Open source maritime and aerial monitoring data indicates that US naval and aviation assets appear to be shadowing Russian warships that skirted Florida’s eastern coast on their approach to make port in Cuba.
Updates from open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts were published on Tuesday. They showed the USS Donald Cook and Truxtun destroyers, the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec, and the coast guard ship CG Stone allegedly following the Russian ships that were sailing toward Cuba southward along the Florida coast. At least one P-8A Poseidon from the US Navy and one CP-140 Aurora from Canada seemed to be spying on them from above.
Late on Monday, the OSINT channel TheIntelFrog stated on X (formerly Twitter) that the Canadian and American assets “may be shadowing” the Russian flotilla.
Along the Miami coast, that and other OSINT social media platforms tracked the movements of the aircraft and shadowing vessels as they traveled north to south until Tuesday morning. About 25 miles east of Miami, the CG Stone was visible on the VesselFinder website as of six in the morning ET.
The United States expects “heightened naval and air activity near the United States” this summer, a State Department spokesman told Newsweek.
The speaker went on, “This fall, these actions will culminate in a global Russian naval exercise.” “Russia will temporarily send combat naval vessels to the Caribbean region, and these ships will likely conduct port calls in Cuba and possibly Venezuela.
“Additionally, there might be some aircraft flights or deployments in the area. We are not concerned about Russia’s deployments because they are a normal component of naval action and do not directly threaten the United States.”
According to the Foreign Ministry in Havana, Russia’s four-ship grouping visiting Cuba consists of the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, the fleet oil tanker Pashin, the rescue tug Nikolay Chiker, and the Gorshkov frigate.
The commander-in-chief of Russia’s naval forces was quoted in a report by the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday as stating that the flotilla will arrive in Cuba on Wednesday.
Although the Pentagon has stated that there is no immediate threat, the visit has been seen as part of Moscow’s response to stronger NATO pledges to Ukraine, including the White House’s clearance for Ukrainian forces to use American weapons within Russian borders.
Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Charlie Dietz stated last week that Russia “is likely to send combat naval vessels to the Caribbean, with potential port calls in Cuba and possibly Venezuela.” It is also expected that there may be aircraft deployments or flights in the area. There is no direct threat to the United States from these deployments because they are a normal component of Russian naval operations.”
Russia regularly sent ships to Cuba between 2013 and 2020, thus these visits are not unusual. These kind of missions “impose a significant cost on the Russian navy, which faces challenges in maintaining readiness and conducting deployments with an aging fleet,” Dietz stated.
“Given Russia’s long history of Cuban port calls, these are considered routine naval visits, especially in the context of increased U.S. support to Ukraine and NATO exercises,” he stated.
President Vladimir Putin made vague allusions to severe repercussions for NATO members who approve of Ukraine’s use of Western weaponry inside Russian borders.