Current Events in Europe

The Myth of Russian Aggression and NATO Expansion (Strategy Bridge)

From http://www.defense-aerospace.com Ministry of Defence Announces AirTanker Ltd as Preferred Bidder on FSTA Programme Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued Feb. 28, 2005 The Royal Air Force is a step closer to getting a modern air refuelling aircraft under a Private Finance Initiative programme worth £13bn. The British based AirTanker consortium has today been selected as Preferred Bidder for the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) programme, which will create hundreds of jobs in the UK and sustain thousands of others. Geoff Hoon, Defence Secretary said: "FSTA is the MoD's biggest Private Finance Initiative project. I applaud the positive…

From DefenseNews Posted 11/28/07 15:54 Norway Notes Raised Russian Submarine, Air Activity By GERARD O’DWYER, HELSINKI The second half of 2007 has seen an increase in submarine activity out of Russia’s Northern Fleet Base (NFB) in Murmansk, according to fresh “tracking” reports produced by the Norway Armed Forces’ Military Intelligence Unit (MIU) for the Ministry of Defense (MoD) The increase in submarine activity mirrors a rise in scheduled and unflagged exercises by Russian air Force in the North Atlantic and off Norway’s western coast, the report observes. However, the report notes that Norway’s territorial waters and airspace have not been violated by the i…

NATO Publics Blame Russia for Ukrainian Crisis, but Reluctant to Provide Military Aid (Pew Research Center)

Russia Launches Construction of New Patrol Ship Class (RIA Novosti)

U.S. Navy Ship Encounters Aggressive Russian Aircraft in Baltic Sea (Seapower)

From DefenseNews Posted 09/12/07 10:26 Paper: Russia Developing Top-Secret Submarine By REUTERS, MOSCOW Russia could be developing a top-secret new type of submarine capable of patrolling underwater longer than existing diesel-powered submarines, a Russian newspaper said Sept. 12. The project — code-named 20120 — came to light when details were inadvertently posted on the Internet site of a provincial town, Kommersant newspaper reported. The posting has now been taken down and the navy denied any knowledge of the project. Russia is boosting military spending to back up its increasingly assertive foreign policy. That has allowed it to resume work developing new…

Here's a video that shows operations at F21 Wing at Lulea-Kallax Air Base in northern Sweden. Link

Names for the S-80 class boats (in French), from Mer et Marine: http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=118768 Isaac Peral, Narcis Monturiol, Cosme Garcia and Mateo Garcia de los Reyes.

Swedish government approves 60-aircraft Gripen E programme (Flight Global) Sweden To Order 60 Gripen Fighter Jets (DefenseNews)

From http://www.defenselink.mil/news NATO Response Force Will Transform Alliance, Jones Says By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 1, 2005 – The introduction of NATO’s response force in 2006 will transform the alliance and help it to better confront 21st century challenges, the U.S. military’s top officer in Europe told a Senate panel today on Capitol Hill. Deploying NATO forces outside of Europe “is the concept that gets us away from the static” 20th century defensive posture that characterized the alliance since its formation in 1949, Marine Gen. James L. Jones explained to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. N…

From Norwegian Ministry of Defence Excerpt from the Summary: "This Strategic Concept states the political basis for the operational activities of the Norwegian Armed Forces (NAF) in the field of security and defence policies. In doing so, it serves the role as strategic level political guidance. The document, thus, provides the political basis for the development of NAF doctrines and the NAF's operational activities." More at the link above.

CV32: useful info here for all the scenario designers From Jane's Euro Hawk UAV makes first flight By Gareth Jennings 08 July 2010 The Northrop Grumman/EADS RQ-4E Euro Hawk high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) signals intelligence (SIGINT) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made its maiden flight from Palmdale, California, on 29 June. The flight, which lasted approximately two hours, began at Northrop Grumman's Palmdale manufacturing facility and concluded at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), California, some 36 km away. The aircraft flew to an altitude of 32,000 ft. James Kohn, Euro Hawk programme manager, told Jane's that, with the ground trials having alrea…

Russia: No System Will Stop New Missiles By STEVE GUTTERMAN Associated Press Writer March 1, 2005, 4:16 PM EST MOSCOW -- Russia will develop missiles impervious to any defense, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Tuesday in an apparent allusion the nascent U.S. missile defense system. A year ago, President Vladimir Putin said Russia could build unrivaled new strategic weapons, and in November he said it is developing a new nuclear missile system unlike any weapon other countries have or could come up with in the near future. Ivanov suggested the weapons would be based on the mobile version of the Russian Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles a…

From Jane's Defence Weekly 10 April 2007 Cluster weapons ban leaves gap in UK inventory By Robert Hewson Editor, Jane's Air-Launched Weapons London On 20 March UK Defence Secretary Des Browne announced that all of the UK's remaining 3,650 RBL 755 cluster bombs and their 536,550 submunitions would be immediately withdrawn. M26 rockets for the British Army Royal Artillery's Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) batteries are also being scrapped - 43,200 rockets containing 27,820,800 submunitions. The army will retain its AT2 MLRS anti-tank rockets, which are classed as 'smart' weapons because each submunition is fitted with a self-destruct fuze. However, the U…

From DefenseNews NATO Chief Hails Ukraine’s Bid To Join Alliance By YANA DLUGY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, KIEV NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer hailed June 27 the commitment of this former Soviet republic’s new leadership to joining the alliance. ”I’m here in a new and changed Ukraine and it gives me... a lot of pleasure knowing the ambition of the Ukrainian government for Euro-Atlantic integration,” Scheffer said at a press conference in Kiev, where he was on a one-day visit. ”The process... is very much supported by the 26 NATO allies,” the NATO secretary general told reporters after talks with Ukraine Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk. ”On the road to NA…

From Jane's IMDS 2009: Russia cuts two frigate programmes By Tim Fish 03 July 2009 The RFN commissioned a second Neustrashimy-class frigate, Yaroslav Mudryy, on 19 June, some 18 years after the vessel was launched at Yantar's Kaliningrad shipyard. (IHS Jane's/Tim Fish) The Russian Federation Navy (RFN) has abandoned plans to acquire two still-incomplete frigates that have languished in a Kaliningrad shipyard since the 1990s, Jane's has learned. The Neustrashimy-class (Project 1154) frigate Tuman and the Grom-class (Project 1244.1) frigate Borodino will instead be offered for sale overseas. However, prospects for the equally long-awaited Gepard-class …

Only 12 aircraft to be ordered

Russia’s ‘Mini Red October’ Subs Will Lack Advanced Propulsion System (The Diplomat)

From RIA Novosti Ukraine demands closure of Russian base in Crimea in 2017 14:48 21/ 05/ 2008 KIEV, May 21 (RIA Novosti) - The Ukrainian President has signed a decree ordering the Cabinet to prepare by July 20 a draft law on terminating all international agreements on the presence of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine. Russia's Black Sea Fleet currently uses a range of naval facilities in the Crimea under an agreement signed in 1997, under which Ukraine agreed to lease naval facilities to Russia until 2017. "The president has instructed the government to make a comprehensive assessment of the consequences of the temporary presence of Russia's Black Sea F…