This Is Not Just "Demonstration Of Flag"...

 ... albeit this is how demonstration of force was always called in naval affairs. 

МЕХИКО, 2 июл — РИА Новости. Корабельная ударная группа Северного флота ВМФ России зашла в порт венесуэльского штата Ла-Гуайра, передает корреспондент РИА Новости. Она состоит из атомной подводной лодки "Казань", фрегата "Адмирал Горшков", спасательного буксира "Николай Чикер" и танкера-снабженца "Академик Пашин", который зашел в порт первым. Командует группой начальник оперативного управления Главного штаба ВМФ вице-адмирал Михаил Неупокоев. Как сообщили в пресс-службе Северного флота, во время стоянки экипажи российских кораблей смогут отдохнуть и ознакомиться с местными достопримечательностями. Уточняется, что деловой заход продлится несколько дней, после чего корабельная группа во главе с фрегатом "Адмирал Горшков" продолжит выполнение поставленных задач в акватории Атлантического океана, в их числе: демонстрация флага и обеспечение военно-морского присутствия в оперативно важных районах дальней океанской зоны.

Translation: MEXICO CITY, July 2 – RIA Novosti. The naval strike group of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy entered the port of the Venezuelan state of La Guaira, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports. It consists of the nuclear submarine Kazan, the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker and the supply tanker Akademik Pashin, which entered the port first. The group is commanded by the head of the operational department of the Main Headquarters of the Navy, Vice Admiral Mikhail Neupokoev. According to the press service of the Northern Fleet, during the stay the crews of Russian ships will be able to relax and get acquainted with local attractions. It is clarified that the business call will last several days, after which the ship group led by the frigate "Admiral Gorshkov" will continue to carry out its assigned tasks in the Atlantic Ocean, including: demonstrating the flag and ensuring a naval presence in operationally important areas of the far ocean zone.

 

Keep in mind that in this particular case the "flag" consists of a mix of 48 missiles of Kalibr, Onyx and Zircon variety. Add here Venezuela, Caribbean and shit and you get the picture. For now, Kazan is logging more surface hours demonstrating, indeed, that there could be something else underwater. Now get the load of this, and I mean THE load. 

Предполагается, что "субмарина выполнит испытательные пуски гиперзвуковой ракеты "Циркон" с надводного и подводного положения", сообщил ранее другой собеседник агентства.  КРОНШТАДТ, 26 июня. /ТАСС/. Атомная подводная лодка (АПЛ) "Иркутск" проекта 949АМ Тихоокеанского флота (ТОФ) после ремонта и модернизации вышла на заводские ходовые испытания. Об этом ТАСС сообщил источник в кораблестроительной отрасли в кулуарах Международного военно-морского салона (МВМС) "Флот-2024". "Ремонт и модернизация АПЛ "Иркутск" на одном из дальневосточных заводов практически завершены. Лодка вышла на заводские ходовые испытания", - сказал он.

Translation: It is expected that “the submarine will test launch the Zircon hypersonic missile from surface and submerged positions,” another agency source said earlier. KRONSTADT, June 26. /TASS/. The nuclear submarine "Irkutsk" of project 949AM of the Pacific Fleet (PF) after repair and modernization entered factory sea trials. A source in the shipbuilding industry reported this to TASS on the sidelines of the International Naval Show (IMMS) Fleet-2024. “The repair and modernization of the Irkutsk nuclear submarine at one of the Far Eastern plants is almost complete. The boat has entered factory sea trials,” he said.

The funniest thing about deeply modernized good ol' pr. 949A lovingly known in the fleet as Loafs, and in NATO as Oscar-II, is that nobody knows the exact number of missiles it carries now. It is clear it is way more that 30 but how many? The base number is 48 but is it more? Some say it is 72. Well, look at those lovely Loafs...

This is K-132 Irkutsk before modernization. This is the worst nightmare of any surface fleet and shipping. 

But here is West's worst nightmare. Although I speak about for years, let me rub this in again:

Russia becomes ‘high income’ country – World Bank. Moscow’s economic growth has defied Western sanctions 

The worst nightmare having two components.

1. Russia is beginning to live better than most EU countries. Soon Russians will live better than ANY EU country and will be on average reaching the US, allowed for climatic and geographic peculiarities. 

2. This is the worst one: while definitely capitalist, Russia is very social and, in fact, a mixed economy which is performing amazingly and that is the key--Russian economy is NOT neo-liberal economy and that drives globalist types insane. 

