By Robin Ashby, Chair, Eurodefense Russia Observatory
From an original paper by Joseph E. Fallon first published at Defence Viewpoints. Revised and updated April 2026. (AI assisted)
Summary: The Russian Pacific Fleet is the second largest of Russia's four fleets and, in submarine terms, the most consequential after the Northern Fleet. Unlike the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets, it has not been materially degraded by the Ukraine war: its surface ships remain operational, its SSBN force has been reinforced, and its programme of new-build submarines continued without interruption through 2025. Its strategic purpose is nuclear deterrence from the Sea of Okhotsk bastion, sea-denial against the US Seventh Fleet and Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force, and the projection of Russian presence across a theatre stretching from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean. The Russia-China naval relationship, exercised annually since 2012 and deepened in 2025 to include the first joint submarine patrols, adds a dimension that changes the strategic calculus for every US and allied planner in the Indo-Pacific.
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Tuesday, 14 April 2026 14:30