This summer Russia unveiled its new maritime doctrine, which contains plans for an increased emphasis on operations in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic regions, a permanent Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea, and improvements to the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets. Released on 26 July, the document calls for countering Western militaries and NATO expansion, in part through a concerted maritime approach. Today’s Russian navy is made up largely of aging Soviet-era assets, but this doctrine aims to escalate blue-water operations, modernize the existing fleet, and expand the Russian shipbuilding industry. The surface fleet is to be recapitalized with several new classes of smaller combatants that have recently begun entering the service, including the Steregushchiy-class frigate, pictured here. Submarine production and operations are expected to continue taking precedence over surface ships for at least the next few years. The acquisition of new naval-aviation assets is planned for the midterm, along with longer-range plans for a new class of aircraft carriers. Many skeptics, however, question whether the Russian economy can sustain these plans or associated expenditures over the long term.
In August the U.S. Marine Corps retired its last CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters. The CH-46 first flew in 1962, entered service in 1964, and served with the Marines for more than 50 years, in every conflict from the Vietnam War through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 600 of the venerable twin-rotor helicopters were built for the Navy and Marine Corps. They have performed many vital missions, including combat support/resupply and troop transport and casualty evacuation, for which they carried up to 25 combat troops or 15 stretchers. Over the decades the CH-46 was enhanced and modernized with a number of improvements, including automatic navigation systems, armored seats, composite rotor blades, and infrared jamming devices. The Sea Knight has now been replaced in Marine Corps service by the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
France announced in early August that it had officially canceled a controversial contract to supply Russia with two 21,000-ton Mistral-class helicopter-carrying assault ships. The two vessels, to have been named the Vladivostok (pictured here) and the Sevastopol, were ordered in 2011, but had been placed on hold following Russian aggression in Ukraine and the seizure of Crimea. The settlement reached between the two countries involves French reimbursement to Russia of its advance payment, which is said to total less than 1 billion euros, a sum significantly less than had been expected. The two warships, which are nearing completion, will now be stripped of any Russian equipment and offered for sale on the export market. Able to carry 19 helicopters, the craft are 910 feet long with a beam of 105 feet. Cancellation of the contract leaves Russia with a significant shortfall in amphibious lift, and several foreign navies in the Middle East and Asia have reportedly expressed interest in the ships’ acquisition.
Mr. Wertheim, a defense consultant in the Washington, D.C., area, is the author of the new 16th edition of The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, available from the Naval Institute Press (see www.usni.org).