Well, what can I say--too bad, they should have studied real economics and history instead of wasting their time in Ivy League degree mills. Try to explain to any economics Ph.D from Harvard what real war is and how it shapes humanity for tens of thousand of years. But I repeat myself.

Some Technological Issues For The Russian Navy.

No, I am not talking about those well-known issues of re-tooling and modernization of wharves and issues related to that. No. I am talking about the issue of a fleet facing a completely new technological reality, aka Real Revolution in Military Affairs, and being forced to adapt literally on the run with all that follows, including rewriting its own fighting doctrine, tactics and reviewing its force structure. Enter this damn 3M22 Zircon and Marshal Shaposhnikov, now officially, a destroyer (instead of being Large ASW Ship in his previous life) and long time "reservist" K-132 Irkutsk of Oscar-II (project 949A) SSGN. The hint with Shaposhnikov was obvious. Compare this picture from from 2017:

With this, from October 2019. 

See the difference? It is huge, Shaposhnikov has two large technological holes created behind her, now lone, 100-mm gun and those holes are, obviously, for UKSK (3C14) VLS. Now, it has been revealed that apart from seemingly obvious mix of Kalibr's 3M14-3M54-91RT family missiles, Shaposhnikov WILL carry, drum roll, 3M22 Zircon.   

БПК "Маршал Шапошников" и подлодка "Иркутск" смогут применять ракеты "Циркон". АПЛ "Иркутск", в частности, модернизируют до уровня 949АМ

Translation: Large ASW Ship Marshal Shaposhnikov and submarine Irkutsk will be able to use Zircon missiles. Submarine Irkutsk, specifically, is being modernized to project 949AM level.

This, obviously, explains a "delay", or rather "progression" of modernization plans for Shaposhnikov. As for Oscars, their Zirconization was obvious from the git go. In fact, Russian Navy's Zirconization is now an established fact. These ships are for Russia's Pacific Fleet, which is in desperate need for modernization (it is ongoing as I type this) and is getting to be (back) a key stability factor both in nuclear deterrence and in Asia by conventional means. Just imagine one of these things stuffed with Zirkons and Onyxes to the hilt hanging out somewhere under the cover of Russian ASW and fighter-interceptor aviation, and latest SSKs.

See the possibilities now? 

TOOD

This is not anymore A2/AD (Anti-Access/Area Denial) "bubble", this is (may I copyright this?) Theater Of Operations Denial (TOOD) doctrine in action. But then again, traditional geopolitics as it was conceived in times of steam and ironclads is dead as are dead old fighting naval doctrines. But I warned about it years ago, didn't I? Here is one of such warnings. 

I propose, that the development of these kinds of ships (boats) and of the missile complexes they carry is completely new, paradigm-shifting, development but before I continue, hopefully during the Labor Day weekend, I want to make some important points.

Disclaimer: I know, there are armies of internet "warriors" who browse world-wide-web constantly in search of the virtual fights and who do not understand that behind all this fancy military lingo is the reality of the combat with blood, suffering, torn limbs, horrible burns, torturous deaths. I am terrified by the possibility of Russia and US going to war, but I am also terrified by the blood-thirst of all kinds of patriots who are ready to fight somebody, while sitting in the chairs as I am doing now.

I have a profound respect to US Navy, its glorious history and many people, who served and still serve there, some of those people are my closest and dearest friends and they are not war mongers. However, the continuation of the posts on mosquito fleet, inevitably, will lead to a description of the scenario which is in the air, but, hopefully is not becoming a reality, in which US Navy will try to test Russia's littoral defenses and this scenario will, certainly, involve participation on a massive scale of Russian Navy's mosquito capabilities, which, as some already guessed, will be covered in the air and from beneath by necessary means which, in Russian language, are called Naryad Sil  (Required Force--what is Naryad and why it is called as such, in English it means dressed, is a separate discussion;-)   Meanwhile, I leave you with the question of why late Admiral Cebrowsky's (hell, try Zumwalt and his Project 60) ideas of Street Fighter will not work in US.

I don't think I need to add anything here. 

Update: I need to add something here, after all. LOL. Zvezda TV already ran news video on this whole issue. In Russian. Pay attention to update (modernization) of good ol' pr. 1234 with 16 X-35 Uran anti-shipping missiles.