#Russian Black Sea Fleet

Ukraine’s Magura sea drone operations against Russian vessels have proved that you don’t need a traditional navy to take on enemy warships or break a blockade. A small drone can inflict massive damage at a fraction of the cost of the vessels it destroys.

Russia has quietly relaunched an upgraded Tarantul-class corvette after years of delays, converting a 1990s hull into a modern coastal strike ship armed with Kh-35 “Uran” anti-ship missiles. The vessel—now sailing as Strelok under Project 12418—represents a low-cost way for the Russian Navy to add missile punch to littoral patrol forces while the country’s new-build shipyards struggle to keep pace.

Russia is preparing to retire its only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, effectively shutting down its fixed-wing carrier aviation and raising doubts about whether Moscow can still claim blue-water naval power status.