Current Events in Europe

From Stratfor GEOPOLITICAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT 06.12.2007 Russia: Using Missile Defense as a Geopolitical Lever By George Friedman Russian President Vladmir Putin threw a classic Cold War curveball during his chat with U.S. President George W. Bush at the G-8 summit. Having totally opposed the creation of a U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) system in Poland and the Czech Republic, Putin suddenly shifted his position, saying he might go along with a BMD system under certain conditions. The system, he said, would be acceptable if the United States used a Russian radar system placed in Azerbaijan and based its interceptor missiles anywhere else, such as on s…

British nukes were protected by bike locks By Meirion Jones Newsnight producer BBC News Newsnight has discovered that until the early days of the Blair government the RAF's nuclear bombs were armed by turning a bicycle lock key. Inserting a key into a nuclear device There was no other security on the Bomb itself. While American and Russian weapons were protected by tamper-proof combination locks which could only be released if the correct code was transmitted, Britain relied on a simpler technology. The Dr Strangelove scenario The British military resisted Whitehall proposals to fit bombs with Permissive Action Links - or PALs - which would prev…

CV32: I think I heard that sigh of relief from here. From RIA Novosti A test warhead from a Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile successfully hit its target on the Kura test range in Russia's Far East Kamchatka region, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday. The missile was fired from the Dmitry Donskoy submarine in the White Sea. Bulava test launches were put on hold after a failed launch on December 9, 2009, which was caused by a defective engine nozzle. The Bulava (SS-NX-30), a three-stage liquid and solid-propellant submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), has officially suffered seven failures in 13 tests. MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novo…

From DefenseNews Finland Accuses Russia of Numerous Airspace Violations By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, HELSINKI Russia has repeatedly violated neighboring Finland’s airspace despite official protests from Helsinki, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs said May 20. Russian military planes flying to or from Kaliningrad, situated on the Baltic Sea near the Polish border, have illegally entered Finnish airspace on numerous occasions over recent months, the ministry claimed. “Violations have continued despite the fact that Russian authorities have been approached and a cessation of violations has been demanded,” the ministry said in a statement. At least 10 …

It's looking more and more like a Hung Parliament...

Previously paid for by the Treasury

German Navy F-125 Baden-Wurttenberg, first on her class, failed the commisioning date of 28 July 2017: http://navaltoday.com/2017/07/31/germanys-first-f125-frigate-misses-commissioning-date/

From Aviation Week [excerpt]

Russian Strategic Forces Blog How long these due to remain in service for?

Lot of toxic material on it.

EU Creates New Rapid Reaction Forces By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BRUSSELS DefenceNews The European Union on May 23 launched two new “battle group” rapid response forces, part of a growing number of such units able to rush to crisis zones worldwide. France, Germany and Spain agreed to set up one such force, while Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Germany also signed an agreement to create another at a meeting of EU defense ministers in Brussels. The force is a “concrete contribution to the rapid reaction capacities that the European Union has decided it wants to have,” French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said on the sidelines of the Brussels ta…

War crimes suspect arrested in Serbia after 15 years on the run.

From Defense Aerospace Moscow Considering Purchase of Admiral Gorshkov Carrier (Source: Forecast International; issued November 17, 2008) MOSCOW --- The latest development in the saga that has been the modernization of the Admiral Gorshkov for the Indian Navy, Russian naval and defense industry officials have indicated that Russia may acquire the vessel if India is unwilling to provide the $2 billion needed to finance the extensive retrofit. On November 13, Deputy General-Director of Sevmash (Severodvinsk Machine Building Enterprise) Sergey Novoselov told RIA Novosti new agency that, "On the market, the price of an aircraft carrier like that varies from three…

From DefenseNews France Strikes Deal on NATO Command: Report By agence france-presse Published: 4 Feb 12:13 EST (17:13 GMT) PARIS - France has won U.S. support to take command of two major NATO structures as part of negotiations on its return to the military alliance's integrated command, Le Monde newspaper's Feb. 4 edition said. Under the agreement, one French general would be appointed to head NATO's Allied Command Transformation based in Norfolk, Va., and a general could take over a regional command in Lisbon, the newspaper reported. President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to announce France's return to NATO's command structure at a summit in Strasbourg…

CV32: This portion in particular was interesting ... From Defense Aerospace [excerpt]

I don't know if this news report was referenced on his day a few months ago, 27 January 2017. Intrigued by the fate of the upcoming Sea Ceptor naval SAM, no news in a long time. Looking for it in Internet only found this recent report: http://navaltoday.com/2017/01/27/hms-westminster-starts-sea-trials-after-major-refit/ Apparently from October 2016 is finished the refit adding Sea Ceptor launcher and Artisan 3D radar (some had it previously, I think) in the frigates Westminster, Montrose and Argyll (the latter designed as test ship for Sea Ceptor), waiting now for the induction in service of Sea Ceptor. Note Wesminster is equipped with towed Sonar 2087 (Current…

Finalising S-400 agreement with Russia, Turkey rejects NATO interoperablity argument (Jane's)

From Jane's Russia commissions first Project 20380 corvette By Richard Scott 20 November 2007 The first Project 20380 multirole corvette for the Russian Federation Navy was commissioned on 14 November after completing contractor's sea trials and state acceptance tests. Named Steregushchiy, the 2,200-tonne-displacement ship is the first of a planned class of up to 20 ships. A further four units of the class are currently in build. Designed by the St Petersburg-based Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau, the Project 20380 corvette is intended to operate in coastal waters, reflecting the Russian Federation Navy's current emphasis on the protection and securit…

From Defense Aerospace Enter the Dragon (Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued Nov. 17, 2008) The Royal Navy's latest addition to the Type 45 destroyer fleet, to be called HMS Dragon, roared its way into the Clyde from BVT's shipyard at Govan today, complete with an 18 metre long Welsh Dragon attached to its bow. Dragon will join her sister ships as one of the largest and most powerful warships in the world. As well as providing air defence over a wide area, including for the future aircraft carriers, the Type 45s will be highly versatile and able to conduct a variety of operations. They will be able to carry up to sixty Royal Marines Commandos and their…

Turkey Formalizes Intention To Buy 100 JSFs By BURAK EGE BEKDIL, ANKARA, and UMIT ENGINSOY, WASHINGTON DefenseNews Turkey’s top defense procurement panel late Dec. 12 formally announced that the NATO ally was planning to buy 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs), a deal worth more than $10 billion, as the Turkish Air Force’s new-generation fighter aircraft. After a key meeting of the Defense Industry Executive Committee in Ankara, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul told reporters that Turkey would sign a memorandum of understanding before year’s end that would make Ankara one of the nine partners in the production phase of the U.S. led program. The move is a prelude t…