CABLEGRAMM
#XXXX-XXXX-HHMMMSKDDJUL00
SECURE CHANNEL
TOP SECRET
URGENT
FROM FLEET CINC ADM RYKOV
TO NORTHERN FLEET HQ
ATTN COMMAND AND OPERATIONS STAFF
EXECUTIVE NOTE
DATE: July 1, 2009
Comrade Officers:
Attached is a comprehensive list of all the forces under Northern Fleet Command. Please note that a significant portion of these forces are not yet operational, as many fleet assets are still in the process of being built, refitted or repaired. For estimates on the time of repair for each unit, please refer to the Fleet Status Report which have been sent to your planning area. These Status Reports will be updated every month to keep you apprised current logistics and repair situation.
Also note that at this time, supply levels are way below the minimum necessary to conduct any kind of extended combat mission, but are starting to be stockpiled as of this month. Supply levels will also be updated in a separate, monthly report.
Your first order of business will be to look over the list of potentially available forces and decide on which fleet assets get top priority to ensure their availability for upcoming operations in the North Atlantic. This can be done simply by listing all non-operational units in order of priority. The shipyards, repair crews, technicians and other technical staff will then organize accordingly
Please submit this report to my office no later than August 1, 2009.
Thank you.
Signed,
RYKOV, CINC NORFLEET
********************************************************
NORTHERN RED BANNER FLEET --Current Order of Battle
This document lists the various components of the Northern Fleet, in the following order:
Overall comments:
Factory production of aircraft has been running at moderately high volume for over two years now, in the expectation that our Air Force will once again return to its former prominence of the 1980's -- and even surpass it. However, our lack of funds during the 1990's has left a shortage of veteran flyers and even fewer qualified instructors to train and educate our new recruits. Thus, we have a large, shiny new air force, but only about half of it can be manned by experienced pilots and crews at this time. More pilots and crews are currently being trained, but the first crop of these new aviators will not be qualified for combat until January 1, 2010.
Thus, for the next six months or so you may consider that about half of all available air units can be flown by qualified pilots and crews at this time, with only a handful of those having combat experience. All remaining aircraft can be considered as spare equipment to be used as replacements in the event of combat losses or equipment breakdowns.
After six months (about January 1, 2010 or so) the first wave of new pilots and crews will be completing their qualification trials, at the rate of about one squadron's worth of new pilots a month. These new pilots will only be able to execute basic maneuvers, however, and will thus be at a significant disadvantage when going up against US or NATO aviators.
To compensate for this training deficiency you may wish to conduct mission-specific training, which will give our crews heightened experience in the skills they need on the day of the battle. Obviously, this can only be done once you and your staff have decided on the type of air operations (e.g., air-to-air combat, low-altitude bombing, CAS, etc.) that are likely to be required in upcoming fleet operations. The earlier you decide on this the more time your pilots will have to familiarize themselves with their specific role in any upcoming missions.
If need be, you can always delay the launch date for the mission by a few weeks so that more pilots and crews can become qualified, or so that new pilots can gain more experience before being sent on highly critical missions. In some cases you may find that a delay may be more prudent than to deploy the fleet with less than expert aviators.
Aviation Order of Battle
Recce
Bear D: 14
Badger D: 6
Badger E: 10
Fencer E: 6
Blinder C: 4
Electronic Warfare
Bear J: 9
Badger F: 6
Badger J: 9
Note: There is an even greater shortage of qualified crews for EW work, given the sophisticated electronics aboard these aircraft and the intensive training involved. Thus, only 1/3 of the above aircraft can be operated until about January 1. One new EW crew will become available for each type of EW aircraft every 2 weeks thereafter.
Bombers
Backfire C: 26
Blinder B: 12
Badger C: 6
Badger G: 6
Fighter/Attack
Fencer D: 12
Flogger K: 18
Fitter C: 10
Fitter D: 6
Carrier Aircraft
24 Flanker D*
20 Fulcrum (MiG-29K)*
24 Frogfoot UT
18 Yak-141**
* Both the Flanker and Fulcrum carrier aircraft are flown by highly skilled, seasoned pilots. Given that there are quite a few more carrier aircraft than would ever be deployed with a single carrier, there would either be a relief team of pilots available for carrier duty (permitting round-the-clock sorties) or the extra pilots could be held on standby, allowing for the carrier to be replenished with new aircraft in the event some are lost due to combat or maintenance problems. Alternatively, the spare pilots could be trained for other classes of fighter aircraft. Given their expertise, it would only take about a month to get them up to speed on whichever aircraft they were assigned.
