Am doing some research on the state of the Russian Navy. Am posting some fairly recent stuff. Anyone with further/other info please post Thks Rick
U.S., Russian Navies Complete Northern Eagle 2004
Story Number: NNS041006-01
Release Date: 10/6/2004 8:24:00 AM
By Journalist 2nd Class Lily Daniels, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe Public Affairs
STAVANGER, Norway (NNS) -- Crews aboard USS Hue City (CG 66) and Russian ships RFNS ADM Levchenko and RFNS Severomorsk completed the first bilateral exercise between the Russian Northern Fleet and U.S. warships Oct. 4.
Northern Eagle 2004, a four-day exercise in the North Sea, aimed to enhance security cooperation and promote interoperability and understanding between the two navies. After two days of pre-planning and training, the ships sailed from the port city of Stavanger and completed 13 training phases of the exercise.
“This was an exercise of the basics. It was successful, and I was extremely pleased with our interoperability,” said Rear Adm. James Stevenson, commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group 8. “I think this is a step forward for the Russian Northern Fleet and U.S. Navy to work together.”
Some of the phases included damage control training, force protection, maritime contact reporting, communications and ship navigation. Units employed their rigid hull inflatable boats to simulate attacks and ensure that each ship conducted proper protective procedures. Maritime contact reporting was practiced by contacting ships passing by and communicating with them according to protocol.
Two SH-60B Seahawk helicopters and two Russian KA-27 helicopters assisted with surface and aviation search and rescue, maritime interdiction operations, choke point transit escort and helo cross-deck training phases. Sailors from both navies participated in the maritime interdiction operations by boarding each other’s ships to share boarding techniques and procedures.
Helicopters provided the ships an invaluable defense mechanism during the choke point transit. According to Lt. Cmdr. R. I. Scritchfield, air boss of Hue City, they give pilots a birds-eye view, enabling them to warn of unforeseen dangers.
“We flew around the ships as a defense mechanism to report back if any unidentified ships were near our ships,” Scrithfield said.
To assist the communication process during the exercise, two U.S. officers were aboard ADM Levchenko, and two Russian officers were aboard Hue City. They served as liaison officers, as well as translators.
“The crew was warm and receptive, and they picked up on U.S. tactics quickly,” said Ensign Chris Burnett, Hue City’s electronics material officer, who was aboard ADM Levchenko for the exercise.
While both crews noticed a lot of similarities between their navies, they did note a few important differences.
“The Russian firefighting teams were very disciplined and did everything on command; however, the way their system is set up, if there were a fire, they would have to fight it themselves,” said Machinery Repairman 1st Class (SW) Chris Gates, leading petty officer for repair division. “We have Halon and installed CO2 fire systems in our workspaces that we can activate. These systems are usually 90 percent effective towards putting the fire out, depending on the size of the fire. This reduces the amount of work for the fire teams.”
Overall, both crews felt that this was a good learning experience and a successful exercise. Stevenson and Rear Adm. Sergy Avakyants, chief of Staff for Russian Northern Fleet, Atlantic Squadron, expressed a desire to conduct more complex and extensive exercises together in the future.
U.S., Russian Navies Complete Northern Eagle 2004
Story Number: NNS041006-01
Release Date: 10/6/2004 8:24:00 AM
By Journalist 2nd Class Lily Daniels, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe Public Affairs
STAVANGER, Norway (NNS) -- Crews aboard USS Hue City (CG 66) and Russian ships RFNS ADM Levchenko and RFNS Severomorsk completed the first bilateral exercise between the Russian Northern Fleet and U.S. warships Oct. 4.
Northern Eagle 2004, a four-day exercise in the North Sea, aimed to enhance security cooperation and promote interoperability and understanding between the two navies. After two days of pre-planning and training, the ships sailed from the port city of Stavanger and completed 13 training phases of the exercise.
“This was an exercise of the basics. It was successful, and I was extremely pleased with our interoperability,” said Rear Adm. James Stevenson, commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group 8. “I think this is a step forward for the Russian Northern Fleet and U.S. Navy to work together.”
Some of the phases included damage control training, force protection, maritime contact reporting, communications and ship navigation. Units employed their rigid hull inflatable boats to simulate attacks and ensure that each ship conducted proper protective procedures. Maritime contact reporting was practiced by contacting ships passing by and communicating with them according to protocol.
Two SH-60B Seahawk helicopters and two Russian KA-27 helicopters assisted with surface and aviation search and rescue, maritime interdiction operations, choke point transit escort and helo cross-deck training phases. Sailors from both navies participated in the maritime interdiction operations by boarding each other’s ships to share boarding techniques and procedures.
Helicopters provided the ships an invaluable defense mechanism during the choke point transit. According to Lt. Cmdr. R. I. Scritchfield, air boss of Hue City, they give pilots a birds-eye view, enabling them to warn of unforeseen dangers.
“We flew around the ships as a defense mechanism to report back if any unidentified ships were near our ships,” Scrithfield said.
To assist the communication process during the exercise, two U.S. officers were aboard ADM Levchenko, and two Russian officers were aboard Hue City. They served as liaison officers, as well as translators.
“The crew was warm and receptive, and they picked up on U.S. tactics quickly,” said Ensign Chris Burnett, Hue City’s electronics material officer, who was aboard ADM Levchenko for the exercise.
While both crews noticed a lot of similarities between their navies, they did note a few important differences.
“The Russian firefighting teams were very disciplined and did everything on command; however, the way their system is set up, if there were a fire, they would have to fight it themselves,” said Machinery Repairman 1st Class (SW) Chris Gates, leading petty officer for repair division. “We have Halon and installed CO2 fire systems in our workspaces that we can activate. These systems are usually 90 percent effective towards putting the fire out, depending on the size of the fire. This reduces the amount of work for the fire teams.”
Overall, both crews felt that this was a good learning experience and a successful exercise. Stevenson and Rear Adm. Sergy Avakyants, chief of Staff for Russian Northern Fleet, Atlantic Squadron, expressed a desire to conduct more complex and extensive exercises together in the future.
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