The official purpose of the past 5-6 April joint exercises between Georgia and NATO increased the level of compatibility and interaction of the Georgian coast guard with the naval forces of the NATO bloc. A “hodgepodge” of Romanian military courts participated on the part of the North Atlantic Alliance, Turkey, Holland and Bulgaria. The Georgian fleet was represented by coast guard boats P-23 Ochamchir and P-25 Dioskuria. Georgia does not yet have any funds for its own shipbuilding, no skills, so we have to be content with used US Navy WPB boats 1340 Jefferson Island and WPB 1345 Staten Island. Chief in naval maneuvers, during which boarding skills were practiced, was the Dutch air defense frigate HNLMS "Evertsen".
Dutch air defense frigate HNLMS "Evertsen"
Georgian coast guard boats P-23 Ochamchir and P-25 Dioskuria
The maneuvers were not the last. FROM 5 In April, NATO staged exercises with the Ukrainian Navy, adding a group of ships to them, totaling 2200 personnel of the. These sea games are planned to last until 13 April and are one of the stages of escalating the situation before the upcoming second round of elections in Ukraine. NATO, represented by Jens Stoltenberg, has long announced the main goal of building up its naval force in the Black Sea - increasing awareness of the situation in the waters and providing moral and technical support to the “brotherly” fleets of Georgia and Ukraine. Besides, Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Alliance Kay Bailey Hutchinson indicated in early April that a package of measures was ready, aimed at the unhindered passage of Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea. The mechanism of this “ensuring” passage is still not fully understood.. In the case of direct escort of Ukrainian ships, the chances of serious incidents with the Russian Navy increase sharply. And the ships of the US Navy generally have their hands tied by the Montreux Convention from 1936 of the year, which prohibits “non-native” warships from being in the Black Sea for more than 21 day. The total tonnage of such connections is also limited - no more 30 thousand tons. properly, such a grouping is very comfortable for the powerful Russian Black Sea Fleet, and shouldn’t cause him any special problems. That’s why NATO has to get out, sending the Black Sea flotillas of Bulgaria and Romania to exercises, who cannot be called serious players. It’s more difficult with Turkey - its fleet is more powerful, but neither NATO can rely on Erdogan’s shaky loyalty, especially not the USA.
Nevertheless, 28 March a group of NATO ships entered the Black Sea through the Bosphorus, including the Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto (Halifax type), Spanish frigate ESPS Santa Maria, as well as the previously mentioned HNLMS “Evertsen” from Holland. The Turkish frigate TCG Gelibolu also joined the squadron, USS Reid, a former American frigate (FFG-30) Oliver Hazard Perry class. Already 1 April, this entire company was in Odessa and at the beginning of the month took part in small maneuvers with the remnants of the Ukrainian fleet. Previously, the ships visited the Danube Giurgiulesti in Moldova, where the locals greeted the NATO sailors very cordially. Visit to the port, by the way, became the first in NATO history.
Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto
Situation in the Black Sea, obviously, will be maintained: NATO ships will continue to sail together off the Russian coast as part of a rotation. What steps is Russia taking in response to this?? At first, The NATO group is under constant surveillance of the new naval ships “Ivan Khurs” and “Vasily Bykov”.
patrol ship “Vasily Bykov”
Intelligence “Ivan Hursa”
This is the first line of defense - it is their silhouettes that the sailors of the opposing side see in binoculars. "Ivan Khurs" is a medium reconnaissance communications ship and the first in a series of ships of the project 18280. The vessel is designed to provide communications and fleet management, conducting radio reconnaissance and electronic warfare. Khurs is capable of monitoring the operation of on-board air defense systems of NATO ships, and also, if necessary, jam their radio-electronic equipment. Patrolman "Vasily Bykov" project 22160 acts in this pair as power support due to the presence on board of the Kalibr-NKE cruise missile launcher. Besides, "Bykov" has a Ka-27 helicopter on deck. Secondly, The Black Sea Fleet, together with the FSB border service, is organizing exercises, aimed at repelling the aggression of the NATO squadron in the area of the Crimean Bridge and the Kerch Strait. The program includes artillery firing and air strikes against surface targets.. The skills of seizing intruder vessels by special forces by boarding methods and landing are being practiced.. At the beginning of April, a large-scale drill alert was announced in the ground units of the Southern Military District and coastal units of the Black Sea Fleet. In response to the ongoing 8 April exercises of the second permanent naval group of NATO Sea Shield 2019 ("Sea Shield") Coastal defense divisions "Bal" and "Bastion" have been put on high alert. Officially, NATO members designate these maneuvers as long-planned and in no way connected with the elections in Ukraine. However, in “Nezalezhnaya” itself they say, that the squadron will remain in the Black Sea until the end of the elections, and can, and longer.
When, if the Black Sea does become the waters of a new conflict, Russia has every chance to emerge victorious. No country in the region has sufficient power, comparable to the Black Sea Fleet. no less 6 frigates, 6 submarines with Kalibr cruise missiles, and 8 missile boats with Termit and Moskit anti-ship missiles. Besides, several landing ships and 8 anti-submarine vessels. Ukraine has only the frigate "Herman Sahaidachny" among serious weapons., yes, one Project 206MR missile boat “Pryluky” without missiles.
Turkish frigate TCG "Gelibolu"
Only Türkiye can, purely theoretically, do something to oppose our fleet: 13 submarines, 16 frigates, 8 corvettes and 16 missile boats. But Erdogan can now hardly be called a close friend of the United States and NATO, therefore, the Turkish fleet will rather formally fulfill the duties assigned to it by the Alliance and will not provoke Russia. Besides, all ships, who wish to pass the Bosphorus, owe for 15 days to notify Turkey about this, which allows the Russian Navy to gain a lot of time. 4 the frigate and 2 corvettes are the main forces of the Bulgarian Navy, which puts them among the auxiliary squadrons in the event of a big mess. Romania has a little more - 4 the frigate and 6 corvettes with a small handful of missile boats and minesweepers. properly, for the full development of the conflict, which could force Russia to make room in the Black Sea, At a minimum, a revision of international treaties dating back almost a century is necessary. And NATO countries cannot get away with this with sanctions alone.
Yevgeny Fyodorov
