To Give A Proper Perspective...

As you know, yesterday the Black Sea Fleet took the delivery of the latest of the project 20380 corvette Merkurii. Now, the Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice-Admiral Sokolov, speaking to the Red Star informed, with pleasure that by the end of 2023 three more project 22800 Karakurt-class small missile ships will join the fleet. 

That means additional 24 Kalibr-Oniks or Zircon missiles in the first salvo, but then Sokolov disclosed a very interesting piece of information:

Speaking about ships only--namely SSKs, FFGs and MRKs of the Black Sea Fleet--Sokolov pointed out that they struck MORE than 180 objects of VSU critical objects, and then added that BRAV (Coastal Missile-Artillery Troops) struck more than 70 objects. Now, let me decipher a little bit why this is startling. Even militarily illiterate people understand that, depending on the object, ranging from AD radar to position of troops, let alone production plant, one has to strike them not with one or two missiles, but with the salvo. So, what is, then, the expenditure of missiles by Black Sea frigates, subs and small missile ships? I will go out on a limb here and will tell you that the average number will range from 4 to 16 missiles. I would propose to consider as an average a standard salvo load of 3M14 Kalibr by SSK of project 636, which is 6 (six) missiles. 

So, that gives us the average expenditure of missiles as 180 x 6 = 1,080 missiles. We add here those 70 objects struck by BRAV--primarily Oniks (of Bastion complex) and Kh-35 (of Bal complex) and we can say that plus-minus this adds another 200-300 missiles. Add all this together and we can see that the Black Sea Fleet alone launched around (plus-minus) if we round it: 1,100 + 300 =1,400 stand off high precision weapons, aka cruise missiles. Do not also forget that the aviation of the Black Sea Fleet was and is also involved in SMO, but this data is unavailable for now. What is known that SU-30SMs (and some SU-24) of the 43rd Fighter Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet are engaged constantly in combat missions. 

So, now, just by counting what the ships and BRAV of the Black Sea Fleet do, one can definitely get the economic framework, so to speak, or scale of the military-economic potential Russia brings to bear. Mind you--this is JUST the Black Sea Fleet, alone. If one looks at the US very own UGM-109 Tomahawk per Raytheon:

Tried-and-true: U.S. and allied militaries have flight-tested the GPS-enabled Tomahawk 550 times and used it in combat more than 2,300 times. Its most recent use came in 2018, when U.S. Navy warships and submarines launched 66 Tomahawk missiles at Syrian chemical weapon facilities.

Considering the fact that GPS-guided Tomahawks have been introduced in 1993, 30 years ago, it gives you a proper perspective of the scale of SMO. And, mind you, Russia still didn't introduce her main forces into the battle. It also gives you some explanation of the complete unpreparedness of the Western so called intelligence community and Pentagon (I omit here morons from media and politics) to face modern warfare and economic realities. This is your Sunday primer.

Ah, The Power Of The Written Word.

As Melissa Rossi from Yahoo News notes: 

With roughly 100,000 Russian troops amassed close to the border with Ukraine, warships deployed in the nearby Black Sea, and Russian tanks streaming down from the north, fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to launch an invasion continue to grow inside the former Soviet republic and among NATO allies.

She, obviously, forgets after  "Russian tanks streaming down from the north", to note that:

Russian airplanes, poised to kill, picked up and carried by mighty air-streams from Russian inhospitable steppes, flying like a thunder-birds from the east, covering the ground beneath their vulturous wings with threatening shadows foretelling the impending doom. The grass on the tired and foreboding ground and the leafs on the trees shudder in anticipation of an abrupt end to their innocent, anthropological global warming fighting, existence under the tracks of a grim merciless, environment polluting, Russian armor streaming from the north. Children of the surrounding villages run to their same sex families trying to scream in horror, nay--cry in desperation sensing the end of their hormonal therapy and the end of their dream to become a fluid gender happy warrior for a universal right to be all they can be. The war is coming. 

You see, this is how Western journos should write their reports. Come on--not enough drama, what kind of reporting is that? In the end, as this Melissa girl describes herself:

Author of "What Every American Should Know" series, gypsy with a laptop and travel writer. 

There you go, girl. Let your imagination fly. You can do better than streaming tanks from the north.

On a more serious note, nah.... I am screwing with you--this one is even more hilarious:

The commander of the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet has called for more aircraft carriers in the Pacific to dissuade China and Russia from conflict. Vice Adm. Karl Thomas made the comment after the U.S. concluded a 10-day naval exercise with Japan, Australia, Canada and Germany, The Wall Street Journal reported. Thomas, when asked about the threat from China and Russia, said it was important to show a united front to "other nations that might be more aggressive and authoritarian," the newspaper reported. He added that the U.S. and allies should use joint exercises to "deter aggression from some of these nations that are showing burgeoning strength [and] tell these nations that maybe today is not the day."

