The US Sixth Fleet is preparing to break the international Montreux Convention. The US Sixth Fleet is preparing to break the Montreux Convention American squadron in the Mediterranean Sea
On Wednesday, December 7, the commander of the 6th Fleet of the US Navy, Vice Admiral James Foggo, said that the duration of patrols of American warships in the Black Sea could be increased to four months: “It depends on whether the challenges in the region become more or less urgent.
Obviously, as the action gets more intense, you see the presence of additional ships."
The admiral had made similar judgments before. That is, Pentagon representative James Foggo officially warns Europe about the quantitative and qualitative increase in the presence of the US Navy in the Black Sea, where no one invited the Americans. The negative consequences are quite predictable.
Most Europeans believe that the United States has failed in its role as a world leader. According to the Montreux Convention, US Navy ships can stay in the Black Sea for no more than 21 days.
This probably doesn't bother Americans. The Pentagon intends to more actively project power in Europe - contrary to public opinion and beyond international legal norms.
The North Atlantic Alliance is ready to make its contribution to this dangerous process. On October 26-27 in Brussels, the defense ministers of 28 NATO member countries discussed strengthening their presence in the Black Sea region.
Reality is always more complex and tougher than Washington and Brussels strategists imagine. Will Vice Admiral James Foggo's message be implemented?
© Flickr/ U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet
Soldiers aboard the guided-missile destroyer Porter (DDG 78) of the US 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea
Shapes of the future
The US Navy's 6th (Mediterranean) Fleet has six task forces and is a serious force. With the exception of the headquarters, support departments and flagship Mount Whitney, it is equipped with ships, aircraft and marine units arriving in the Mediterranean for a period of 6 - 8 months.
Ships come and go, but their quantitative composition remains virtually unchanged.
The basis of the 6th Fleet is an operational force consisting of one or two aircraft carriers, two missile cruisers, sixteen frigates and destroyers. The fleet has submarines, connections of landing ships with marines, as well as a significant number of naval bases, logistics points (Gaeta, Naples, La Maddalena, La Spezia, Taranto, Brindisi, Augusta, Rota) and air bases in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey and other European NATO countries.
The area of responsibility of the US 6th Fleet is the Mediterranean and Black Seas, adjacent waters of the Atlantic, and the coast of Africa (Gulf of Guinea).
To effectively manage the actions of the Navy and Marine Corps in this wide geographical area, there is the Mount Whitney headquarters ship, which is extremely equipped with receiving, transmitting and reconnaissance equipment.
A nuclear-powered aircraft carrier includes 70–80 aircraft for various purposes, 1,900 tons of ammunition (including nuclear weapons), modern equipment, radars and supercomputers, a seawater desalination plant, fire extinguishing systems, giant storage facilities and a crew of five thousand people.
American ships with the Aegis combat information system are integrated into the missile defense system and are capable of weakening a retaliatory missile strike from Russia.
As a rule, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers with Tomahawk cruise missiles on board “patrol” near Russian Crimea.
I repeat: within the framework of the Montreux Convention, ships of the 6th Fleet can enter the Black Sea strictly for three weeks (except for aircraft carriers, which cannot enter even for one day). However, the Americans more than once violated the time frame, and the Russian side only reproached its partners in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, without using military force in one form or another. The alliance allies and other Black Sea countries simply turned a blind eye.
Perhaps Vice Admiral Foggo developed and strengthened the illusion of complete impunity, even in the event of a four-month stay in the Black Sea by a group of ships of the US 6th Fleet.
US Navy Sixth Fleet
Hot James
The ideologist of revolutionary changes in the Black Sea region is not the first person in the Pentagon, but still a serious person. Virginia native James Foggo is a 1981 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University (USA) and a Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies from the University of Strasbourg (France). He served successfully in the submarine fleet, in senior command and staff positions, and as a special assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense. Has many awards.
Perhaps Foggo hopes to "bypass Montreux" through vague speculation about the "right of free navigation of the seas."