** In spite of much controversy and failed test flights, the VTOL Yak-141 program has been revived and is available for deployment with the Kiev class aviation cruisers.
In addition to the aircraft assigned to the Northern Fleet, the General Staff has directed the 1st Tactical Air Army to provide one squadron of newly-built advanced fighters for support of Northern Fleet operations. This squadron will remain under 1st TAA command, but will be on call for support operations from their bases on the Kola Peninsula. Both of these new aircraft models have been carefully shrouded in secrecy, so we are confident that US or NATO intelligence is unaware that they have been in production for several months now.
The two aircraft types which will be available to you, will be:
A) 12 MiG-29M, or
B) 12 Su-35 Super Flanker (REDFOR chose this option in Stage I)
The choice will be decided by the recommendation of the Northern Fleet operations staff.
Aerial Refueling
Badger A: 10*
* This is far fewer than optimal for an air command of this size, but many of these aircraft have begun showing signs of age in the last year and were scrapped. Being mindful of maintenance and overall flying hours for the above aircraft is advised.
ASW
Mail: 20
May: 10
Bear F: 20
Transport/Utility
Cub A: 6
Candid A: 2
Helicopters
Helix A: 60
Helix B: 24
Helix C: 12
Hormone A: 20
Overall comments:
The following list shows all of the naval units under Northern Fleet command. Many are in various states of repair, while some are new ships which are still on the ways and in the final stages of completion. For exact details of each ship's repair status, please refer to the Fleet Status Reports in your planning area. These reports will be submitted on a monthly basis to help keep you informed as to which ships are combat-ready and which are not.
Current status reports indicate that making the entire Northern Fleet combat-ready would take some 38 weeks, -- this would just barely fit within the maximum nine-month time period allotted to your team to commence Operation Northern Storm. To shorten the time of completion, you may:
1) Eliminate ships from the roster and have the workforce concentrate
on fewer ships, or:
2) Send a request to the Admiralty (Navy Chief of Staff) to increase
the rate of repair and production levels at the various shipyards
and factories within your military district. The workforce at
the shipyards can be set to any of the following levels:
| Work Rate | Hours | Productivity |
| Normal | 8 hours/day | 100% |
| Overtime | 12 hours/day | 150% |
| Double-Overtime | 16 hours/day | 200% |
| Triple-Overtime | 16 hours/day, 7 days/wk. | 250% |
| Wartime | 24-7 | 400% |
As an estimate of how productive an added workshift can be, it is estimated that at Normal levels, roughly one-fourth of the projects currently being worked on would be completed by January 1, 2010. Double-Overtime would mean one-half of them would be completed, and so on. (This is still not guaranteeable, though, as unexpected delays or problems may arise during construction and trials. Also, there may be some quality control issues at a heightened rate of production.) When making a request to change workshifts, keep in mind the following facts:
A significant increase in shipyard activity may be noticed by foreign intelligence agencies.
Increasing security will increase the chance of detecting foreign spies and inhibiting or reducing the flow of sensitive information regarding the nature of the work being done at our shipyards and factories. There is also a chance, however, depending on the type of security measures taken vs. the type of intelligence asset being used, that the added security itself will draw an added measure of suspicion.
Since January 1 of this year, all shipyards in the region have been working Overtime (12 hours/day). This is already an increase over the 8-hour shifts of previous years. Thus, if NATO has been extremely alert they may already be eyeing this region with some degree of suspicion. The Admiralty has taken this into consideration and decided the small increase in workforce levels was worth the small risk in detection.
Shipyards may be ordered to full-bore, wartime production, but this is not adviseable during peacetime as this will definitely call attention to Northern Fleet activity. Still, it may be desirable to take a chance on such an increase in production if this activity took place closer to the proposed sailing date, since NATO will not have significant time to respond to any perceived threat. It also may be worth considering if the extra productivity will make the difference between a vital ship being ready for service or sitting in drydock.
