"Ocean-2024" Russia's Largest Naval FTX Since USSR's Collapse

FTX--Field Training Exercise

Montage of Russian Naval Vessels

For the first time in its new history, Russia is holding its largest Naval Exercises. These sorts of FTXs are planned well in advance and aren’t done on the spur-of-the-moment; so, this has nothing to do with Kursk, although it’s somewhat related to the SMO which can now be characterized as Russia’s counterattack against NATO’s invasion. The waters within and surrounding Eurasia form Russia’s strategic perimeter and in three key areas come into very close conflict with NATO forces—Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Mediterranean Sea. The Arctic, Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans are far more open and not as contestable. After the Kremlin’s comments, Putin followed by Defense Minister Belousov and Admiral Moiseyev speak for the cameras:

The Ocean-2024 Strategic Command and Staff Exercise is one of the main operational and combat training events for the Russian Armed Forces in 2024. The exercise is being held from September 10 to 16 under the general supervision of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseev.

The task of the SKSHU is to check the key elements of the combat readiness of the command bodies, units and formations of the Russian Navy and Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS), and to determine the coherence of their actions.

Maneuvers take place in the waters of the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Mediterranean, the Caspian and the Baltic Seas. In total, they involve more than 400 warships, submarines and support vessels of the auxiliary fleet, 125 aircraft and helicopters of the naval aviation of the Navy and VKS, about seven thousand units of weapons, military and special equipment, and more than 90 thousand personnel.

Operational groups of military command bodies and military contingents from foreign partner states of Russia are invited to participate in the exercise.

Vladimir Putin: Dear comrades,

First of all, I would like to welcome and thank all participants of the Ocean-2024 strategic command and staff exercise for their service. Today it begins its active phase, during which the most complex, as close as possible to combat tasks will be worked out.

I would like to note that this is the first time in the last three decades that we have conducted such large-scale exercises at sea. They will simultaneously take place in the waters of the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Mediterranean, the Caspian and the Baltic Seas. They involve the forces of the Navy, long-range and military transport aviation units. Ships and aircraft of the People's Liberation Army of China are also participating in practical exercises, and representatives of 15 countries are invited as observers.

The purpose of the exercise is to check in detail the key points of combat readiness of the command bodies, units and formations of the Navy and the Aerospace Forces, to determine the coherence of their actions. Issues of integrated use of high-precision weapons, as well as other modern and promising types of weapons, will be worked out, including taking into account the experience gained during a special military operation.

We pay special attention to strengthening military cooperation with our friendly States. Today, in the context of growing geopolitical tensions in the world, this is especially important.

We see that the United States of America is trying to maintain its global military and political dominance at any cost, and for this purpose, using Ukraine, they are trying to inflict a strategic defeat on our country. Under the pretext of countering the alleged Russian threat and deterring the People's Republic of China, the United States and its satellites are increasing their military presence near Russia's western borders, in the Arctic and in the Asia-Pacific region.

The United States and its allies have openly announced their plans to deploy intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles in so-called forward zones. The territories of islands in the western Pacific Ocean, as well as in some countries of the Asia-Pacific region, are also considered as priority areas for their placement. At the same time, the US armed forces are already practicing the transfer and deployment of promising missile systems in the Asia-Pacific region.

With its aggressive actions, the United States seeks to achieve a tangible military advantage, thereby breaking the existing security architecture and the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region. In fact, the United States is provoking an arms race, regardless of the security of its European and Asian allies and creating prerequisites for a dangerous crisis situation in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

I want to emphasize that Russia must be ready for any development of the situation, and our Armed Forces must ensure reliable protection of Russia's sovereignty and national interests, and repel possible military aggression in any direction, including in the ocean and sea zone.

The Navy plays a key role in solving this problem. Our sailors have always courageously stood guard over the safety of the Motherland.

Today, during a special military operation, they selflessly fight in the hottest spots on the line of contact, deliver devastating blows to the enemy, effectively destroy its military facilities and infrastructure, and act boldly and professionally. They are real heroes.

I want to emphasize that we will continue to strengthen our Navy, including its strategic nuclear component. We will systematically and comprehensively develop all types and branches of the armed forces, increase their strike capabilities, improve the training of ship crews, coastal and aviation units, taking into account real combat experience, and do everything necessary to reliably protect Russia and our citizens, to preserve strategic stability and the balance of forces in the world.

I wish the participants of the exercise a successful solution to their tasks. Good luck.

I ask the Minister of Defense to report on readiness.

A. Belousov : In accordance with the training plan of the Armed Forces, the Okean-2024 strategic command and staff exercise has started from 09:00.

It is planned to work out the tasks of repelling large-scale aggression of a potential enemy from ocean directions, combating unmanned boats, unmanned aerial vehicles, defending the Navy's bases, conducting amphibious operations and escorting transports, taking into account the experience of a special military operation.

In accordance with the plan of the exercise, a promising form of use of the Navy-an independent operation in the ocean area – will be tested. The military authorities have occupied command posts and are clarifying plans for the use of fleets. Forces and troops have been withdrawn to designated areas and are ready for practical action.

The head of the exercise, Commander – in-Chief of the Navy Admiral Moiseev Alexander Alekseevich, will report on the development of the situation and the procedure for conducting the exercise.

I finished my report.

A. Moiseyev: Comrade Supreme Commander-in-Chief!

The Navy and part of the Aerospace Forces, with the participation of foreign partners, have started working out the tasks of the strategic command and staff exercise.

The exercise is held for seven days in a bilateral format, in two stages, with the designation of the warring parties: the Pacific, Baltic Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla – for their own forces, and the Northern Fleet – on the side of the enemy. The exercise involves more than 90 thousand military personnel, more than 400 ships and vessels, 125 aircraft, more than 7.5 thousand units of weapons and equipment, including from the People's Liberation Army of China-three ships, one ship, 15 aircraft.