The Russian Black Sea Fleet in its area of responsibility closely monitors the ships of the US 6th Fleet. And it is no coincidence that in one of his interviews, Vice Admiral James Foggo noted that American ships in the Black Sea “in nine cases out of ten, a Russian warship awaits...
It's a strategic message and that always impresses me. It is not so easy to send ships to sea immediately.”
Russia quickly welcomes uninvited guests over the Black Sea, as it did in September with the US P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft.
Observing the reconstruction of the southern part of the Iron Curtain, Moscow is not seeking confrontation with the West, and yet is taking retaliatory measures to ensure national security.
The Black Sea Fleet is being replenished with new ships and, within the framework of one federal program alone, will receive more than 86 billion rubles by 2020. Since March 2014, Russian anti-ship systems “Bastion” with anti-ship missiles “Onyx” in Crimea have been keeping at gunpoint most of the Black Sea to the Turkish coast and the entire coast of Ukraine. This is the “strategic message” of Russia.
If Washington understands the seriousness of Russian intentions in the Middle East, it should clearly understand the consequences of the unlimited presence of ships of the US 6th Fleet in the Black Sea region, directly near the Russian borders.
Relying on strength and dexterity in the zone between compromise and confrontation, the Pentagon is consistently increasing the risk of a direct military clash with Russia.
Alexander Khrolenko, columnist for MIA Rossiya Segodnya
They are reporting from the field that the ships of the US Navy's Sixth Fleet have strangely disappeared from the Mediterranean Sea! The author knowledgeably talks about the organizational structure of the US Navy http://maximus67.livejournal.com/893587.html, but in the end he draws a conclusion that not only does not follow from the described organizational principles, but also directly contradicts them: “Whatever events unfold in the Middle East - the coast of Syria, is under constant control by the Russian Navy. We won this round - American ships left the Mediterranean Sea. Let’s hope that North Sea sailors will soon approach the area and our Navy will be able to conduct truly grandiose Exercises in the Mediterranean Sea”...
Why is the conclusion wrong? The first misconception is that the author seriously believes that American and Russian ships OPPOSE each other. This, of course, is not true for a number of reasons, ranging from political, economic and finally military: the strike forces of our group are incomparable with the strength of not only the united American-European group, but even the American one separately. In order not to be misunderstood, let me clarify that our forces there are insignificant and do not have the slightest chance in direct confrontation. The second misconception follows from the first. Since our people are opposing the Americans there, and the Americans left the area, then we won :) Naturally, this is not so! But as?
And the answer lies in the most visible place, Moreover, the author himself explained everything very clearly. The fact is that the American fleet and the Russian fleet are slightly different concepts. For example, a ship of the KSF (Northern Fleet), performing tasks in the equator region, will still be a ship of the Northern Fleet. It's not like that for Americans. To put it simply: the world is divided into zones of operational responsibility, and this ZONE is the fleet. Those. any US Navy ship that comes to perform a mission in the area of responsibility of the 6th Fleet becomes a ship of the 6th Fleet. To be honest, I think this is much more correct. To simplify, in our understanding, a fleet is simply a larger designation of a ship’s home port. And in the American fleet, it is a group of ships to carry out combat missions.
So how can we interpret the arrival of our ships and the departure of American ones? Only two ways:
1. Changing of the guard. American sailors go on vacation, and ours carry out the tasks assigned to the 6th Fleet, actually joining the American fleet, which was initially designed to control ALL ships in its area of responsibility. Naturally, because The ships are Russian, then control cannot be carried out directly, but nevertheless, the tasks will be set in such a way as to act in the interests of the 6th Fleet. This is done naturally at the political level, for example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation initially agreed on a strategy of action, the Ministry of Defense was assigned a task, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation assigned the task to the General Staff of the Navy, and that directly to the group of ships.
2. There are more important things to do:) The Americans have more important things to do and the presence of Russian ships does not bother anyone, because for political reasons, our ships do nothing other than burn fuel oil to display the flag.
