Black Sea Fleet:
Slava class cruiser (1)
Kashin class destroyer (1)
Admiral Grigorovich class frigate (2)
Burevestnik (Krivak) class frigate (2)
Kilo class submarine (6)
Various smaller vessels. Limited air power via Syria.
Other vessels can be brought to bear, but that seriously weakens Russia in other areas. Russia’s only carrier is of “suspect” effectiveness at best.
Italian Navy:
Aircraft carriers (2) (Newest commissioned 2008.)
Destroyers (4)
Frigates (14)
Corvettes (4)
Attack submarines (7)
A host of smaller & assorted other vessels. (184 vessels total, although quite a few are small auxiliary vessels.)
Plus (presently) most of the 219 combat aircraft from Italy’s Air Force could be brought to bear if need be (note the pun), mostly flying from local bases, including a few Italian produced F-35’s. (The 219 is planned to decline in number as more F-35’s are produced.) The Italians are darn competent, would be operating from local bases, have considerable carrier operational experience, and should not be underestimated.
Now, if Russia pits even 1/4 of its total navy vs. the Italians alone, they wipe out the Italians. But, Russia CAN’T do that, and the Italians would not be alone.
Yes and you left out are several thousand Onyx Yakont (P-800) Super Sunburn supersonic anti ship missiles which can be launched by air, sea and ground platforms. NATO has a real problem with these. The entire Italian Navy could be destroyed in 20 minutes with a mass attack. With that weapon and others which are classified they control that entire region against all naval threats. Your internet and text book research will never outflank me because there are things you just don’t know. We have lots of reinvestment to do in our military along with NATO. The Russians have the edge right now. Deal with it!
Does the thought of a conventional war -— that could lead to tactical nukes & ultimately a full-on thermonuclear interchange involving the United States give anyone pause....?
This could be the beginning of the REAL THING
Trump needs to pick his Secretary of State VERY CAREFULLY......(nobody for war & no ties to the western military industrial complex)