Russia is sending the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleev to the Red Sea to shadow the USS Nimitz

I am continuing to track the movements of the Russian Navy ships not out of a sudden passion for naval warfare, but because I was taught many years ago already that surface fleet movements are the "body language" of big states (submarines are always covert).  In this case, looking at what the Russian navy does tells us a lot about what it thinks is, or might, be happening.  Today I have learned that the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleev has crossed the Suez Canal and is now in the Red Sea with the semi-official mission to shadow the USN carrier Nimitz and the associated battlegroup.

Also, I try to provide a photo of the ship(s) simply as a way to show non-military readers what kind of hardware we are talking about (in the spirit of "one pictures is worth a thousand words"). 

Large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleev

Of course, I should also be doing that for the US Navy ships near Syria, but I simply do not have the time for that.  Besides, I suppose that this information should be rather easy to find ( example: http://www.gonavy.jp/CVLocation.html)  and that other bloggers already contribute that kind of information.

In the case of the Admiral Panteleev, this is not threat at all to the USN in the Red Sea, but it is an ideal platform to keep a close eye on what the Nimitz and its support vessels are doing.  The semi-official version of its mission appears to be true in this case.

I will continue to keep an eye on "Russia's body language" as long as there is a risk of a US attack on Syria.

The Saker