The truth, I think, is somewhere in the middle... But it’s certainly not that the Americans were “scared” of anyone there. The modern development of the US Navy simply does not give them the opportunity to be afraid of anyone at sea. They themselves will scare anyone... Our fleet poses a threat to the United States only due to the fact that it is the fleet of a country that has nuclear weapons. But, I repeat, there is no reason to expect a nuclear apocalypse in this case. We are allies there. All confrontational rhetoric is aimed only at domestic consumption. I believe that this is being done in vain.
In a word, while respecting patriotic feelings, I still want people not to wishful thinking.
In the militaristic plans of the American imperialists, a special place is given to the Mediterranean Sea, which is explained primarily by its important strategic position.The Mediterranean Sea is the connecting link of three continents - Europe, Africa and Asia; sea and air communications of global importance pass through it, connecting the largest European countries with the states of the Middle East and North Africa, and through the Suez Canal - with the states of Southeast Asia and the Indian region. ocean. It is located near the richest oil fields in the Near and Middle East, accounting for 70 percent. proven reserves of the capitalist world According to foreign press reports, over 200 million tons of oil are transported annually through the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the closure of the Suez Canal at one time, a large number of oil pipelines were connected directly to the ports of this sea.
US imperialist circles view the Mediterranean Sea region and its adjacent territories as a profitable springboard for possible aggressive actions directly against the USSR and other socialist countries.
According to the plans of the US Navy command. The 6th Fleet is entrusted with the following main tasks: gaining and maintaining supremacy at sea, conducting combat operations from the sea, providing support to ground forces, supporting the activities of nuclear missile submarines on combat patrols in the Mediterranean Sea, demonstrating the US military presence in the area. It is an important means of intervention by American imperialism in the internal affairs of the Mediterranean countries. The commander of the 6th Fleet is also the commander of the NATO strike naval forces in the South European Theater of Operations. In terms of national organization, he reports to the Commander of US Naval Forces in the European Area (headquarters in London), and in terms of NATO, he reports to the Commander-in-Chief of NATO Allied Forces in the South European Theater (headquarters in Naples). The Deputy Commander of the 6th Fleet for planning and coordinating the activities of the fleet as part of NATO's combined armed forces is also permanently stationed here. He heads special (coastal) headquarters, which has 35-40 officers.
US strategists consider the 6th Fleet to be the most versatile, flexible and combat-ready operational force of the US naval forces in Europe, with significant striking power. It includes formations and units of the fleet, naval aviation and marine corps.
In 1977, the 6th Fleet consisted of up to 50 ships and auxiliary vessels, of which two multi-purpose aircraft carriers (on board 160 - 180 aircraft and helicopters), three - four guided missile cruisers, 15 - 20 destroyers and frigates (including guided missile ships ), five to six nuclear submarines, five to six landing ships (including a landing helicopter carrier with 32 transport and landing helicopters on board), mobile logistics support vessels. It is constantly located on landing ships. The number of personnel in the fleet is about 25 thousand people.
The fleet does not have a permanent complement of ships, but is staffed by combat-ready ships, naval aviation units and marines of the Atlantic Fleet (2nd operational fleet), arriving in the Mediterranean for up to six months. The exception is the flagship cruiser URO (it houses the naval headquarters of the fleet commander), which is in the Mediterranean Sea continuously for two to three years.
When the international situation in the Mediterranean region worsens, the 6th Fleet is usually reinforced with ships sent from the United States. Thus, during the American intervention in Lebanon in 1958, the number of naval personnel in the fleet was increased to 76 warships and auxiliary vessels, and personnel - to 35 thousand people. In anticipation of October 1973, the total number of ships in the fleet was increased to 65 units.
Organizationally, the 6th Fleet includes several operational formations that are designed to solve both independent and joint tasks. Units are assigned two-digit numbers, where the first digit indicating membership in the fleet is always 6.
60th operational formation(aircraft carrier) is the main striking force of the fleet. As a rule, it contains at least two aircraft carrier groups. As the foreign press reports, each group includes a multi-purpose aircraft carrier, one or two guided missile cruisers, five or six destroyers and frigates, as well as a nuclear submarine.
