Coastal Combined Forces Flotilla
Formation Identification and Command Structure
The entity described corresponds to the Primorskaya Flotilla of Diverse Forces (Primorskaya flotilla raznorodnykh sil) of the Russian Pacific Fleet. Open sources attribute military unit (v/ch) 20885 to the flotilla headquarters, located in Fokino, Primorsky Krai. The formation is subordinate to Pacific Fleet command and integrates surface combatants, diesel-electric submarines, coastal defense elements, and supporting units. The listed 19th Submarine Brigade and support/Logistics Center units are consistent with known subordinate components operating in the Primorsky Krai basing area.
Headquarters and Garrison Location (Fokino, Primorsky Krai)
Fokino is a closed administrative-territorial formation (ZATO) on Peter the Great Gulf in Primorsky Krai, Russia. It hosts multiple Pacific Fleet facilities in and around Strelok Bay and adjacent water areas. The headquarters functions of the Primorskaya Flotilla (v/ch 20885) are reported in open sources as being located in Fokino, reflecting the concentration of command-and-control, berthing, and support infrastructure for fleet units in this sector. Access to the area is restricted under Russian federal regulations governing ZATOs.
Submarine Forces: 19th Submarine Brigade
The 19th Submarine Brigade is a diesel-electric submarine formation assigned to the Pacific Fleet and associated with the Primorskaya Flotilla’s area of responsibility. The brigade includes legacy Project 877 Paltus (Kilo-class) boats—B-187 Komsomolsk-on-Amur, B-190 Krasnokamensk, B-394 Nurlat, B-464 Ust-Kamchatsk, and B-494 Ust-Bolsheretsk—and newer Project 636.3 Varshavyanka boats—B-274 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (accepted 2019), B-603 Volkhov (2020), B-602 Magadan (2021), and B-588 Ufa (2022). Open sources also report two additional Project 636.3 submarines (Mozhaysk and Yakutsk) were commissioned to the Pacific Fleet in 2023; public reporting does not consistently assign them in official terms to a specific brigade in the Primorsky Krai basing complex.
Platform Capabilities: Project 877 Paltus (Kilo-class)
Project 877 diesel-electric submarines are conventionally powered attack boats designed for anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare and minelaying. Typical characteristics: length approximately 72.6 m, beam 9.9 m, surfaced displacement about 2,300 t and submerged about 3,900–4,000 t; maximum submerged speed around 17 knots; test depth generally cited around 240–300 m; crew roughly 50–56. Armament comprises six 533 mm bow torpedo tubes with a mix of up to 18 torpedoes or 24 mines. Sensors typically include the MGK-400 Rubikon sonar suite and standard navigation/ESM fits of the class. Original Pacific Fleet Project 877 boats are primarily torpedo/minelaying platforms; public sources do not confirm Kalibr-PL integration on the specific hulls listed.
Platform Capabilities: Project 636.3 Varshavyanka
Project 636.3 submarines are an improved Kilo variant optimized for reduced acoustic signatures and enhanced weapons/sensors. Typical characteristics: length approximately 73.8 m, beam 9.9 m, submerged displacement about 3,950–4,000 t, endurance up to 45 days, range roughly 7,500 nautical miles on economical transit, and crew around 52. Armament includes six 533 mm torpedo tubes with up to 18 torpedoes/mines and the ability to launch Kalibr-PL cruise missiles (e.g., 3M-14 land-attack and 3M-54 anti-ship variants) through torpedo tubes. The class features upgraded sonar (e.g., MGK-400EM), combat systems, and electronic support suites relative to Project 877.
Logistics and Sustainment: 703rd Logistics Center Elements
The 703rd Logistics Center (v/ch 25030) is the Pacific Fleet’s material-technical support (MTO) structure with multiple subordinate detachments. The elements identified as v/ch 25030-4 and v/ch 25030-18 are detachments of the 703rd Logistics Center. In general, such detachments provide fuel and lubricants supply, ammunition handling and storage, food and general stores warehousing, pier services (water, power), and movement control within assigned naval bases. Precise internal tasking, locations, and inventory levels of these detachments are not publicly disclosed.
Auxiliary and Harbor Support: Support Vessel Detachment
Military unit 44751 is identified in open sources as a support vessel detachment assigned to the flotilla’s basing area. Such detachments typically operate harbor and ocean-going tugs, rescue and salvage vessels, diving support craft, torpedo-recovery boats, boom-laying craft, and floating cranes necessary for towing, firefighting, emergency response, range support, and port operations. Specific vessel rosters and readiness states are not publicly enumerated.
Infrastructure and Facilities in the Fokino Area
Naval infrastructure in the Fokino sector includes submarine-capable berths, fueling points, warehousing and magazines, workshops for afloat maintenance, and protective harbor measures appropriate to a major Pacific Fleet basing node. The area provides direct access to Peter the Great Gulf and Sea of Japan operating areas. Complex repairs and overhauls of Pacific Fleet submarines are generally conducted at specialized shipyards in the region; open sources do not consistently attribute specific hulls to specific yards or timelines.
Operational Environment and Likely Missions
The formation’s operating areas encompass Peter the Great Gulf, the Sea of Japan, and, by extension, the western Pacific. The 19th Submarine Brigade’s typical mission set includes anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, coastal sea-lane protection, maritime domain awareness and reconnaissance, and, for Project 636.3 units, conventional long-range strike with Kalibr-PL when tasked. Submarines conduct training events and patrols in local waters and can deploy to broader Pacific theaters subject to fleet tasking and maintenance cycles. Real-time operational schedules are not publicly available.
Recent Modernization and Activities
The delivery sequence of Project 636.3 submarines to the Pacific Fleet—B-274 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (2019), B-603 Volkhov (2020), B-602 Magadan (2021), B-588 Ufa (2022), followed by Mozhaysk and Yakutsk in 2023—reconstituted and modernized the diesel-electric component in the Far East. Russian Ministry of Defense releases have highlighted Kalibr training launches in the Sea of Japan by Pacific Fleet Project 636.3 boats (e.g., reported firings in 2021), demonstrating integration of land-attack and anti-ship cruise missile capability within the formation.
Data Confidence and Open-Source Constraints
Unit designations and basing identifications cited above are derived from publicly available sources. Military unit numbers and internal organizational alignments can change and are not always announced. Exact berthing locations, ammunition holdings, crew counts, maintenance statuses, and operational tasking are not publicly released; where such details are not available in open sources, they are omitted. Any classified or sensitive information beyond public reporting cannot be provided.