Current Events in Europe

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 Aviation Week's Ares Blog Ships, I See No Ships Posted by Douglas Barrie at 10/26/2009 7:09 AM CDT Picture Credit Royal Navy/Crown Copyright With consummate ill-timing U.S. policy makers efforts to sustain a second-engine for the F-35 are met with claims that London is ready to ditch equipping its planned second carrier with the aircraft. The British government has been lobbying Washington to support the GE/Rolls-Royce F136 engine Britain’s “Sunday Times” claims the Royal Navy has “agreed to sacrifice” one of its two 65,000 ton aircraft carriers, instead saying the navy would use the ship only as a helicopter carrier. For good measure the story…

The new french ASMP-A, a very advanced nuclear strike cruise missile, is now in service, from 1 October 2009: http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-...ch-service.html http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=111326 http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air-Sol_Moyenne_Port%C3%A9e http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/france/bomber/asmp.htm

From Stratfor The BMD Decision and the Global System By George Friedman | September 21, 2009 The United States announced late Sept. 17 that it would abandon a plan for placing ballistic missile defense (BMD) installations in Poland and the Czech Republic. Instead of the planned system, which was intended to defend primarily against a potential crude intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) threat from Iran against the United States, the administration chose a restructured system that will begin by providing some protection to Europe using U.S. Navy ships based on either the North or Mediterranean seas. The Obama administration has argued that this system will be…

In brief, future anglo-french development of a new light anti-ship missile, helicopter launched, to replace Sea Skua and SS.12 (phased-out in 1995 in the french navy) estimated IOC 2015 (in french): http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=111020

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 Aviation Week R-77, R-73 Missile Upgrades Emerge Aug 13, 2009 Douglas Barrie/London Maxim Pyadushkin/Moscow Russia's leading guided-weapons manufacturer will wheel out revised--if long- touted--versions of its two key air-to-air missile products this month, as it tries to bolster its position in the export arena. Tactical Missile Corp.--also known as TRV--will formally unveil its so-called RVV-SD and RVV-MD missiles for the first time at the Moscow air show later this month. The RVV-SD is an improved version of the R-77 (AA-Adder), while the RVV-MD is a variant of the R-73 (AA-11 Archer). The radar-guided R-77 has been sold widely, with China and I…

From Defense Aerospace Manufacture of Royal Navy's New Carriers Begins (Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued July 7, 2009) Construction began on the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers, their largest ever warships, today with Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal performing the initial steel-cutting for the first of the ships. The steel-cutting ceremony took place at BVT Surface Fleet's shipyard in Govan, today, Tuesday 7 July 2009. The Queen Elizabeth (QE) Class carriers, together with the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and the brand new Type 45 destroyers, will form the cornerstone of Britain's future ability to jointly project airpower worldwide from l…

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 …

From Aviation Week A400M Problems Range Far Beyond Engines Jan 23, 2009 By Jens Flottau PARIS – Airbus is facing much more than just contractual and schedule challenges in its A400M military airlifter program, as the aircraft may need massive re-engineering work to achieve its performance targets. In turn, numerous issues threaten to make the A400M a less attractive and capable aircraft for its customers, industry sources tell Aviation Week. They come in addition to the well-publicized delays in the flight-test program that are linked to the lagging engine full authority digital engine control (FADEC) development (Aerospace DAILY, Nov. 25, 2008). One key…

I thought this report was interesting ... From Flight Global DATE: 17/06/09 SOURCE: Flight Daily News PARIS AIR SHOW: MBDA advances hypersonic missile work with Russian deal By Craig Hoyle MBDA France has signed a deal with Russia's Rosoboronexport leading to a 2013-15 campaign of test firings with the LEA air-breathing hypersonic air vehicle, under study since 2003. Each 4.2m (13.8ft) vehicle will be released from a Tupolev Tu-22 bomber before being taken to a speed of between Mach 2 and 8 using a Raduga-supplied booster rocket, says Francois Falempin, responsible for advanced propulsion with MBDA France.