At the beginning of 1978, the 6th Fleet included the nuclear-powered multi-role aircraft carrier and the multi-role aircraft carrier America. Each aircraft carrier hosts an aviation wing of up to ten squadrons of airplanes and helicopters (about 100 aircraft). Thus, judging by reports from the American magazine Aviation Week, they are based on the aircraft carrier America. two fighter squadrons (12 F-14 Tomcats each), an attack squadron (14 A-6 Intruders, including four tankers), two attack squadrons (14 A-7 Corsairs each), a squadron of early warning aircraft E-2C Hawkeye (four aircraft), a squadron of electronic warfare aircraft EA-6B Prowler (four), a detachment of heavy attack reconnaissance aircraft RA-5C Vigilent (three), a squadron of anti-submarine aircraft S-3A Viking ( ten) and a squadron of SH-3A Sea King anti-submarine helicopters (eight).
The tasks of the 60th operational formation are: striking sea and ground targets with both conventional and nuclear weapons, providing air support to ground forces operating in the coastal direction, amphibious assault forces during their landing and conducting combat operations on the shore, as well as combating surface ships and enemy submarines at sea.
Carrier-based aircraft are capable of delivering conventional or nuclear weapons to targets located at a distance of up to 1,800 km from the aircraft carrier. A characteristic feature of the aircraft carrier formation, according to American military experts, is its high maneuverability, allowing the formation to move over a distance of up to 600 miles (about 1,100 km) within a day.
In everyday conditions, as the foreign press reports, the fleet's aircraft carrier groups operate separately at a distance of about 400 miles from each other. Every day, aircraft from the aircraft carrier make about 120 takeoffs and landings. The presence of a corner deck and other special devices allows aircraft to land at intervals of 30 seconds. During the six-month cycle of an aircraft carrier's stay in the Mediterranean, the air wing's flight hours are up to 3,000 hours.
Judging by the materials of the foreign press, 70 percent. aircraft carrier aircraft must be in constant readiness for departure. However, according to military experts, this level of combat readiness is not always maintained.
61st operational formation(amphibious landing) is intended for the transport by sea and landing of Marine Corps landings on the coast. It includes an ARG (Amphibious Ready Group) amphibious ship group on duty, including an amphibious helicopter carrier, an amphibious helicopter dock ship, an amphibious transport dock, a tank landing ship and an amphibious cargo transport. The ships of this group are capable of accommodating and ensuring the landing of 1800-2000 marines () on the shore using amphibious landing craft or deep in the coast using transport-landing helicopters or a combined method.
The landing ships of the duty group are changed every six months.
(Marines) is an expeditionary battalion (a battalion of Marines with attached tanks, artillery and helicopters). It is staffed, as a rule, from the 2nd US Marine Division. The change of battalion is carried out simultaneously with the change of landing ships of the duty group on which they are located.
63rd operational formation(service forces) solves the problems of logistics support for ships and aircraft of the 6th Fleet. It includes high-speed integrated supply transport, special spring and ammunition transports, tankers, a fuel tanker, food transport, a floating base for destroyers, an ocean tug, a rescue vessel, a floating workshop and other auxiliary vessels.
The headquarters of the formation controls the consumption of fuel and oil products by the fleet's warships and ensures their refueling. American tankers in the Mediterranean Sea, according to foreign press reports, are capable of carrying about 100,000 tons of fuels and lubricants on board.
Almost all of the logistics supplies for the ships of the 6th Fleet are delivered from the United States. Every month, over 1,550 tons of food and about 300 tons of basic consumables are delivered from Norfolk to the Mediterranean Sea for fleet personnel alone. Fresh produce is purchased from foreign ports.
The US Navy command devotes significant attention to developing methods for replenishing ships directly at sea in exercises. According to the American press. During the year, the 63rd Task Force carries out more than 2,500 operations to replenish supplies of ships at sea and on the move, with 10 percent of them being they involve transport helicopters.
65th operational formation(temporary) created periodically to perform special tasks. In 1966, it was created to search and recover the B-52 bomber and nuclear bombs that fell with it into the sea in the Polomares area (Spain), and in October - November 1971 - to test new mines and equipment for minesweepers from acoustic helicopters and magnetic min. It included a unit of mine-sweeping forces, including a headquarters group and four minesweeper helicopters SP-53A Sea Steelen. The unit was based at the Souda airbase (Crete).
