A flotilla from the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet has begun training for long range strikes while en route to Cuba, where they will dock in the capital Havana just 350 kilometres off the coast of the United States. The small naval contingent is comprised of two combat vessels including the Yasen-M Class nuclear powered attack submarine Kazan, and the Gorshkov Class frigate Admiral Gorshkov, which represent by far Russia’s two most capable ocean going surface and submarine combatants. The Russian Defence Ministry reported that the ships delivered simulated long range strikes against enemy naval targets located over 600km away, with this following prior excesses by the Admiral Gorshkov simulating countering an air raid using its guns and anti-aircraft systems. The deployment of the ships to Cuba has been widely interpreted as one of many responses to escalating U.S. military support for Ukraine, including provision of longer ranged missiles and permitting them to be used against targets deep inside Russia, as well as providing personnel and targeting data by aircraft and satellite to facilitate attacks.
Yasen-M Class submarines and Gorshkov Class frigates notably deploy the same four classes of cruise missile as their primary armaments, namely the new hypersonic Zircon, the P-800 anti ship missile, 3M54 Kalibr anti ship missile, and the 3M14 Kalibr anti surface missile. Both ship classes have reportedly been prioritised for deliveries of Zircon missiles since the class began deliveries to the Navy in 2019, with the new weapon widely considered by far the world’s most formidable cruise missile with a Mach 9 speed and a 1000 kilometre range. Deployed from near Cuba, the missiles would allow for strikes on targets across much of Florida and beyond. The the first launch of the Zircon from a Yasen Class ship was carried out in October 2021, following the first launch from a Gorshkov Class frigate in February 2020. The Russian Navy notably fields just three Gorshkov Class frigates and four Yasen-M Class attack submarines, with five more of the former and four of the latter currently under construction. As one ship of each class has approached the United States, the U.S. Navy has deployed two destroyers and two support ships with sonar equipment to shadow them, potentially gathering valuable data regarding their means of operational and the Yasen-M Class’ stealth capabilities.