1 week Ago By THE WARZONE
Satellite imagery shows work on the first of Russia’s Project 23900 big-deck amphibious assault ships, also known as the Ivan Rogov class , is continuing at a shipyard on the occupied Crimean Peninsula. Ukrainian forces have targeted the Zaliv yard in the past, severely damaging at least one warship . Ukrainian outlet Defense Express called new attention to the ongoing work on the initial Ivan Rogov class ship at Zaliv yesterday, publishing a satellite image from an unspecified source it said had been taken in “spring 2025.
” TWZ subsequently obtained another image from Maxar Technologies, seen at the top of this story and uncropped later on, which was captured on Nov. 17, 2024, and also highlights the progress that has been made in the past year or so. Russia has two Project 23900s on order, currently set to be named Ivan Rogov and Mitrofan Moskalenko , and a keel-laying ceremony was held at Zaliv back in 2020.
The image from Maxar and the one Defense Express obtained both show the Project 23900 amphibious assault ship very much still under construction. At the same time, the hull is dramatically more complete than it was in 2023 or even by the middle of the following year . Two large rectangular gaps are now visible, which could be for elevators to move aircraft and other materiel between the flight deck and below-deck hangars.
The ship still lacks its flight deck and island. Defense Express estimated the ship to be just under 722 feet (220 meters) long and just over 131 feet (40 meters) wide based on what can be seen in the image it published. This is in line with details on the ship’s dimensions in a 2021 report from Russia’s state-run TASS , which also said that the Ivan Rogov class design would have a draft of close to 23 feet (seven meters) and a speed of up to 24 knots.
Past reports have said that the Project 23900 could have a displacement of 30,000 or 44,000 tons , either of which would put it at the high end of ships this type globally. For example, the U.S.
Navy’s America class also displaces close to 44,000 tons when fully loaded. It’s unclear whether either displacement figure, as well as the expected draft, reflects the Russian ship with or without a typical combat load. Previous reporting has also said the Project 23900s could possibly carry up to 16 helicopters, as well as six landing craft (launched and recovered via a well deck at the stern), 75 vehicles, 900 troops, and additional materiel to support amphibious operations.
Official models and renderings have shown Ka-27/29-series anti-submarine warfare/armed utility and Ka-52-series attack helicopters on the deck, but the ships could potentially accommodate other types. The possibility of Russia developing a new short and/or vertical takeoff and landing capable fixed-wing combat jets to go with the Project 23900s has been raised , but there is no evidence to date of actual work on such a design. There is also a growing trend to add drones to the air wings aboard big-deck amphibious assault ships , or at least exploring doing so , globally.
Though work on the Ivan Rogov class predates Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022, its origins are directly tied to the latter country. In 2011, the French government approved the sale of two Mistral class amphibious assault ships to Russia, a deal that was scrapped after the seizure of Crimea in 2014. The two Mistral class ships originally under construction for Russia were subsequently sold to Egypt .
The Project 23900 ships are intended to fill the resulting gap. Zaliv’s continued work on the Ivan Rogov class ship now highlights additional issues, not least of which are the risks associated with building such a high-profile asset valued at hundreds of millions of dollars in Crimea. A Ukrainian cruise missile attack on the shipyard in November 2023 left the Russian Navy’s Project 22800 Karakurt class corvette Askold severely damaged.
Ukrainian forces have launched cruise and ballistic missiles , kamikaze drones , and drone boats against ships and submarines in port (as well as vessels sailing out in the Black Sea ) and other targets elsewhere across Crimea in the past. Ukrainian attacks on targets in Crimea, especially ones involving longer-range munitions, have slowed in recent months. Russia has also been working to step up its air, missile , and other defenses on the peninsula.
It is somewhat curious that Ukrainians have not targeted the incomplete Ivan Rogov class ship already. One factor could be that there is greater demand for the resources required to strike a vessel that still looks to be far away from being put in the water, let alone entering operational service any time soon. At the same time, even just setting back work on the first Ivan Rogov class ship would have real ramifications for the Russian Navy, as well as offer propaganda and morale-boosting benefits for Ukraine.
The fact that Zaliv is building the Project 23900s at all also underscores the immense value of the warm water port facilities in Crimea to the Kremlin. All four of the Soviet Union’s Kiev class aircraft carriers , as well as the Admiral Kuznetosv (and its unfinished sister ship that was eventually completed in China as the Liaoning ), were built in Ukrainian shipyards. Plans to further expand the facilities at Zaliv in Crimea were announced in 2021.
Maintaining large surface ships is also a challenge for the Russian Navy. After the only floating dry dock Russia had that was big enough to accommodate Kuznetosv sank in an accident in 2018 , a dry dock at the Sevmorput Naval Shipyard had to be greatly expanded . Though it is back in the water now , when the carrier might return to the fleet is still very much an open question.
Even if the Kuznetosv ultimately returns to service, the addition of two new big-deck amphibious assault ships would give the Russian Navy an important capability boost in multiple arenas. As TWZ has previously written : “Ultimately, an amphibious assault ship is potentially much more flexible, even without conventional fixed-wing airpower. The Project 23900 is expected to be able to embark six landing craft to transport around 75 armored vehicles, 900 troops, and support equipment to a beachhead during an amphibious operation, but the vessels would also be suitable for floating hospitals or as flagships for littoral operations.
With some modifications, or with a tailored air group onboard, these warships could also take on anti-submarine or mine warfare roles. In addition, time and again, amphibious vessels of this kind have also shown their worth in non-combat scenarios, including disaster relief and humanitarian assistance missions.” As it stands now, the first Ivan Rogov class ship is not expected to be completed until 2027, two years later then originally planned.
Even without any disruption to that work from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, it remains to be seen if Zaliv can keep to that schedule. Crippling U.S.
and other international sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine have had significant impacts on the country’s defense and shipbuilding industries, among others. The U.S.
government and the European Union have both sanctioned Zaliv explicitly. What is clear is that work on the first Ivan Rogov class amphibious assault ship is still underway in Russian-occupied Crimea, despite the potential risks and other issues. Contact the author: joe@twz.
com.
