16th Submarine Squadron
Identification
Open sources strongly match this record to the Vilyuchinsk-3/Rybachiy nuclear-submarine headquarters area on Krasheninnikov Bay. Public records place military unit 62695 in Vilyuchinsk-3, and the two attached placemarks align with the documented 10th and 25th Submarine Divisions in the same bay. A 2023 Royal Australian Navy study says the current Pacific Fleet Submarine Forces Command incorporates elements of the former 16th Submarine Squadron homeported in Vilyuchinsk, so the site identity is strong even if the squadron title is now partly legacy in public reporting. ([rupep.org](https://rupep.org/ru/company/50979))
Role
This area is the Pacific Fleet’s principal nuclear-submarine node in Kamchatka. The adjoining divisional basing areas support both strategic missile submarines and multirole nuclear boats: open-source fleet studies list Borei/Borei-A SSBNs and the Yasen-M Novosibirsk among Pacific Fleet additions tied to Vilyuchinsk, and TASS reported the Borei-A Imperator Aleksandr III and Yasen-M Krasnoyarsk arriving at Vilyuchinsk in September 2024. ([tass.ru](https://tass.ru/obschestvo/20556515))
Force posture
Modernization of the basing complex is active. During Defense Minister Andrey Belousov’s October 16, 2024 visit to Kamchatka, the commander of Pacific Fleet submarine forces said pier modernization had enabled seven nuclear submarines to enter service over the previous years, including five Borei-class and two Yasen-class boats; Russian officials also said work on 14 additional facilities was intended to extend berth length and improve shore support, with completion then planned for summer 2025. I did not locate a later authoritative public confirmation that all of that work finished on schedule. ([tass.com](https://tass.com/defense/1857111))
Support infrastructure
Open sources describe a full support hub rather than only piers. In December 2023, Pacific Fleet commander Viktor Liina said the 25th Division area in Vilyuchinsk was getting a pier-side support system for nuclear submarines, new barracks, and a training center. Earlier public satellite analysis of the wider Rybachiy/Vilyuchinsk complex identified upgraded submarine piers plus a separate missile-loading and weapons-support area across the bay, consistent with strategic-submarine sustainment. ([tass.ru](https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/19563137))
Recent activity
The modernized force at this base is showing operational use in open reporting. In April 2025, TASS, citing the Russian Defense Ministry, said the Yasen-M Krasnoyarsk launched a Kalibr cruise missile at the Kura range on Kamchatka from more than 1,100 km and then conducted an anti-submarine attack with a rocket torpedo. That report indicates the Vilyuchinsk-based submarine grouping is supporting live-fire strike and ASW training with newly delivered fourth-generation boats. ([tass.com](https://tass.com/defense/1950167?utm_source=openai))
Geographic relevance
The site sits in a sheltered bay system near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with direct access to North Pacific and Sea of Okhotsk operating areas. A public FAS assessment judged Borei deployments from Rybachiy likely to use bastion areas near Kamchatka, and recent Pacific Fleet exercise reporting shows submarine activity extending from the Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea into the Chukchi approaches. ([fas.org](https://fas.org/publication/pacificfleet/))