Current Events in Europe

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…

From RIA Novosti Russia to build nuclear-powered 60,000-ton aircraft carrier 19:02 | 27/ 02/ 2009 MOSCOW, February 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's new-generation aircraft carrier will be nuclear powered and have a displacement of up to 60,000 metric tons, a United Shipbuilding Corporation executive said on Friday. Vice Adm. Anatoly Shlemov, the company's head of defense contracts, said the new carrier was still at the drawing board stage, but its blueprint and basic specifications have already been defined. He said the carrier will serve as a seaborne platform for new-generation fixed- and rotary-winged aircraft, in particular, a fifth-generation fighter that…

From BBC News Page last updated at 12:55 GMT, Monday, 16 February 2009 Nuclear subs collide in Atlantic A Royal Navy nuclear submarine was involved in a collision with a French nuclear sub in the middle of the Atlantic, the MoD has confirmed. HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant were badly damaged in the crash in heavy seas earlier this month. First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band said the submarines came into contact at low speed and no injuries were reported. Both the UK and France insisted nuclear security had not been breached. Despite being equipped with sonar, it seems neither vessel spotted the other, the BBC's Caroline Wyatt said. Our …

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…

Lot of toxic material on it.

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…

Russia to deploy Iskander SSMs to Kaliningrad. Provocative and a half. What next, sell them to Cuba along with Su-35s?

From RIA Novosti Russia's next-generation warplane to make maiden flight in 2009 19:51 | 21/ 01/ 2009 ASTRAKHAN, January 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's first fifth-generation warplane will make its maiden flight before the end of this year, the deputy prime minister in charge of arms procurement said on Wednesday. "We expect the plane to take to the skies no later than the end of this year," Sergei Ivanov told a news conference after a meeting of the Military-Industrial Commission. Earlier plans set 2010 for the first tests of the new fighter, which will feature high maneuverability and stealth to ensure air superiority and precision in destroying ground and…

From Flight International DATE: 23/01/09 SOURCE: Flight International NATO picks Sigonella for Alliance Ground Surveillance base By Pino Modola NATO has formally selected Sigonella air base in Sicily as the main operating base for its future Alliance Ground Surveillance capability, which should be delivered from 2012 using Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air vehicles. Italian defence minister Ignazio La Russa says no opposition emerged to the Sigonella proposal from NATO members ahead of a 16 January deadline to select the site for the main ground infrastructure and aircraft for the AGS system. NATO's core AG…

From Aviation Week Sukhoi Chief To Head MiG; Integration Goal Jan 13, 2009 By Alexey Komarov The head of Sukhoi’s holding company, Mikhail Pogosyan, has taken the general director’s chair of the rival fighter manufacturer MiG Corp. with an aim to integrate the latter company into United Aircraft Corp.’s (UAC) combat aircraft division. MiG — which has in its structure a design bureau, two serial manufacturing plants in Moscow and Lukhovitcy, and also the controls activity of engine manufacturers Chernyshev and Klimov — needs urgent financial recovery. A recent audit revealed that its debt amounted to roughly $1.5 billion, according to reported figures. The co…

From Defense Aerospace JSF Scores Best In Candidate Comparison (Source: Dutch Ministry of Defence; issued Dec. 18, 2009) The F-35, better known as the Joint Strike Fighter, best meets the requirements drawn up by the Netherlands for the successor to the F16. This emerges from the findings of the candidate comparison that the State Secretary for Defence, Jack de Vries, today sent to the House of Representatives. “The F-35 is the best multi-role combat aircraft and by around 2015 will certainly be able to carry out all six main missions successfully.” The F-35 also has the greatest operational availability. In addition, the capital costs of the F-35 are the low…

From Flight International DATE: 18/12/08 SOURCE: Flight International UK report exposes fresh cost increase to Nimrod MRA4, delay on Meteor missile By Craig Hoyle The UK's BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 surveillance aircraft and MBDA Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile projects have encountered fresh schedule delays and cost increases, according to a new report published by the UK National Audit Office. Highlighting the status of 20 of the Ministry of Defence's largest procurement programmes, worth a combined £28 billion ($43 billion), the NAO's Major Projects Report reveals fresh cost increases of £102 million and £111 million respectively to the MRA…

