MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. The Caspian Flotilla’s Project 21631 cruise missile corvette Uglich has joined Russia’s Mediterranean permanent taskforce, a source in the Crimean defense circles told TASS on Tuesday.
"Overnight to Tuesday, the Uglich passed through the Black Sea straits and entered the Mediterranean Sea," the source said.
The missile corvette Uglich earlier made a transit from the Caspian to the Black Sea through the Russian internal waterways, the source said.
Russia’s Mediterranean Squadron currently includes another Project 21631 missile corvette of the Caspian Flotilla, the Veliky Ustyug.
The Caspian Flotilla’s Project 21631 missile corvettes numerously took part in Kalibr cruise missile strikes against terrorist targets in Syria.
Project 21631 Buyan-M-class small missile ships feature increased water displacement and are equipped with the latest Kalibr-NK standardized precision missile system designated to strike naval and coastal targets.
The Soviet Navy’s 5th Mediterranean Squadron served as a prototype for the Russian Navy’s permanent Mediterranean taskforce operating at present. The 5th operational Soviet Squadron dealt with the tasks of naval presence in the Mediterranean theater of operations during the Cold War period.
Its main rival was the US Navy’s 6th Fleet. The Soviet Squadron was disbanded on December 31, 1992, a year after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
As it emerged in 2013, Russia was creating a new operational Mediterranean taskforce in its modern history. Russia’s new permanent taskforce is dealing with planned and emergency combat missions arising in the Mediterranean theater of operations, including warding off threats for Russia’s national and military security.