66th operational formation(temporary) is intended to strengthen the anti-submarine defense of the aircraft carrier formation of the 6th Fleet in the event of complications in the situation in the Mediterranean Sea.
67th operational formation(anti-submarine) searches for and destroys enemy submarines, as well as conducts reconnaissance. It includes basic patrol aircraft operating from the US Naval Air Stations Sigonella (Sicily) and Souda (Crete), as well as a squadron of reconnaissance aircraft based at the US Naval Air Station Rota (Spain).
69th operational formation(submarine force) includes several nuclear submarines based in La Maddalena (Sardinia Island).
For the basing and calling of fleet ships, naval bases and ports in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain and on the islands of Malta and Crete are used. The US Navy is making unrelenting efforts to turn some of these ports into permanent bases for its fleet. According to foreign press reports, the United States has already achieved agreement to equip and use the Italian port of La Maddalena, as well as the Spanish ports of Ceuta and Chartagene, as naval bases. The lease of Forward Naval Base Rota has been extended. Negotiations are underway with the Israeli government to lease the territory of the port of Haifa for basing American ships.
At the time, to support fleet operations in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, the Americans created a forward operating base in Suda Bay on the island. Crete. Here, on the floating base of destroyers, current repairs of ships of the 6th Fleet are carried out. Repair work is also being carried out on the nuclear missile submarine base ship located at the forward naval base of Rota and the nuclear submarine base ship at La Maddalena.
To ensure the smooth functioning of the fleet supply system, Naples and Rota have special logistics coordination departments that use aircraft from the 24th Naval Air Transport Squadron to transport cargo. Typically, these aircraft take off from Rota or Sigonella airfields and fly on "special" routes determined by actual cargo requirements. Every month, at least 250 tons of various cargo are delivered to the aircraft carriers of the 6th Fleet by carrier-based transport aircraft.
Combat training The 6th Fleet is being carried out in accordance with plans for its use both in limited (local) conflicts and in a general nuclear war. It is aimed at increasing the combat readiness primarily of the naval strike forces - aircraft carrier groups, as well as anti-submarine forces and marine forces. As reported in the foreign press, the ships of the 6th Fleet are over 50 percent. time at sea, participating in various exercises. The 6th Fleet spends more than half of its combat training time in joint exercises with the navies of other NATO countries in the Mediterranean (Italy, Greece, Turkey, as well as Great Britain and France). During these exercises, aircraft carrier groups practice the tasks of carrying out strikes with carrier-based aircraft against sea targets and ground targets, providing air support to ground forces in the coastal areas of the South European theater of operations, combating enemy surface ships and submarines, landing amphibious assault forces and in anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare. defense of naval formations. Similar tasks are solved by the 6th Fleet in exercises such as National Week, conducted according to the national plans of the US Navy twice a year. The 6th Fleet usually practices tasks of combating enemy surface ships in bilateral exercises of aircraft carrier groups, during which each of these groups, using camouflage means and maintaining complete radio and radio silence, maneuvers in a given area, trying to detect and destroy the “enemy.” " The American press reports that, as a rule, such exercises end successfully - with the “sinking” of one of the aircraft carriers and several escort ships.
According to Pentagon leaders, the 6th Fleet, being a “weapon of intimidation,” is constantly in a high degree of combat readiness and is already staffed at wartime levels in peacetime. Being the base for the formation of NATO strike naval forces in the South European theater of operations, it can, as the events of recent years show, act independently, ensuring the implementation of the imperialist policy of the United States in the Mediterranean region, sometimes completely without coordinating its activities with partners in the NATO bloc.
Thus, on the night of October 24-25, 1973 (during the Arab-Israeli War), the 6th Fleet was transferred to combat readiness state No. 3 without notifying its allies, and its main forces (two aircraft carrier groups and a group of landing ships with naval infantrymen on board) concentrated in the area south of the island. Crete is in close proximity to the battlefield. In addition, the third aircraft carrier group was introduced into the Mediterranean Sea (the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy with three escort ships sent from the North Sea), and the aircraft carrier Hancock with escort ships (from the 7th Fleet) arrived in the Arabian Sea. to ensure American presence south of the conflict area.
