Current Events in Europe

From Air Power Australia A Preliminary Assessment of Specular Radar Cross Section Performance in the Sukhoi T-50 Prototype

This has been rumored for a while ... From Jane's Russia plans reactivation of two Kirov-class cruisers By Vladimir Petrov 11 November 2009 The Russian Federation Navy (RFN) is to reactivate two laid-up Kirov-class (Project 1144) battle cruisers, according to statements attributed by Russian media to the country's deputy defence minister. Colonel General Vladimir Popovkin reportedly said that the Ministry of Defence has decided to renovate and modernise its heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser (tiazhyeliy atomniy raketniy kreiser/TARK) units Admiral Lazarev (ex- Frunze ) and Admiral Nakhimov (ex- Kalinin ). The 24,300-ton ships were commissioned int…

From Flight Global DATE: 30/03/10 SOURCE: Flight International Saying goodbye to the 'Mighty Hunter' By Craig Hoyle The UK Royal Air Force will mark the end of an era in its proud maritime patrol heritage on 31 March, when the last of its British Aerospace Nimrod MR2s will be retired from use. Commemorated during a formal ceremony at RAF Kinloss in Scotland late last week, the occasion will bring to an end 41 years of operations with the Nimrod: a type derived from the world's first jet airliner, the ill-fated de Havilland Comet, which first flew in 1949. Having been selected in 1965 to meet the Ministry of Defence's Operational Requirement 381, the …

From DefenseNews France, Italy Sign Multi-Billion-Euro Frigate Deal By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, PARIS NATO allies France and Italy on Nov. 16 signed a deal initiating the first phase of a joint program to build 27 naval frigates — Europe’s largest naval construction project. The agreement to start the 11-billion-euro ($13-billion) project — known as Renaissance in Italy and FREMM (European Multi-Mission Frigates) in France — was signed on the morning of Nov. 16, French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said. “The contract for the development and realization of the multi-mission frigates was signed this morning, after three years of efforts. “Europe’s…

UPDATE 2-Stealth frigates deal eludes France and Italy Tuesday 4 October 2005, 11:30am EST Reuters By Paolo Biondi and Sophie Louet PARIS, Oct 4 (Reuters) - A last-minute failure to agree on a major defence deal to build "stealth" frigates at a Franco-Italian summit on Tuesday threw the fate of Europe's largest single naval construction project into confusion. The two NATO allies backed away from signing the 11-billion-euro ($13.12 billion) deal to build the 27 frigates to modernise their navies that should have crowned talks between President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Delegates said the two sides also failed to make progress i…

Excerpt: Full story

The Borey class SSBN, proyect 955, can be cancelled after the first three units, the launching of the fourth class boat is now cancelled. Also, the launching of her new SLBM RS 30 Bulava (SS-NX-30) has failed 8 of 12 launching attempts. Also the Yaseni class SSGN, proyect 885, is failing her in service dates, none in service nor launched with the keel of the first laid-up in 1993. Also the Lada class SS, launched in 2004 and not yet in service: http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=111985 (in French, some interesting photos).

Only 12 aircraft to be ordered

From Flight International DATE:25/04/07 SOURCE:Flightglobal.com UK Royal Air Force to end Sepecat Jaguar use next week By Craig Hoyle UK operations of the Sepecat Jaguar are to end far sooner than expected, with the Royal Air Force revealing that training activities with the type are to stop on 30 April. The Jaguar will be formally retired from service on 25 May, several months earlier than previously expected, and all flying will cease by the end of next month. In an unusually public act, the boss of the RAF’s last frontline unit to fly the type announced the news yesterday on the pprune.org website frequented by military pilots. “I have announced to the m…

The name Dixmude is a rememberance of a battle fought in Belgium in the WWI by the Fusiliers Marins. Is out of the, for now, tradition of name the french amphibious vessels with the name of tempest winds, as Ouragan, Orage, Foudre, Siroco, Mistral and Tonnerre. The name is a rememberance also of the old zeppelin Dixmude, ex- LZ-114, lost in 1923, and of the CVE Dixmude, ex- HMS Biter, transfered in 1945. The original link (in french): http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=111998 About CVE Dixmude: http://frenchnavy.free.fr/ships/aircraft-c...ude/dixmude.htm About Dixmude ex- LZ-114: http://frenchnavy.free.fr/menus/menu_dirigeables-ballons.htm (only a small pho…