From Ares No Raptor at Le Bourget Posted by Amy Butler at 6/1/2009 10:59 AM CDT The U.S. Air Force's F-22 is not going to make an appearance at the Paris Air Show later this month. Service officials cite deployments and operational requirements as the reason the service's premier stealthy twin-engine fighter will not fly at the air show. "Because of air expeditionary deployments and operational requirements, the Air Force has decided not to send the F-22 to participate in the 2009 Paris Air Show," according to Air Force officials. The Raptor will surely be missed. Last year's flying display at the Farnborough air show captured the gaze of onlookers a…

In the wikipedia, OOB of the Greek Air Force, including inventary of missiles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenic_Air_...e#Modernization

Who could blame it? From Flight International Victor bomber accidentally becomes airborne during taxi demo By David Kaminski-Morrow UK air accident specialists are not intending to investigate an unusual incident at an air show during which a Handley Page Victor bomber unexpectedly became airborne during a high-speed taxi demonstration. The incident occurred during the Cold War Jets Open Day at the Bruntingthorpe airfield, south of Leicester, the scene of the recent restoration to flight of an Avro Vulcan. Bruntingthorpe's Victor, XM715, had been participating in the 3 May event when it became briefly airborne, apparently reaching a height - based o…

From From DefenseNews Charles de Gaulle Carrier Completes Major Overhaul By pierre tran Published: 5 Dec 10:29 EST (15:29 GMT) Paris - A 15-month, 300 million euro ($381 million) refit and upgrade of the Charles de Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was completed on time and on budget Dec. 1, prime contractor DCNS said in a statement. The major overhaul allowed the refurbishment of the ship and its systems, DCNS said in a Dec. 5 statement. The work included refueling the nuclear reactors, upgrading command and communications systems, and preparing the ship to receive the F3 standard of the Rafale fighter, which will be able to carry the ASMP-A nuclear m…

From RIA Novosti Russia could focus on tactical nuclear weapons for subs 12:43 | 23/ 03/ 2009 MOSCOW, March 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russia may prioritize the development of nuclear-powered attack submarines armed with nuclear-capable cruise missiles in the future, while maintaining its fleet of strategic subs, a senior Navy official said. The Russian Navy maintains a fleet of about 60 submarines, including 10 nuclear-powered strategic submarines, over 30 nuclear-powered attack submarines, diesel-electric submarines and special-purpose subs. "Probably, tactical nuclear weapons [on submarines] will play a key role in the future," Vice Admiral Oleg Burtsev, deput…

From Aviation Week Typhoon Numbers Traded To Secure a Deal Mar 23, 2009 By Andy Nativi and Douglas Barrie The four Eurofighter nations will likely halve their next order for the Typhoon combat aircraft. Expected to be included in the U.K. numbers will be Royal Air Force aircraft diverted to meet a Saudi Arabian order as part of its commitment—a precedent that other partners will also be able to follow. Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. are in the final throes of Tranche 3 negotiations, with further meetings expected by the end of this month. Failure to secure a deal shortly means a gap between production batches is increasingly likely, with an unwelcome…

From DefenseNews Russian Air Force Withdraws 90 MiGs: Report By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 13 Mar 11:48 EDT (15:48 GMT) MOSCOW - Ninety of Russia's MiG-29 fighter jets have been rejected by military inspectors during checks after a crash in December, an air force spokesman said March 13, quoted by Interfax. "So far from the overall fleet of MiG-29s, about 200 planes have been examined, of which 100 have been permitted to fly. About 90 MiG-29s have been withdrawn from flying," Col. Vladimir Drik said. He added that checks were continuing on the rest of the MiG-29 fleet and that faulty planes would be repaired and put back in service as funds became a…

From Flight International DATE: 18/03/09 SOURCE: Flight International UK signs for first three F-35B Joint Strike Fighters By Craig Hoyle The UK has kept its commitment to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme despite massive pressure on its procurement budget, today signing for its first three production aircraft to support initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) of the fifth-generation fighter. Signed during a visit to Washington DC by defence secretary John Hutton, the deal will see the UK take delivery of its first short take-off and vertical landing F-35Bs in 2011, with the aircraft to be drawn from the JSF programme's …

From RIA Novosti Russia's Yury Dolgoruky submarine to start sea trials in spring 18:52 | 11/ 02/ 2009 MOSCOW, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - Sea trials of Russia's first Borey-class strategic nuclear submarine will start in the spring when navigation opens in the White Sea, Russia's Navy commander said on Wednesday. The fourth-generation Yury Dolgoruky was built at the Sevmash plant in northern Russia and was taken out of dry dock in April 2007. It will be equipped with sea-based Bulava ballistic missiles, although they have not entered service and are due to undergo further testing this year. "The ice floe conditions in the White Sea at present are still no…