The above, far from complete data from the foreign press on the activities of the 6th Fleet of the US Navy indicate that it is one of the main instruments of the expansionist policy of imperialist circles in the Mediterranean basin.
Captain 1st Rank I. Karemov
About the US 6th Fleet
Any aircraft carrier usually has for many years a constant list of its escort ships and a clear composition of an air wing with permanent squadrons, which are sometimes assigned to a given aircraft carrier for decades. And nothing else. For example, the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, together with the guided-missile cruiser Cape St. George, four Aegis destroyers (Sterret, Hasley, Momsen and Shoup), and a number of auxiliary ships and frigates, form a “carrier battle group.” No. 9."
Based on this concept, each of the six American fleets constantly has in its composition (i.e., in its area of responsibility) one or more aircraft carrier strike groups, amphibious groups or destroyer divisions, from which the naval composition of the fleet is formed. Ships come and go, but their number always remains the same.
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower is a clot of combat matter weighing 100 thousand tons; an invincible monster, capable of defeating an enemy at a distance of a thousand kilometers and exploring the entire surface of the Mediterranean Sea in a day. Two Westinghouse reactors, unlimited fuel autonomy.
The main argument of the killer machine is 70...80 aircraft for various purposes, capable of pouring 1900 tons of ammunition from the vast cellars of the super-aircraft carrier onto the heads of enemies. The most modern equipment, radars and supercomputers, a seawater desalination plant, catapults, ammunition elevators, aerofinishers and aircraft lifts, heavy armor, unique fire extinguishing systems, giant storage and refrigeration chambers, almost six thousand crew members.
Universal landing helicopter carrier-dock "Iwo Jima". A huge barge, comparable in displacement and capabilities to the aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov. On board the Iwo Jima there are thirty aircraft: vertical take-off attack aircraft, heavy transport helicopters and tiltrotors, and a squadron of attack rotorcraft. Hidden below the flight deck are living quarters designed to accommodate 2,000 Marines. Even lower are decks for transporting armored vehicles. And at the waterline level there is a docking chamber filled with water, in which there are three ready-made landing hovercraft.
To ensure effective management and coordination of the actions of the Navy and Marine Corps forces, there is a specialized headquarters ship, extremely rich in receiving and transmitting equipment, with equipped rooms for briefings and meetings, comfortable admiral's cabins and command and control posts. There is equipment on board to receive a helicopter. Externally, Mount Whitney is distinguished by a flat, spacious deck, which is literally littered with casings for antenna devices. In principle, Mount Whitney is difficult to distinguish from civilian research vessels or space communications ships. The only thing that gives away that it is a warship is the six-barreled Phalanx automatic anti-aircraft guns installed at the bow and stern.
Speaking of bases, the Sixth Fleet has a significant number of logistics service points in the Mediterranean. Among them are facilities in Italy: in addition to the already mentioned naval base of Gaeta, on the coast of this country there is a large naval base of Naples with a coastal highly protected command post and a forward base at La Maddalena (a nuclear submarine base on the island of Sardinia). In addition, the Sixth Fleet can use the Italian naval bases of La Spezia, Taranto, Brindisi, and Augusta (a large fuel and lubricants supply point). There is another large facility on the coast of Spain - the Rota naval base, used jointly with the Spanish Navy. Also, to accommodate basic patrol and anti-submarine aircraft, the American fleet can use numerous air bases on the territory of European countries (for example, Sigonella AB on the island of Sicily).
On Wednesday, December 7, the commander of the 6th Fleet of the US Navy, Vice Admiral James Foggo, said that the duration of patrols of American warships in the Black Sea could be increased to four months: “It depends on whether the challenges in the region become more or less urgent.
Obviously, as the action gets more intense, you see the presence of additional ships."
The North Atlantic Alliance is ready to make its contribution to this dangerous process. On October 26-27 in Brussels, the defense ministers of 28 NATO member countries discussed strengthening their presence in the Black Sea region.
