Порох в пороховницах
The Russian Navy's missile cruiser Moskva (L) leaves the Chinese Navy's supply ship Weishanhu after receiving replenishment during a replenishment-at-sea drill on May 19, 2015.
В развитие обсуждения
Until the 1960s the plans for combat use ships of the Navy of the USSR envisaged the only a fleeting fighting collision with application of mainly of rocket weapons. Replenishment of ammunition and or missiles at sea was not provided for, as it would not be needed in this "Battle of the First Salvo".
The situation grew so bleak that in the mid-90s it was reported that the Russian Navy was unable to mount more than 10 deterrence patrols per year. This decline continued until 2002 when no patrol was conducted at all. Russian naval aviation suffered similarly and is still suffering from a lack of trained aircrews. In 2009 former commander of the Northern Fleet Admiral Vyacheslav Popov (ret.) stated the Russian Navy would experience a sharp decline in capability by 2015 unless current shipbuilding plans are grown and new vessels introduced.