At this stage I have to ask a serious question--when was the last time Vice Admiral Karl Thomas looked at the calendar? I by no means imply that my peer (you know--the same age) begins to enter the Admiral Benson stage but somebody tell the guy that the only thing those carriers can do is to present Russia with a wonderful set of fat prestigious targets in case of someone completely off the hinges in D.C. decides to attack Russia (or China). Those carriers don't deter anything unless we are talking about some third world helpless nation.

I understand, the guy commanded carriers all his life, but somebody tell him--it is almost December of 2021 and Russia's Pacific Fleet continues to receive new ships. Three brand new ones--two subs and one corvette (finally properly called by TV the escort ship) pr. 20385 just arrived to Vladivostok to join the fleet.

 

While two latest SSKs Volkhov and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky are, traditionally, carriers of 3M14 and 3M54, pr. 20385 Gremyashchiy is this terrifying new iteration of a series of Russian corvettes capable of carrying...and you have guessed it already 3M22 Zircon. As none other than Vladimir Putin himself announced today, speaking at the investment forum:

МОСКВА, 30 ноября. /ТАСС/. Новая гиперзвуковая ракета морского базирования поступит с начала следующего года в Вооруженные силы РФ. Об этом заявил президент России Владимир Путин, выступая на пленарном заседании инвестиционного форума "ВТБ капитала" "Россия зовет!"."Мы сейчас испытали, и успешно, и с начала года у нас будет на вооружении уже новая ракета морского базирования, гиперзвуковая - 9 махов. Подлетное время будет до тех, кто отдает приказы, тоже пять минут", - сказал Путин.

Translation: MOSCOW, November 30. / TASS /. The new sea-based hypersonic missile will be procured to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from the beginning of next year. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the plenary session of the investment forum "VTB Capital" "Russia is calling!" “We have now tested, and successfully, and from the beginning of the year we will be armed with a new sea-based missile, hypersonic - Mach 9. The flight time will also be five minutes before those who give orders,” Putin said.  

Vladimir Putin doesn't have naval background or background in weapon systems, unlike Vice Admiral Karl Thomas, he has people who do and the reason Russia's President announces the arrival of Zircon is simple--surface fleets and from the sea deterrence as we know it are over no matter how many and how large aircraft carriers one has. I will talk about actual firepower and how it grows exponentially with such weapons later, when continue with Salvo Model I wanted to record video today BUT, some SOBs starting from the early morning are cutting trees in our community next to me and even with the closed windows the sound of their saws is horrendous. Maybe tomorrow. 

P.S. In somewhat pleasant news: my books (first and third) will be published in Polish and German language by respective Polish and German publishing houses. The contracts have been signed. I am truly grateful to my Polish and German readers who also played a role in this by making many non-English language countries aware of my writing. 

About Russian Navy.

The Navy Day is coming in Russia and, amid festivities, Russian Navy is getting ready to receive its presents and those presents are really something--6 major combatants were laid down at Russia's shipyards. 

1. Two new amphibious assault ships, Sevastopol and Vladivostok, of project 23900, at Zaliv wharf in Kerch, Crimea. These are 25 000 ton standard displacement (28 000 full) amphibious ships capable of carrying 20 attack and other helicopters and two enforced battalions of naval infantry (marines). They are stuffed with AD complexes and, in general, are a sign of Russia's movement towards much greater Mediterranean presence. Here is Putin (in Russian) at the ceremony of laying down these ships. 

These ships are larger (significantly) than Mistral-class, which France refused to sell to Russia (see the very first post in this blog) and the irony of new assault ships being built in Crimea--the main reason France refused to deliver Mistrals--cannot be lost on anyone even remotely acquainted with the issue. 

2. Two new, much larger and improved pr. 22350M Frigates, Admiral Yumashev and Admiral Spiridonov, are "frigates" in the name only--these are, evidently, significantly larger displacement ships with larger number of 3C14 UKSK VLS cells and are carriers of 3M22 Zircon and whatever else is available or will be available in the future. Mind you, that Admiral Golovko of the same series is already afloat and is fitting out. 

3. Two newest project 885M SSGNs, Voronezh and Vladivostok, carriers of not only all those cute Zircons but of the improved 3M14 Kalibr with a range of 4500 kilometers. This, BTW, also applies to new frigates. 

I, of course, omit here a rather dynamic program of construction of SSKs, corvettes and dedicated missile corvettes--you can see the list here. I also do not include here introduction of the new state-of-the-art SSBNs, such as Prince Oleg of the Borey-M class. She is still to do the trials. Here is she three days ago:

I, of course, also do not expect all this cabal of "analysts" from all kinds of outlets, who had the audacity for the last few years to predict "troubles" for Russia's shipbuilding program, to eat their words. But just a side note: modernization of the Russian Navy, which includes much more than combatants, proceeds apace now both in terms of ASW forces and de facto revival of what used to be known as Naval Missile-carrying Aviation (MRA). This pace allows not only for a reliable defense of Russia's shores, which has been achieved already, but an expansion of the A2/AD bubble well into the ocean zone, if need be, and project forces in what I call a "firefighter mode". You may also call it stabilization operations, such as was done in Syria.  But then again, I will repeat myself--Russia exports political stability and this product is hot, hot, hot.