Kazakh Naval Forces

The Kazakh Naval Forces (Qazaqstan Áskeri-teńiz kúshteri) are a Caspian Sea coastal force, established on 2 April 1993, absorbed into the Border Service in 1996, and re-established as a separate service branch of the Armed Forces on 7 May 2003. Headquarters and the principal naval base are at Aktau in Mangystau Region, where an offshore military pier was built within the northern expansion of Aktau seaport, ending reliance on the leased berths at Bautino some 140 km up the coast. Border Service maritime units operate separately from Bautino and Atyrau. The service reports to the Ministry of Defence through a Naval Forces Main Directorate; subordinate elements include a ship division, coastal artillery, and a naval special operations unit. The 390th Independent Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, garrisoned at Aktau, is the sole amphibious formation and is subordinated to the Ground Forces.

Because the Caspian is closed and the navy's ships are limited by the dimensions of the Volga–Don canal system and by inland launch sites, all units are small combatants. The core surface element consists of Project 250 Bars-MO rocket-artillery ships, also referred to as the Kazakhstan class after the lead unit — Kazakhstan, Oral, Saryarka and Mangistau — of roughly 240 tonnes displacement, armed with automatic guns, man-portable air defence missiles and, on the first unit, a Grad-type multiple rocket launcher. Patrol forces include Israeli-built Shaldag-class fast craft and OPV-62 offshore patrol vessels, South Korean Sea Dolphin-class boats, Turkish AB-25-class craft, and US-supplied Archangel and Dauntless boats. Mine countermeasures rest on Project 10750E Lida-class minesweepers and the domestically completed Alatau, launched in 2016. Hydrographic work is carried out by the Project 01340G vessel Zhaiyk. There are no submarines, frigates, corvettes or dedicated amphibious ships.

Primary missions are protection of offshore hydrocarbon infrastructure — production platforms, artificial islands and terminals in the Kazakh sector — together with territorial-waters patrol, counter-smuggling and counter-terrorism tasks, and search and rescue. Operations are confined to the Caspian; ships make port calls to Baku and other littoral states.

Construction is concentrated at the Zenit plant in Uralsk, on the Ural River, with fitting-out completed at Aktau. Zenit has delivered the Bars-MO series, minesweepers and various patrol craft. Its largest programme to date is the multipurpose replenishment vessel Dinmukhamed Kunayev, laid down in 2023 and launched on 7 May 2026: 51 m long, 9.5 m in beam, 720 tonnes displacement, 16 knots, a crew of about 30, built to carry diesel fuel, potable water and provisions to deployed units. Transfer downriver required removal of the mast for bridge clearance, with final outfitting at Aktau. Procurement of larger foreign-designed patrol ships has been discussed repeatedly without contract.