Blackjacks, Backfires, Bears; Black Sea Fleet and Northern Fleet ships – all joining up for a large combined exercise in the Bay of Biscay beginning 23 Jan 08 according to open press reports. “The air force is taking a very active part in the exercises of the navy’s strike force in the Atlantic,” the Russian air…
(the new Moskva/ex-Slava CSG) Shades of days of yore, the Moskva joined up with the Kuznetsov carrier group (or корабельной ударной группы (КУГ) – ship assault echelon (KUG)) for joint exercises conducted on the 20th. Sailing from her (or, if you perfer, his in the Russian vernacular) base at Sevastopol on the 12th, the…
In 2001 India signed a contract with Russia to upgrade 10 Kilo class submarines to enable them to employ the Klub land attack cruise missile, The first of these subs, the INS Sindhuvijay, recently conducted pre-delivery tests with an Indian crew which included six test firings of the Klub. All six tests were considered failures…
Unlike most sales, arms sales have a wider impact beyond the primary parties (buyer/seller) and indeed, the recent announcement of the long sought sale of an improved S300 system to Iran by Russia has a wider circle of interested parties and corresponding impact beyond those two. First, though, we begin with the buyer. Iran – Filling…
Though it isn’t Thursday when we normally endeavor to post these updates (so sue us – ed.) it would appear that while we in the West are enjoying a typical holiday lull, those elsewhere, and in particular, in Russia are doing anything but. Item: Iran says Russia to supply new air defence system. TEHRAN (AFP)…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — China has refused nine U.S. Navy ships and one Air Force jet entry to Hong Kong in the past month, U.S. military officials said Friday. Senior Navy officials said that Beijing denied permission for the USS Reuben James, a Navy frigate, to make a holiday port call for sailors at the end…
Muffle your drums, play your pipes merrily, Play the death march as you go along. And fire your guns right over my coffin, There goes an unfortunate lad to his home. As reported on over at Galrahn’s and Lex’s places, the London Telegraph published a damning report this weekend regarding the critical state the…
A bit more about China and the Kitty Hawk deal, plus some more below the fold about another failure of Russia’s Bulava SLBM and some other aspects of the Russian defense industry. Panda Bashing? On the heels of the story of the Chinese turning away the Kitty Hawk comes that of the two minesweepers…
News and notes from the other side of the Iron Red Velvet Curtain this week. Navy Plans To Move To St. Petersburg (MOSCOW TIMES 01 NOV 07) Alexander Belenky The Defense Ministry is planning to move the Navy headquarters to St. Petersburg in the latest instance of a federal institution being shifted to the former…
Russia’s Navy Chief, Admiral Vladimir Masorin was fired by President Putin this past Thursday. In a terse announcement, Ria Novostia noted that he had "been dismissed due to length-of-service limitations." Over at the English-language daily, Moscow Times, speculation is that it came in the wake of having accepted an award from the outgoing CNO and…
