The last several days have seen the normally quiet Black Sea unusually busy in terms of naval activity — even considering a small skirmish there on Aug. 10 between the Russian and Georgian navies that resulted in the sinking of a Georgian missile boat. The flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the guided-missile cruiser Moskva (121), has been quite active since Russian forces moved into Georgia on Aug. 8, although its presence has not been sustained. The Moskva has made several port calls at the Russian naval facility at Novorosslysk and at Sevastopol, Ukraine, its homeport and fleet headquarters. When it sank the Georgian missile boat, the Moskva was accompanied by several smaller escorts. The Black Sea Fleet consists of five other major surface combatants, more than a dozen smaller patrol vessels and a Kilo-class diesel-electric submarine. On Aug. 25, the Moskva conducted what Russia claims were previously scheduled tests of its “radio-controlled weapons” during a NATO group's visit to the Bulgarian and Romanian coasts (also previously scheduled). Though the Russian drill does not appear to have included a live-fire test, a Russian naval officer was likely making a veiled threat when he said the ship was about to spin up its SS-N-12 “Sandbox” supersonic anti-ship missiles, which are designed to kill U.S. carriers. (click map to enlarge) The NATO group, Standing NATO Maritime Group One, currently consists of a pair of frigates: the Polish General Kazimierz Pulaski (272) and the new Spanish Aegis-equipped Almirante Don Juan de Bourbon (F-102). The German frigate Lubeck (F-214) has already departed. The USS Taylor (FFG-50) is scheduled to join this group, but it is not clear if that is still the plan, given events in Georgia. A Canadian frigate also slated to accompany the group was retasked to escort World Food Program shipping off the coast of Somalia. The U.S. Aegis-equipped guided missile destroyer McFaul (DDG-74) is off the Georgian coast delivering aid. It is to be joined by the Coast Guard Cutter Dallas (WHEC-716), pulled from maritime drug interdiction work in the Mediterranean. A second Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, in addition to the Taylor, may also reportedly arrive in the Black Sea soon. The Mount Whitney (LCC-20), the command ship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, which is based in the Mediterranean, is also embarking humanitarian supplies destined for Georgia. (It is being used simply to ferry supplies, not in its command role.) Meanwhile, at least Four Turkish frigates are also reportedly at sea north of Turkey. It would be surprising if Turkish subs were not on patrol in the area. The Black Sea is some 700 miles across at its widest point; these ships are hardly bumping up against one another. But the NATO naval activity does serve as a reminder of Russia's delicate naval position there. U.S. Perry frigates do not have anti-ship capability beyond their 3-inch naval gun (they are primarily used for antisubmarine warfare these days), though the Pulaski — formerly a U.S. frigate of that class — does. The Dallas is also limited to a single medium-caliber naval gun. By stark comparison, the Slava class, of which the Moskva was the lead ship, are among Russia's — and arguably the world's — most heavily armed serving warships. Bristling with air defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine weaponry, Slava-class vessels can be extremely potent combatants if competently crewed. But the McFaul is of the Arleigh Burke class — widely considered one of the most capable surface combatant designs in the world — and the Bourbon is Spain's newest class of warship. But these are minor additions. Though split between two coasts, even half of the Turkish navy is more than double the size of the Black Sea Fleet and is qualitatively superior. In addition, the Turkish navy commissioned the last boat of a new class of eight patrol submarines just last year. Compounding this reality is geography. NATO in general and Turkey in particular surround the part of the Black Sea that matters most, the Dardanelles and Bosporus — in other words, access to the world's seas and oceans. But this also matters because of the array of NATO military facilities positioned on the Black Sea coast. NATO is in a position to quickly establish air superiority and conduct air operations with land-based maritime patrol and strike aircraft. And though the Montreux Convention precludes the sustained deployment of outside naval warships in the Black Sea, the Agean Sea and the wider Mediterranean remain NATO territory as well. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet remains, as it long has, effectively bottled up.