Reality is always more complex and tougher than Washington and Brussels strategists imagine. Will Vice Admiral James Foggo's message be implemented?
Shapes of the future
The 6th (Mediterranean) Fleet of the US Navy is six task forces, a serious force. With the exception of the headquarters, support departments and flagship Mount Whitney, it is equipped with ships, aircraft and marine units arriving in the Mediterranean for a period of 6 - 8 months.
Ships come and go, but their quantitative composition remains virtually unchanged.
The basis of the 6th Fleet is an operational force consisting of one or two aircraft carriers, two missile cruisers, sixteen frigates and destroyers. The fleet has submarines, connections of landing ships with marines, as well as a significant number of naval bases, logistics points (Gaeta, Naples, La Maddalena, La Spezia, Taranto, Brindisi, Augusta, Rota) and air bases in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey and other European NATO countries.
The area of responsibility of the US 6th Fleet is the Mediterranean and Black Seas, adjacent waters of the Atlantic, and the coast of Africa (Gulf of Guinea).
To effectively manage the actions of the Navy and Marine Corps in this wide geographical area, there is the Mount Whitney headquarters ship, which is extremely equipped with receiving, transmitting and reconnaissance equipment.
A nuclear aircraft carrier includes 70-80 aircraft for various purposes, 1,900 tons of ammunition (including nuclear weapons), modern equipment, radars and supercomputers, a seawater desalination plant, fire extinguishing systems, giant storage facilities and a crew of five thousand people.
American ships with the Aegis combat information system are integrated into the missile defense system and are capable of weakening a retaliatory missile strike from Russia.
As a rule, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers with Tomahawk cruise missiles on board “patrol” near Russian Crimea.
I repeat: within the framework of the Montreux Convention, ships of the 6th Fleet can enter the Black Sea strictly for three weeks (except for aircraft carriers, which cannot enter even for one day). However, the Americans more than once violated the temporary provisions, and the Russian side only reproached its partners in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, without using military force in one form or another. The alliance allies and other Black Sea countries simply turned a blind eye.
Perhaps Vice Admiral Foggo developed and strengthened the illusion of complete impunity, even in the event of a four-month stay in the Black Sea by a group of ships of the US 6th Fleet.
Hot James
The ideologist of revolutionary changes in the Black Sea region is not the top person in the Pentagon, but still a serious person. A native of Virginia, James Foggo is a 1981 graduate of the US Naval Academy, has a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University (USA) and a diploma in defense research (Diplôme d "Etudes Approfondies) from the University of Strasbourg (France). He successfully served in the submarine Navy, in senior command and staff positions, and as a special assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense and has received numerous awards.
Perhaps Foggo hopes to "bypass Montreux" through vague speculation about the "right of free navigation of the seas."
The Russian Black Sea Fleet in its area of responsibility closely monitors the ships of the US 6th Fleet. And it is no coincidence that in one of his interviews, Vice Admiral James Foggo noted that American ships in the Black Sea “in nine cases out of ten, a Russian warship awaits...
It's a strategic message and that always impresses me. It is not right to immediately send ships to sea."
Russia quickly welcomes uninvited guests over the Black Sea, as it did in September with the US P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft.
Observing the reconstruction of the southern part of the Iron Curtain, Moscow is not seeking confrontation with the West, and yet is taking retaliatory measures to ensure national security. The Black Sea Fleet and only within the framework of one federal program until 2020, more than 86 billion rubles. Since March 2014, Russian Bastion anti-ship systems with Onyx anti-ship missiles in Crimea have been keeping at gunpoint most of the Black Sea to the Turkish coast and the entire coast of Ukraine. This is the “strategic message” of Russia.
If Washington understands the seriousness of Russian intentions in the Middle East, it should clearly understand the consequences of the unlimited presence of ships of the US 6th Fleet in the Black Sea region, directly near the Russian borders.
Relying on strength and dexterity in the zone between compromise and confrontation, the Pentagon is consistently increasing the risk of a direct military clash with Russia.