Three years ago, on March 16, 2014, Crimea officially became part of the Russian Federation. Prior to this, the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) was based on the peninsula under Ukrainian-Russian agreements and since 1997 has been reinforced with only one air-cushion missile ship Samum and front-line bombers Su-24.
After a hard, long, exhausting voyage, Crimea and Sevastopol return to their native harbor, to their native shores, to the port of permanent registration - to Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin
At the end of 2015, the Black Sea Fleet received more than 200 units of new types of weapons and military equipment, about 40 different ships and vessels, more than 30 aircraft (including Su-30SM fighters).
Parts of the coastal troops were replenished with 140 units of the latest armored vehicles. Modern coastal missile systems "Bastion" took over on duty in Crimea.
At the end of 2016, the Black Sea Fleet received the most new ships and submarines in comparison with other Russian fleets. And his ships continued to be on constant combat duty as part of the Mediterranean squadron, re-formed in 2013.
Crimea was also reinforced with the S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile system, the Pantsir-S complexes, Su-30SM fighters and the Bastion coastal missile systems were redeployed.
According to plans, by 2020, the fleet should receive about 50 new ships and support vessels.
PADS
The underwater component of the Black Sea Fleet is fully completed. Diesel-electric submarines of project 636.3 (code "Varshavyanka") became one of the first modern ships built in the modern history of Russia. Six submarines of the improved design are based in Novorossiysk and Sevastopol.
In October 2016, the project 636.3 Veliky Novgorod submarine entered the fleet. The sixth and final in this series, the Kolpino diesel-electric submarine, was handed over to the fleet on 24 November.
The first two - "Novorossiysk" and "Rostov-on-Don" - were received by the military in 2014, two more - "Stary Oskol" and "Krasnodar" - in 2015.
Thus, the construction of the first series of these submarines for the Navy is fully completed. The construction of six Varshavyankas for the Black Sea Fleet began in 2010. The creation of the second series of this kind, intended for the Pacific Fleet, is scheduled to begin in 2017 and be completed in 2021.
The 636s demonstrated their capabilities at the end of 2015, when the Rostov-on-Don submarine, the second in the Black Sea series, while in the Mediterranean Sea, used Caliber cruise missiles to destroy objects of the Islamic State group (IS, banned in RF) in Syria.
THE WATCHERS AND THE "BRAIDS"
In 2016, the fleet began to be replenished with patrol boats of the "Admiral's" series, equipped with the Kalibr-NK strike missile systems.
The lead ship of the 11356 series "Admiral Grigorovich" was commissioned into the fleet on March 11, 2016. In May, he arrived in Sevastopol, and in November he was already performing tasks as part of the naval group of the Russian Navy in the eastern waters of the Mediterranean Sea. On November 15, the Russian Ministry of Defense published a video of the launches of Kalibr cruise missiles at terrorist targets in Syria.
The second frigate of this series, "Admiral Essen", entered the fleet on June 7. The third ship of this series "Admiral Makarov", which is now undergoing state tests in the Baltic Sea, is planned to be handed over to the fleet in the near future. According to the developers, these ships will become reliable workhorses of the fleet for the coming years.
In 2015, the Black Sea Fleet was replenished with two small missile ships (MRK) "Serpukhov" and "Zeleny Dol" project 21631 "Buyan-M", equipped with "Caliber" missiles. Now at the Zelenodolsk plant in Tatarstan, four more ships of this project are being built for the Black Sea Fleet.
The hulls of the ships of this project are made according to "stealth" technology, it is difficult to distinguish them from a fishing yacht on the radar screen. The likelihood of finding them at sea is reduced due to the inclined design of the silhouette planes and the absorbing coating.
The ships of the Buyan-M project, with their modest dimensions, are capable of becoming a very dangerous enemy. Their missiles can reach targets in the Persian Gulf, Suez Canal, Red and Mediterranean Seas within a radius of 2500 km.
Their fighting qualities were also tested by Syria: three RTOs from the Caspian Flotilla in October 2015 successfully used their main caliber against the IS group.
