Re-establishing the Soviet 5th Fleet, Russia controlled the Mediterranean

Russia re-establishes the Soviet 5th Fleet

Recently, Russian Navy Commander, Admiral Vladimir Korolev announced that Russia will establish the 5th Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Fleet.

This will be the 5th Fleet after the Russian Northern Fleet, Pacific Fleet, Baltic Fleet and Black Sea Fleet.

Judging from the current situation, the US-NATO air-sea combat forces in the Middle East region, including the US 5th Fleet in Manama/Bahrain and the US 6th Fleet in the Atlantic, have very strong integrated air-sea combat potential.

Furthermore, the UK and France also deployed aircraft carrier groups in the Mediterranean Sea area.

The so-called “Mediterranean Union”, consisting of 11 Western and Arab countries, hopes to monopolize the Mediterranean and counter the long-term deployment of Russian naval fleets in the region.

However, despite facing many great problems and difficulties, the attraction of the Mediterranean to Russia is too great, and Moscow cannot easily give up.

To maintain a foothold in the operational naval base in Tartous and the permanent air base Hmeymim in Syria's Latakia province, the Russian army has deployed forces to Syria to participate in the war, with up to 60,000 Russian troops taking turns in Syria over the past three years.

Russia will restore Soviet naval power in the Mediterranean

Geographically, the Mediterranean Sea connects Europe, Asia and Africa and straddles the axis between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It is NATO’s most vulnerable southern flank, and if an adversary were to control the Mediterranean, it could threaten NATO’s most vulnerable parts.

Furthermore, North Africa and the Middle East, located on the Mediterranean coast, are the most important oil-producing regions in the world and play a major role in the development and stability of the world economy.

It is also an important central hub for Russian forces south to Africa and east into the Indian Ocean.

In addition, if Russia establishes the Fifth Fleet in the Mediterranean, it will also maintain its long-term military presence in this sea, which means maintaining its geopolitical position in Southern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, especially with Türkiye, Greece, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria and a number of other countries.

Once Russia is present in the eastern Mediterranean and the western - bordering the North Atlantic - it will also control the maritime trade channels of the United States, Asia and Europe. Here, there are a large number of giant ships transporting resources, goods and various technological products.

In addition to Syria, in late February 2015, Russia signed a freedom of navigation/aircraft agreement with the government of the Republic of Cyprus.

The deal could pave the way for the Russian navy to use the country's ports and airports across from Syria's Tartus port, less than 200km from the Mediterranean port.

Russia prepares forces for Mediterranean Fleet

Previously, military commentators speculated that Russia might want to restore the model of the "5th Operational Task Group" or "5th Fleet" of the former Soviet Navy.

The 5th Operational Task Group of the Soviet Navy is considered a force that was established by the Soviet Navy in response to the US Navy maintaining the 6th Fleet during the Cold War.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union maintained the 5th Mediterranean Fleet in this sea from 1967 to 1992 to counter the US Navy's 6th Fleet. This squadron consisted of 30-50 warships, peaking at nearly 100 during the "Yom Kippur War" in October 1973.

One year after the collapse of the Soviet Union, on December 31, 1992, the 5th Operational Task Group of the Soviet Navy was dissolved. And now, Russia is starting to plan to recreate the power of the Soviet Navy in the Mediterranean, starting with the formation of at least 10 cruise missile ships.

However, the problem that Russia faces is that the Russian military's military spending is limited and it is difficult to establish a large fleet of ships to confront a strong US 5th and 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea and Persian Gulf, as well as warships of the German and British navies that are regularly deployed to this area.

US aircraft carrier squadrons will face worthy opponents: Russian warships

Therefore, the Russian Navy has planned to build a strong fleet of small-tonnage, high-speed ships with low cost but strong firepower and the ability to operate far from shore.

With the support of powerful nuclear submarines, this surface force can mercilessly confront US aircraft carrier squadrons in the Mediterranean Sea.

Therefore, the Russian Navy Design Bureau developed the Type 20386 Derzky-class medium-class frigate, built on the basis of the Gremyashchiy-class (Project 20385) and Steregushchiy-class (Project 20380) stealth frigates, but slightly larger with a displacement of 3,400 tons.

According to plan, the Russian navy has ordered the first batch of 10 ships, the first of which, Derzky, is expected to be launched in 2019 and officially commissioned about a year later.

This type of warship has a stealth design, with an angular hull design that reduces radar cross-section; the smokestacks, radar, missiles and weapons systems are all integrated into the overall structure, instead of being placed on the surface of the ship, as in past designs.

The Type 20386 frigate will use a powerful engine and power system for a maximum speed of up to 30 knots and a combat range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300km).

With a modular design, the ship is equipped with vertical launch systems to launch air defense missiles, anti-ship missiles and cruise missiles.

Specifically, the ship has 2x8 Redut medium-range air defense missile launchers (maximum range of 120km); 2x Kalibr-NK cruise missile launchers and 2x4 Paket-NK anti-torpedo/anti-submarine torpedo launchers.

According to observers, most of Russia's most modern warships will be assigned to the 5th Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet, upgrading the strength of these two fleets, creating a balance of forces with the US fleets and British, German and French warships.