From RIA Novosti Russian carrier-based fighters exercise over Atlantic 15:21 | 16/ 12/ 2008 MOSCOW, December 16 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian naval group led by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, en route to the Mediterranean, conducted a series of training flights over the Celtic Sea, a Navy spokesman said on Tuesday. Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said Su-33 ship-based fighters had flown a total of 10 sorties. The naval group left the Northern Fleet base in Severomorsk on December 5 and set course for the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. In addition to the Admiral Kuznetsov, it includes the Admiral Levchenko destroyer and a support ship and will begin a…

From Jane's Greek flagship heads EU's first naval force By Tim Fish and Lauren Gelfand 16 December 2008 The Hellenic Navy's Hydra-class frigate, HS Psara , sailed from Salamis naval base near Athens on 10 December to serve as flagship for the EU's first-ever operational naval force (EU NAVFOR). EU NAVFOR Somalia was approved by the European Council on 8 December, at an estimated cost of around EUR8.3 million (USD11.2 million), to provide anti-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa under the banner of Operation 'Atalanta'. A spokesman told Jane's on 15 December that the first phase of the deployment will include naval vessels from France, Germany, Spain an…

From Jane's Daring handed over to UK Royal Navy By Tim Fish 12 December 2008 Daring, the first Type 45 destroyer built by BAE Systems/BVT Surface Fleet for the UK Royal Navy, has achieved Acceptance off Contract and was handed over to the UK Ministry of Defence on 10 December. The 7,450-ton destroyer is expected to undergo Stage Two sea trials from February to May 2009 and has an in-service date scheduled for late 2009. Launched in February 2006, Daring completed its final set of three contractor sea trials in September 2008 that tested its power, propulsion, weapon and communications systems. The following five ships of the class will only require t…

From DefenseNews Norway Chooses F-35 To Replace F-16s AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 20 Nov 11:50 EST (16:50 GMT) OSLO - Norway has agreed on a multi-billion euro deal to buy jet fighters from the U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin, the government announced Nov. 20. Norway chose to order an unspecified number of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) plane, also known as the F-35, instead of the Swedish-built Gripen jet, which was also under consideration. "The JSF is the only one of the two candidates to fulfill the operational requirements that the government set out for Norway's new fighter planes," a government statement said. The JSF order cost six bill…

From Jane's RAF's Harrier fleet may face early retirement By Tim Ripley 09 December 2008 The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is discussing plans to withdraw the entire Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Air Force (RAF) Harrier GR.9 fleet from service in less than five years, in an attempt to save more than GBP1 billion (USD1.5 billion), Jane's has learned. The discussions come as budget planners finalise their efforts to reconcile the MoD's equipment programme and force structure with limited available funding. Jane's understands that the ministry's defence board reviewed the proposals at its meeting in the last week of November, after senior RN officers had objecte…

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…

From Defense Aerospace Astor Gears Up For Takeoff (Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued Dec. 1, 2008) The MoD has today declared the technologically advanced ASTOR (Airborne Stand-Off Radar) in service with the RAF, on the Sentinel R1 aircraft. The new radar system will be operated by the RAF's Number 5 (Army Co-Operation) Squadron based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire providing a new all-weather intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capability to assist commanders on the battlefield. Operating at altitudes in excess of 40,000ft, for over 9 hours at a time, the aircraft is capable of detecting and recognising moving, static…

From Flight International DATE: 24/11/08 SOURCE: Flight International UK prepares for carrier operations with JSF By Craig Hoyle The UK is making significant advances in its preparations for carrierborne operations with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and expects to sign a contract by late February to acquire three aircraft to support test and evaluation of the type. Partners to the US-led JSF project have until 28 February to commit funds to buy aircraft for use by a joint test team during initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) activities, with the Netherlands and the UK expected to acquire low-rate initial production example…