Chernomorsky is to become one of the first fleets to receive Project 22800 Karakurt multipurpose missile and artillery ships of the near sea zone. It is assumed that they will complement the "brawlers" in operations in the shallow and coastal areas of the Black and Mediterranean Seas.
"Karakurt" is slightly less in displacement than "brawlers" (only 800 tons), but they will also be equipped with "Caliber". The first two ships are being built at the Pella shipyard in the Leningrad Region, the third was laid down at the Feodosia Sea shipyard.
The Zelenodolsk shipyard is also building four of the newest Project 22160 modular patrol ships. It is expected that the ships will be included in each of the four Russian fleets.
In the future, the Black Sea Fleet will also receive a rescue vessel of the same type as "Igor Belousov", as well as a new logistics support vessel (sea tug) of Project 23120.
It is expected that one of the most belligerent ships of the Russian Navy, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the guards missile cruiser Moskva, may go for repair and modernization in 2018.
AVIATION
In the spring of 2016, a squadron of eight Su-30SM aircraft was formed in Crimea. In the fall, four more fighters were added to the Black Sea Fleet Naval Aviation.
The aircraft were built at the Irkutsk Aviation Enterprise and handed over to the Navy as part of the fleet renewal program. They became part of a separate sea attack aviation regiment of the Black Sea Fleet, based at the Crimean airfield of Saki.
Pilots of the Black Sea Fleet Naval Aviation began operating the Su-30SM in Crimea in January 2015. These supersonic fighters will replace the Su-24 front-line bombers, which formed the basis of the Black Sea Fleet's fleet and are being phased out of service.
ANTI-AIR AND COAST DEFENSE
In January 2017, the S-400 Triumph air defense system took over on combat duty. According to the commander of the 4th Air Force and Air Defense Army Viktor Sevastyanov, his capabilities make it possible not only to protect the Crimean Peninsula, but also part of the Krasnodar Territory.
The armament of the Sevastopol-Feodosiya guards anti-aircraft missile regiment was replenished with the system back in 2016. The personnel of the regiment successfully completed retraining, and in September last year, as part of the large-scale exercises Kavkaz-2016, training missile launches took place.
Crimea is exposed to both sea and air impacts, so a modern integrated defense system is needed. So the S-400 is one of its elements. He's badly needed
Alexander Luzan - ex-deputy commander of the Air Defense Forces of the Ground Forces for armaments, retired lieutenant general.
In addition to the S-400, other air defense systems will also be deployed on the peninsula, which would make it possible to resist anti-radar missiles of a potential enemy.
According to the TASS military observer Viktor Litovkin, the presence of the Triumph in Crimea, along with other missile systems such as the S-300, Buk-M2, Tor-M2, Pantsir-S1 with surface ships' air defense systems, has the task of protecting the Crimean sky and the Black Sea waters adjacent to the peninsula (territorial waters and the economic zone of Russia) from uninvited "guests".
If NATO or any other aircraft and other aircraft do not violate the state borders and national interests of Russia in this region, their S-400 aircraft cannot pose any threat. The advice is simple: "Don't fly where you shouldn't!"
Viktor Litovkin Military observer for TASS
In 2014, batteries of the Bastion coastal missile system were deployed on the Crimean coast. In September of the same year, during an exercise, a missile complex destroyed a training target in the central part of the Black Sea at a distance of 90 km. Also, the "Ball" complex took over on combat duty.
The Bastion coastal missile system is equipped with P-800 Onyx supersonic missiles (Yakhont is an export version. - TASS note). It is capable of destroying surface ships of various classes and types. One complex, the ammunition of which can include up to 36 missiles, is capable of protecting more than 600 km of the coast.
Armed with the Kh-35 subsonic low-altitude anti-ship missiles, the Ball complex is capable of eliminating enemy ground and surface targets at a distance of about 130 km. The X-35 is capable of destroying ships with a displacement of up to 5,000 tons. The missile can be used in simple and difficult weather conditions, day and night, in conditions of enemy fire and electronic countermeasures.
