A surface action group from the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet recently departed Vladivostok for an Asia-Pacific deployment.

Corvettes RFS Sovershenny (333) and RFS Rezkiy (343) and fleet oiler Pechenga are on a long-distance voyage to carry out assigned missions in the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian Navy Pacific Fleet announced Friday. The ships will conduct a series of exercises in the Asia-Pacific region and make port calls to friendly countries, Russia said.

The release did not specify what exercises the group will participate in, nor where the port calls will take place. With the exception of Singapore, which sanctioned Russia in February 2022 over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia has maintained normal diplomatic and military cooperation relations with countries in Southeast Asia.

The Russian Pacific fleet routinely sends a deployment of surface ships accompanied by a fleet oiler for long-range deployments, combining engagements with partner nations and operational training for the ships.

Russia’s Pacific fleet deployments typically extend as far as the Middle East and include the annual Maritime Security Belt exercise with Iran and China. Iran, which hosts Maritime Security Belt, previously announced this year’s iteration will occur in late February. The exercise was first held in 2018 in the waters of the Arabian Sea. Last year’s iteration in the Gulf of Oman involved 15 ships, support vessels and combat boats, as well as naval aviation helicopters.

Russia already has at least one corvette operating around Iran, according to a recent press release, and the ship is expected to participate in the Iranian exercise. RFS Stoikiy (545) from the Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet conducted a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the Gulf of Oman with Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Alvand (71) and fast attack craft IRIS Neyzeh (P231) and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) corvette Shahid Sayyad Shirazi (FS313-03) following the Russian ships’ unofficial visit to Bandar Abbas, Iran. China also typically deploys ships from its Naval Escort Task Force, Beijing’s ongoing anti-piracy escort deployment to the Gulf of Aden. The current task force includes destroyer CNS Tangshan (122), frigate CNS Daqing (576) and fleet oiler CNS Taihu (889).

It is unclear if Russia’s Sovershenny, Rezkiy and Pechenga will participate in Maritime Security Belt, which coincides with a growing U.S. naval presence in the Middle East. Amid tensions with Iran, the U.S. is amassing naval power in the region, including aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), supported by air wings and destroyer escorts.

The Russian surface action group was spotted Monday entering the Philippine Sea after passing through the Tsushima Strait and Japan’s southwest region two days prior, according to Japan’s Joint Staff Office, which is tracking the group’s movements transited through Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Around midnight Saturday, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) sighted the two Russian corvettes and the fleet oiler sailing southwest approximately 90 kilometers northeast of Tsushima Island. The Russian ships sailed southwest through the Tsushima Strait to enter the East China Sea.

On Monday, the JMSDF confirmed the three Russian ships sailed southwest through the waters between Yonaguni Island and Iriomote Island to enter the Philippine Sea, according to the release. Destroyer escort JS Abukuma (DE-229), multipurpose support ship JS Amakusa (AMS-4303) and a JMSDF P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft conducted surveillance and intelligence gathering on the Russian ships, Japan said.

That same day, a Russian IL-20 electronic intelligence aircraft conducted a flight over international waters in the Sea of Japan within Japan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The Russian IL-20 flew in from the Russian continent and then over the Sea of Japan until it was parallel to the coast of the main island of Honshu’s Shimane Prefecture, according to Japan’s Joint Staff Office. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Northern Air Defense Command and other fighter jets were scrambled to respond to the Russia aircraft, which turned back to the Russian continent.

Monday’s flight followed a flight last week in which a Russian IL-20 ELINT aircraft flew in from the Russian continent and over the Sea of Okhotsk to enter the Pacific Ocean. The Russian plane then flew south parallel to the coast of Iwate Prefecture before turning around and flying into the Sea of Japan.

Fighter aircraft from the JASDF Northern Air Defense Command and other fighter jets were scrambled in response, Japan said.

Meanwhile, Russian corvettes transited Japan’s Tsugaru Strait, which separates the main islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, during the first week of February. At 8 a.m. on Feb. 1, the JMSDF spotted Russian Navy corvette Gremyashchiy (337) southeast around 130 kilometers west of Cape Tappi. The corvette then sailed east through the Tsugaru Strait to enter the Pacific Ocean. JMSDF destroyer escort JS Chikuma (DE-233) and a JMSDF P-3C Orion MPA shadowed the Russian ship.

The Tsugaru Strait is an international waterway that allows ships to freely transit, though Japan maintains a close watch on Russian and Chinese ships sailing through the waterway.

Gremyashchiy, destroyer RFS Marshal Shaposhnikov (543) and fleet oiler Boris Butoma set out in early October 2025 for a deployment to the Asia Pacific and Middle East, based on Japan’s reports. On Feb. 7, the Russian Navy Pacific Fleet said Gremyashchiy had returned to its homeport in Kamchatka. During its deployment, the ship participated in the Russian-Myanmar naval exercise Marumex 2025 in the Bay of Bengal and made port calls in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Brunei.

Additionally, while near the Kuril Islands, the corvette’s crew completed a series of exercises to search for and destroy a simulated enemy submarine and trained to repel attacks by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Surface Vessels, according to the Russian news release.

“All assigned tasks were accomplished. The corvette Gremyashchiy completed one of the longest and most intense voyages the ship has ever undertaken,” reads the release.

Marshal Shaposhnikov and Boris Butoma are still deployed. The destroyer took part in the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) 2026 held in Doha, Qatar, from Jan. 19-22. The destroyer then docked Jan. 26-29 in Muscat, Oman, for a port visit. Marshal Shaposhnikov is now in Visakhapatnam, India, taking part in the Indian Navy-hosted multilateral exercise Milan 2026, which runs from Sunday to Feb. 25.

The JMSDF also sighted Russian Navy corvette RFS Gromkiy (335) heading west Feb. 4 around 50 kilometers northeast of Cape Shiriya and subsequently sailed west through the Tsugaru Strait toward the Sea of Japan. Multipurpose support ship JS Suo (AMS-4302) and a JMSDF P-3C Orion MPA shadowed the Russian corvette, Japan said.