Russia lost all its early-warning satellites (Russian strategic nuclear forces)

US and NATO apparently retiring fast and irreversibly from Turkey! http://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/us-moves-nuclear-weapons-from-turkey-to-romania/

Russia Shows New Hypersonic Missile on Two MiG-31 Aircraft in Victory Day Rehearsals (The Aviationist)

From DefenseNews MiG-29 Flights Suspended By LYUBOV PRONINA, MOSCOW Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov, commander of the Russian Air Force, on May 12 temporarily suspended flights by MiG-29 Fulcrums following a MiG-29 crash earlier in the day. The jet crashed at 11:51 a.m. Moscow time near the Andreapol airfield, 350 kilometers west of Tver, northwest of Moscow, killing the pilot, Interfax news agency quoted an Air Force spokesman as saying. The MiG-29 was descending from an altitude of 900 meters to 600 meters when it suddenly slammed into the ground and exploded, 800 meters from the runway. It was the first crash of a Russian Air Force aircraft this year. The …

From RIA Novosti Russian Navy to receive Severodvinsk nuclear submarine in 2010 18:08 | 19/ 11/ 2008 SEVERODVINSK, November 19 (RIA Novosti) - A new nuclear-powered attack submarine will be delivered to the Russian Navy in 2010, a Russian shipyard said on Wednesday. Severodvinsk is the first Project 855 Yasen (Graney) series of the Severodvinsk class nuclear submarines, combining the ability to launch a variety of long-range cruise missiles (up to 3,100 miles) with nuclear warheads, and effectively engage hostile submarines and surface warships. "There are no problems with the construction of the submarine, and financing is underway. The vessel will be de…

From Aviation Week Russian Air Force Rekindles Upgrade Goals Aug 19, 2009 Alexey Komarov/MoscowDouglas Barrie/London Moscow is on the brink of concluding its largest fighter aircraft order in almost 20 years, with the Russian air force's leader setting far-reaching procurement and restructuring plans. Funding, however, is a fundamental concern. Col. Gen Alexander Zelin, the air force chief, says the overhaul is intended to improve operational readiness and give the service what it urgently needs to counter future threats. All elements of the air force will be affected: organizational structure, aircraft, weaponry, training and infrastructure. Existing di…

From Flight Global DATE: 14/07/10 SOURCE: Flight International PICTURES: Royal Navy offered AEW-configured AW101 By Craig Hoyle AgustaWestland and Thales have stepped up their efforts to promote a development of the AW101 to replace the UK Royal Navy's venerable Sea King 7 airborne surveillance and control (ASaC) aircraft. As the incumbent suppliers of the RN's organic airborne early warning capability, the companies have joined forces to offer the AW101 Merlin equipped with Thales's Searchwater 2000 radar and Cerberus mission system. The RN's current 11 Sea King ASaC helicopters are due to be retired from use in 2016, and a new type is needed to ope…

From Defense Aerospace Raytheon Awarded Contract for Paveway IV Weapon Integration on F-35 Lightning II (Source: Raytheon UK; issued Jumy 30, 2007) HARLOW, England --- Raytheon Systems Limited (RSL) has been awarded a contract to support the integration and flight trials of the Paveway IV new generation guided weapon on to the Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) version of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter. The contract is valued at £24 million. The UK is currently one of six European nations that are planning to take delivery of the F-35 aircraft. The integration of the RSL developed Paveway IV onto the F-35B wi…

From RIA Novosti Russian state to order naval fighters to support MiG company 21:52 | 11/ 02/ 2009 MOSCOW, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian government will order a number of MiG-29 KUB Fulcrum-D carrier-based fighters as part of the state support for the ailing MiG aircraft maker, a deputy prime minister said on Wednesday. "The state will support in every possible way, including financially, this one of Russia's largest companies. A draft weapons procurement program envisions the purchase of MiG-29 KUB naval fighters for deployment on future aircraft carriers," Sergei Ivanov told a meeting of aircraft industry officials in Moscow. The MiG corporati…

Complete article : Here