (IMO 8842557). The third ship of the flotilla, the Gremyashchiy Class corvette RFS Gremyashchiy (F337), has not rejoined, having split off to make port visits alone to Chittagong and then Colombo to mark the 75th anniversary of Sri Lanka’s Navy.

The positioning of the two Russian ships in the Red Sea raises the possibility that they may attempt to monitor the joint Israeli-United States Exercise Intrinsic Defender which began on December 7.

Intrinsic Defender is an annual exercise, and would be of particular interest to Russian naval intelligence, as Russian allies would be keen to be briefed on what maneuvers the Israelis in particular are rehearsing. Intrinsic Defender typically takes place in both the Red Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. As an exercise between two high-performance navies which are close allies, it can reasonably be expected that tactical innovations will be trialed which may then manifest in future Israeli operations. In most years, little detail is provided as to what takes place during the typically one-week long exercise. The US component of the joint exercise is furnished by the Naples-based 5th Fleet.

The Russian vessels may be keen to visit the Mediterranean, which for several weeks has been Russian-free, albeit civilian-registered ships have continued to visit Tartus, and Russian aircraft are still transiting through the airbase at Khmeimim in Syria. The Russian vessels on their way home might be the component which exercises with the Chinese and Iranian Navies in Exercise Maritime Security, an event which normally takes place in February or March every year.