Current Events in Europe

Naval base has 19 warships in mothballs and just 16 on active service By Stewart Payne (Filed: 13/06/2006) Telegraph For the first time since the 1982 Falklands conflict the number of warships at Portsmouth naval base on active service has dropped below the number decommissioned and awaiting disposal. The home of the Fleet has 19 redundant ships compared with 16 on active duty but in dock. Although these figures may be used as further proof of the scaling down of the Senior Service, the Royal Navy said the situation had only arisen because a further 27 ships were at sea. A spokesman said: "We like to keep our ships busy, and that is good value for the t…

From DefenseNews French DM Casts Doubt on Need for Missile Defense By JULIAN HALE Published: 2 Dec 18:43 EST (23:43 GMT) BRUSSELS - France's defense minister cast doubt on the need for theater missile defenses in Europe, keeping Paris at odds with the Bush administration on the issue. Speaking to members of the European Parliament here Dec. 1, Hervé Morin asked what funds Europe would have left for other things if it committed to the "huge cost" of such defenses. Morin raised other questions as well. "Who would hold the key" to their use? What threat would they tackle? "There are risks, yes, but to say that there is a threat today would need to be ch…

Sub commander 'bullied crew' on secret mission By Michael Evans, Defence Editor TimesOnline.com THE commanding officer of a Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine has been charged with bullying members of his crew while engaged in a highly sensitive secret mission. Captain Robert Kenneth Tarrant is due to appear before a court martial in Portsmouth on Monday but the details of the case are considered by the Ministry of Defence to be so sensitive that the trial may be held partly in camera. According to military legal sources, Judge Jack Bayliss, the Judge Advocate who is to take the case, has indicated that the whole trial may have to be held in secret. Und…

Germany Christens First of New Frigate Class (DefenseNews)

BBC News story Rest In Peace. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

From Flight Global [excerpt]

From Aviation Week Russia Trumpets Conventional ''Nuke,'' With More Smoke Than Fire Sep 20, 2007 By David A. Fulghum, Amy Butler and Douglas Barrie Video of Russia's "Father of All Bombs" suggests that the design doesn't quite meet Moscow's claims of being the equivalent of a nuclear weapon without the radiation, nor that it was dropped from a high-speed bomber. And while Russia is showcasing its massive new conventional bomb, the United States is continuing its focus on developing smaller weapons that create less collateral damage. The weapon appears to be considerably more powerful than the U.S. built MOAB, but without the flexibility of launch from a fast…

By Navy Recognition: http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3805

From RIA Novosti [excerpt] CV32: Goes without saying that the plan is optimistic, but even so I expect they will have better luck with an established design like the Project 636 [improved Kilo] than was had with Project 677 [Lada].

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…

Russia ‘Showing Interest’ As BALTOPS Exercise Begins (USNI News) Article includes USN fact sheet with OOB info for those of you interested in putting together a scenario.

U.S. May Use Spanish Base for Special Forces Report By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, MADRID DefenseNews The United States is considering a plan to concentrate its special forces units in Europe, which currently are scattered across the continent, at its base at Rota, southern Spain, the El Pais newspaper reported May 2. Right now, U.S. Marine, Army and Air Force special forces units are stationed in Britain, Germany and Italy. A possible regrouping of the forces at Rota could be discussed during a visit by Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono to the United States this week, his first since the Socialist government came to office in 2004 and pulled its forces out of …

Looks like more great scenario fodder. Turkish Navy holds exercise near south of island 11.05.2007 The Observer The Turkish Navy performed a military exercise in the region which the Greek Cypriot side has designated as an exclusive economic zone in agreements signed with Egypt and Lebanon for the purpose of oil explorations. There are two and a half months left for the tender that will see the Greek Cypriot side issuing exploration licenses for the 13 regions. The Turkish Navy performed their exercises on Wednesday, May 2, 12 miles from the Greek Cypriot coast. According to the news from various sources the Turkish Navy and some Turkish Air Force fighter j…

Carrier Relaunches Jets After 2 Years MOSCOW -- Russia has started flying jets again from its only operational aircraft carrier after a two-year break, state-run television reported yesterday in the latest show of the country's reviving military capability. "Aircraft are taking off and landing from the deck of the Kuznetsov after a gap of two years. To the pilots and crew [the gap] seemed enormous," Channel One television said in a report from on board the vessel. Last week, President Vladimir Putin announced Russia was returning to its Soviet-era practice of sending long-range bomber aircraft on regular patrols near to NATO airspace. Observers saw those sorties as…

Against a not yet identified Russian "crusier". And remember, HMS Defender has not anti-ship misiles, neither UK maritime patrol aircrafts or aircraft launched anti-ship missiles (only can use perhaps Alarm, Brimstone and LGBs): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html

Russia moves more strike assets to Eastern Mediterranean (Jane's)

From RIA Novosti [excerpt] CV32: The entry for this class was recently updated in the HCDB. The vertical launch system, in particular, is pretty formidable.

From RIA Novosti Belarus asks Russia for S-400 SAM systems by 2010 - source 14:27 | 24/08/2007 MOSCOW, August 24 (RIA Novosti) - Belarus wants Russia to supply them with the advanced S-400 Triumf (SA-21 Growler) air defense system in 2010, a source in Russian military-industrial circles said Friday. The S-400 Triumf is a new air defense missile system developed by the Almaz Central Design Bureau as an upgrade of the S-300 family. Russia first demonstrated the S-400 system at an ongoing air show outside Moscow. "Belarus submitted a formal request for two S-400 battalions to be made available by 2010," the source said. He said that it is too soon to tal…

From Defense Aerospace US, Europe Still Split on NATO's Role (Source: Deutsche Welle German radio; issued Jun 9, 2005) At the NATO Summit on Tuesday, Europe and the US will discuss the direction the alliance will take. Behind all the talk of harmony are some major differences on how much political power the organization should have. In the days after he made them, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's comments that NATO was no longer the "primary venue" for discussing global strategy offered a cue for every one to jump into an increasingly controversial debate. US President George W. Bush saw in them a threat to sideline the security organization and t…

From Jane's RN launches first Type 45 destroyer By Katy Glassborow, JNI Reporter The first-of-class of the UK Royal Navy’s (RN’s) Type 45 anti-air warfare (AAW) destroyers, HMS Daring, was launched today at the BAE Systems shipyard at Scotstoun on the Clyde, Scotland. When the eight planned destroyers begin to enter service in 2009, they will provide the RN with an advanced AAW capability, particularly pertinent as the service is phasing out its FA.2 Sea Harriers this year. As such, the Type 45’s will provide a much needed air-defence capability against missiles and enemy aircraft, using such technology as the Sampson radar. Slippage of the original i…