Should you and the other staff members feel strongly that certain units are necessary for upcoming operations and it appears that those units are not available at the time of desired departure, a request may be made to the Admiralty for such a unit or units to be transferred from one of the other fleets. Keep in mind that the longer the distance that the unit travels and the higher the value of the unit, the higher the likelihood that its reassignment may catch the attention of foreign intelligence. Given this security risk as well as the fact that such a transfer may leave the original fleet less defended, any such request should be accompanied by a brief explanation as to why the unit is needed.
Naval Order of Battle
The following lists the class of ships in the Northern Fleet and the number of ships in each class. An asterisk (*) indicates that one or more ships is incomplete or in disrepair. For a complete report on the status of these ships, please refer to the most current Fleet Status Report located in your planning area.
Surface Combatants, large
CV:
Kuznetsov: 1*
CGH
Novorssiysk: 1*
BCGN
Petyr Velikiy (Kirov/Ushakov): 1
Putin (Sqdn. Surf. Vssl.): 1*
CG
Kresta II: 2
Slava: 3 *
Kara: 2
DDG
Sovremennyy: 2*
Udaloy II: 2 (Chabenenko)
FF
Udaloy: 6*
Krivak III: 2
Neustrashimy: 2*
Surface Combatants, small
FFL
Grisha III: 2
Grisha V: 10*
Pettya II: 6
Nanuchka III: 6*
Nanuchka IV: 1*
Tarantul III: 6*
Osa II: 4
Parchim II: 2
PG
Pauk I: 8
Turya: 7
Babochka: 1
T-58: 1
Svetlayk: 4
Muravey: 4
Stenka: 25
Zhuk: 8
Amphibious Forces
LST
Alligator: 2
Ropucha : 4
LPD
Ivan Rogov: 1
LSM
Polnochny: 10
LCU
Hydra: 3
LCM
Ondatra: 4
LCAC
Pomornik: 3
Aist: 5
Tsaplya: 3
Lebed: 4
Gus: 3
AS: 2
Support
- AOR
- Boris Chilikin: 2
- AO
- Dubna: 1
Altay: 1
Oelkma: 1- AK
- Antonov: 3*
Partizan: 1*
AKL
Keyla: 3
Muna: 4
Mayak: 2- In addition to the vessels listed above, the Northern Fleete also has 16 ocean going tugs.
Intelligence ships
- AGI
Vishnya: 2
Primorye: 2
Moma: 2
Alpinist: 1
Okean: 3
Mayak: 2
- Submarines
- PLARB (SSBN)
Typhoon: 4
Delta III: 6
Delta IV: 6
PLARK (SSGN)
Oscar II: 8
Yankee Notch: 2
PLA (SSN)
Akula: 12*
Victor III: 14*
Sierra: 4*
PL (SS)
Kilo: 6
Tango: 2*
Foxtrot: 2*
- Many of our PLA (SSN) subs are currently undergoing a refitting following a controversial and costly reactor leakage in the port of Murmansk. All SSNs and SSGNs will be part of a separate formation, forming the main exodus of subs to the open Atlantic. Two Akula class subs will be detached and placed under your control for upcoming operations. All diesel subs (SS) that are not in need of repairs will be part of an advanced patrol throughout the GIUK and North Atlantic, some of which have already deployed (those that are not in need of repair). All SSBNs will remain in port within the protective perimeter of their respective bastions.
Naval Infantry (Marines)
1 Brigade (4 infantry, 1 tank, 1 artillery battalion), consisting of:
96 tanks (mostly T80-AT)
122 ACV (mostly BMP3)(Details to follow in next month's report)
Special Forces
1 Brigade Spetsnaz (1 underwater, 2 paratrooper, plus support elements)
(Details to follow in next month's report)
Bases
Severomorsk (Northern Fleet Headquarters)
Severodovinsk (Headquarters, Submarine Command)
Kola Inlet (Murmansk)
Motovskiy Gulf
Gremikha
Polyarnyy
Listafiord
Ura-Guba
Garrison Force
1 Infantry regiment (360 MT-LB, 134 arty) 1 AD regiment.
(Details to follow)
This concludes the current order of battle for the Northern Red Banner Fleet.
Click here to download a copy of this report in Word RTF format.
END REPORT.