MOSCOW. March 9 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Navy will retain only about 60 submarines and 1st and 2nd class surface ships in ten years' time, while the U.S. Navy will increase the number of similar vessels to about 300 in the same period of time, a source in the Russian State Duma Defense Committee told Interfax-Military News Agency on Thursday.
"There will be no more than 60 submarines and 1st and 2nd class surface ships in the Russian Navy by 2015. This makes about 15 vessels per fleet on average, but almost all of them are outdated. Experts from the State Duma Defense Committee are aware that the fleet of the U.S. Navy will increase to 300 vessels of analogous classes," the source said.
The Russian Navy's combat capabilities in the Baltic Sea are inferior to those of the Swedish and Finnish navies two times, and of the German Navy four tomes. The Russian Black Sea Fleet is weaker than the Turkish Navy three times, the experts believe.
According to them, if the Russian Navy's combat capabilities are taken in general, they are inferior to those of the U.S. Navy 20 times, of the Royal British Navy seven times, and of the French Navy six times.