Fifth report on the naval situation in the Mediterranean Sea

New (5th) report on the naval situation in the Mediterranean sea.

Warning. This post shows the positions of the main naval groups or other individual units deemed relevant. This post is not exhaustive of all units present at sea at this time.

NATO naval forces

NATO currently has 3 aircraft carriers available in the central/eastern Mediterranean:

1) The US aircraft carrier USS Truman (CVN-75) and its CSG (Combat Strike Group) has arrives on Saturday in Trieste.

After 4 days, on Wednesday morning the carrier left Trieste for the Ionian Sea

2) Italian aircraft carriers Cavour (C550) and Garibaldi (C551) are in Taranto.

3) The Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 is underway in the eastern Mediterranean sea

4) The Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group Two – SNMCMG2 has arrived today in Mahòn, Menorca island, Spain.

5) USNavy destroyers USS Ross (DDG-71) and USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) are sailing in the Ionian Sea

6) On April 20 the Royal Navy submarine HMS Audacious (S122) left Gibraltar and headed for the central Mediterranean.

RUSSIA naval forces

Russian forces are currently divided as follows:

1) Surface Action Group (SAG) of the cruiser Varyag is in the southern Aegean Sea. We received a photo taken on April 12 showing a Russian Navy Udaloy class destroyer sailing north of Crete about 20 miles north of NATO Souda Bay naval base. 

2) SAG of the cruiser Ustinov is probably underway south of Crete where it can interdict access to the Aegean or Eastern Mediterranean. However, we have not had a precise location for several weeks.

3) two Russian Navy Kilo class submarines are somewhere in the eastern / central Mediterranean (their exact location is not known but it is known that they are no longer in Tartus)

4) there are no new reports on the position of an Akula-class submarine allegedly present in the Mediterranean

5) The remaining major Russian units are anchored in Tartus.