Except for Submarines, Russia’s Northern Fleet Highlights Growing Gap between Moscow’s Ambitions and Navy’s Resources, Norwegians Say

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Feb. 7 – In its latest threat assess ment, the Norwegian Intelligence Service says that the Russian navy, except for its submarine arm, is increasingly struggling between Moscow’s ambitions and the navy’s resources and is often forced to choose between missions and maintenance.
    At its home ports, Russian warships “are filing up, staying in the dock ever longer and typically are serviced by equipment that doesn’t work,” the report says (thebarentsobserver.com/security/northern-fleet-faces-wide-gap-between-ambitions-and-resources-intel-report/424194).
    Scheduled refittings, the report continues, are “years” behind schedule, with some ships, like the Russian navy’s only aircraft carrier now likely not ever to return to service despite repeated promises that it will go to sea in the near future.
    According to the Norwegians, the only exception to this pattern is the submarine service. There ships are coming online at a speed not seen since the Brezhnev period; and they are being services and armed promptly.