Practical actions are being worked out in the waters of 13 sea areas in three strategic directions. [My Emphasis]

Admiral Gorshkov: The first of ten frigates, the new battleships.

Combined arms communication and coordination with major allies is always one of the main aspects of such exercises. The Baltic Sea is one of the major potential areas where conflict between NATO and Russia is very likely given NATO’s stated plans to make the Baltic a NATO lake and thus bottle-up Russia’s forces around St. Petersburg and its ability to supply Kaliningrad. IMO, Russia and China have pooled their Naval assets to some degree as Russia has foregone building aircraft carriers but now appears it might do something somewhat different with the redevelopment of its Vertical Short Take-off and Land aircraft and produce something akin to what were called jeep carriers by the USN during WW2.

When a small contingent of Russian naval vessels visited Cuba and Venezuela earlier this year, hysterical cries emanated from the Outlaw US Empire’s BigLie Media. But the Pentagon seems more concerned with China’s naval building program than Russia’s since its own abilities have greatly atrophied along with the USA’s ongoing deindustrialization. Here’s a small portion of what the recent Heritage Foundation’s report on the USN said about fleet building:

Meanwhile, diminished demand for ships has led shipbuilders to divest workforce and delay capital investments. From 2005 to 2020, the Navy’s procurement of new warships increased the size of the fleet from 291 to 296 warships; at the same time, China’s navy grew from 216 to 360 warships. If the Navy is to build a larger fleet, more shipbuilders will have to be hired and trained—a lengthy process that precedes any expansion of the fleet. Recent labor statistics comparing 2017 to 2021 show modest progress with total shipbuilding labor involved in production, like welders and pipefitters, adding 3,134 workers. On the other hand, according to the most recent labor statistics, wages in the nation’s shipbuilding sector have not kept pace with inflation, growing at 0.4 percent, and the sector has shed 2.6 percent of its already small cadre of professional naval architects and engineers.

Of particular concern is the need to increase the production of nuclear-powered warships, most notably nuclear-powered submarines that would be vital in any conflict with China. Limited nuclear shipbuilding capacity may constrain the Navy’s plans to increase the build rate from two attack submarines per year to three while concurrently building one ballistic missile submarine. To support a larger nuclear-powered fleet, the relevant public shipyards increased their workforce by 16 percent from 2013 to 2020, but recent developments indicate that required workforce growth has not continued. TheVirginia–class attack submarine program is 25 percent below staffing needs with delays of up to two years in delivery of the latest Block V variant, which will deploy large numbers of cruise missiles and potentially hypersonic strike weapons. As demand for nuclear-powered warships increases, to include added demand to support AUKUS, to pace the threat from China and Russia into the foreseeable future, the public shipyards must be able to sustain the recruitment of skilled labor in the numbers needed.

It remains true, according to the Chief of Naval Operations, that current funding will not build or maintain the larger fleet that both the Navy and this Index say is needed and that Congress has mandated. Nothing has changed to alter CNO Admiral Michael Gilday’s 2021 assessment that current budgets can only “sustain a Navy of about 300 to 305 ships.” In addition, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has noted that a brittle defense industrial base continues to drive up costs and create delays….

Given the limited ability to build ships, the Navy will struggle to meet the congressionally mandated 355-ship goal, to say nothing of the 400-ship goal advocated in this Index.

It’s interesting that Heritage calls the shipyards “public” but they aren’t; they’re private corporations whose shares are traded on public platforms, which is the only thing public about them other than their funding. Russia and China’s naval shipyards conversely are 100% publicly owned and operated. Here’s the Foundation’s report card:

It should be noted that NATO’s navy is in the same boat—the maritime nations have effectively sunk themselves due to the objectives of their Deep States which quite obviously isn’t to build ships of any quality and few others. And as we’ve seen with the attempts to stymie Ansarallah’s efforts at shipping interdiction, NATO’s navy of which the USN is by far the largest component has utterly failed. And given the very different methods of waging war in 2024 and beyond, what does any navy actually need to be effective, which of course is based on the tasks assigned to it.

That last sentence is what Ocean-2024 is really all about. As long as Russia and China have no desire or need to project power outside their Eurasian perimeter, their current fleet levels are likely competent, although more submarines and small missile boats Russia continues to construct. There was a proposal for a small inland flotilla capable of navigating Russia’s vast inland river network that would be missile carriers armed with hypersonics and AD systems. Those ships are easy and inexpensive to build and would also be capable of near littoral operations. Geopolitically, the Outlaw US Empire is decidedly at a disadvantage relative to its longstanding 130-year old force projection doctrine. IMO, the Heartland is coming close to becoming impregnable to the threat posed by maritime nations. IMO, Heartland planners are considering the eventual expansion of the naval security envelope to include Africa since most African nations lack the facilities to create the required naval forces yet want to be defended from the maritime nations that once colonized them.

Technology has made ships of this type obsolete.

Russian subs come in many different sizes:

IMO, the Heritage Foundation reports show beyond doubt that the Outlaw US Empire doesn’t have the military assets to capable of projecting the power it was capable of 20 years ago when it was last employed in its maximum capacity, a capacity that no longer exists. Yet, it persists in its hegemonic ways when in reality it can’t enforce them any longer. 100 years ago, if you defaulted on a dollarized loan, the Marines were sent to occupy that nation’s ports to collect its customs fees and give them to the bankers. That was called Dollar Diplomacy. Today’s a very different world as Russia’s Ocean-2024 also acts as a message sending activity, but will NATO react to the reality presented or continue to dwell in its fantasyland?

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