De ryska marinstridskrafternas dag

A senator in Russian-occupied Crimea later said a drone had been launched from within Sevastopol, and the perpetrators would be found by the evening

Executive Order on 2023 Main Naval Parade
The President signed the Executive Order On Holding the Main Naval Parade in 2023.
July 26, 202313:30 The President resolved to hold the Main Naval Parade in St Petersburg on July 30, 2023, on Navy Day, and an artillery salute at 10.30 pm Moscow time.

On July 30 Russia will celebrate its Navy Day with parades of ships in key cities. One of the parades, the one gaining the most attention, is in Saint Petersburg on the Baltic coast. President Putin himself normally attends the event in the city. The Russian government will be hoping that the parade passes peacefully. Others may not share their view.

At the same time, since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has faced a growing number of drone (UAV – uncrewed air vehicle) attacks on its territory. These present a risk to high profile buildings and events throughout Russia.

Clear evidence has emerged showing that Russia takes this threat to the annual Navy Day parade in Saint Petersburg seriously. Special antenna, identified as part of the ‘Pole 21’ electronic warfare system, have been spotted on one of the participating warships.

Last year Russia cancelled the Navy Day parade in Sevastopol, Crimea, over drone attack fears. The Russian-appointed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, stated that “All celebratory events have been cancelled due to safety concerns”. This followed a Ukrainian drone attack on the Navy headquarters in the city. That attack is attributed to Ukrainian government forces rather than partisans.

While browsing through images from St. Petersburg for Navy Day 2023, I noticed something odd on the two corvettes anchored in the Neva River. Both Zelenyy Dol (Buyan-M) and Burya (Karakurt) have their MG-757 Anapa-M anti-saboteur dipping sonar deployed in the port side.

The Anapa-M is used to detect saboteurs / combat divers while the ship is anchored or docked in hostile areas. Once detected, crews would engage such combat divers using either the double-barrel DP-64 or the ten-barrel DP-65 grenade launchers.