Current Events in Europe

Russia to Scrap Last Soviet-Era Nuclear Sub by 2014 (RIA Novosti)

From Reuters [excerpt]

Russia to test 11 ICBMs in 2013 (RIA Novosti) We need more 'strategic level' scenarios, even if they do tend to end in a firestorm.

From RIA Novosti [excerpt]

From RIA Novosti Russia to recall from reserve three nuclear-powered missile cruisers by 2020 - Navy 23:16 24/07/2010 Russia will recall from reserve after an upgrade three nuclear-powered missile cruisers by 2020, a high-ranking Navy staff officer told RIA Novosti on Saturday. "Cruisers Admiral Nakhimov, Admiral Lazarev and Admiral Ushakov will be modernized and returned to the Russian Navy's combat force in 10 years," the official said, adding the cruiser's equipment and weapons will be fully modernized. From RIA Novosti Russia plans to upgrade 3 nuclear-powered cruisers by 2020 (Update 1) 02:17 25/07/2010 Russia will upgrade and put on active …

From DefenseNews Posted 10/23/07 09:03 Russia to Upgrade TU-95 Bomber AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, MOSCOW Russia has begun a "serious modernization" of its TU-95 strategic bomber, a workhorse of the Soviet and Russian air forces for over 50 years, the plane’s design bureau said Oct. 23, according to Interfax. The upgrade of the TU-95 MS, the Russian equivalent of the U.S. B-52 bomber, will include artificial intelligence technology, the news agency cited the president of the Tupolev design bureau, Igor Shevchuk, as saying. British and Norwegian fighter jets were scrambled this summer after TU-95 bombers were spotted close to Norwegian airspace, part of increasi…

Interesting and useful info for aspiring scenario authors ... From Aviation Week Russia Upgrades Air Defenses May 11, 2010 By Maxim Pyadushkin Moscow The Russian air force took delivery of the first Pantsyr-S short-range air-defense systems in March. The Pantsyrs will gradually replace the old Tunguska antiaircraft weapons. The first 10 systems were released from KBP Instrument Design Bureau’s assembly site in Tula and transported to Alabino, near Moscow, and will be part of the Victory Day parade in Red Square on May 9. What’s unusual is that the first Pantsyr systems are being deployed to protect high-end surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) against aircraf…

From Defence Talk Russia walks away from CFE arms treaty Agence France-Presse | Dec 13, 2007 MOSCOW: Russia on Wednesday walked out of a key Cold War treaty setting limits on troops and weapons across Europe, but promised there were no immediate plans for a major military build-up. Russia's participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty was suspended from midnight in Moscow (2100 GMT Tuesday), the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Such a step has been caused by the exceptional circumstances connected to the content of the treaty which concern the security of Russia and demand that we take immediate measures," the ministry sta…

From DefenseNews [excerpt

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…

Russia: Bombers Grounded After Crash By C. J. Chivers The air force grounded its fleet of hundreds of Su-24 attack planes after one of the jets crashed during a training flight in Russia’s Far East. The pilots ejected safely and the cause of the crash was not clear, according to comments by Col. Aleksandr Drobyshevksy reported by Interfax. The Su-24 is a Soviet-era twin-engine jet that was first manufactured in the 1970s and saw action in the wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya. The crash occurred during a week in which President Vladimir V. Putin spoke of the need to modernize Russia’s civilian and military aviation sectors.

From Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report - Russia: Kosovo and the Asymmetry of Perceptions 12.18.2007 Russia: Kosovo and the Asymmetry of Perceptions By George Friedman Kosovo appears to be an archaic topic. The Yugoslavian question was a 1990s issue, while the Kosovo issue has appeared to be one of those conflicts that never quite goes away but isn't regarded very seriously by the international community. You hear about it but you don't care about it. However, Kosovo is getting very serious again. The United States and Europe appear committed to making Kosovo, now a province of Serbia, an independent state. Of course, Serbia opposes this, but more…

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 RIA Novosti [excerpt]

From Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report 04.17.2007 The Coming Era of Russia's Dark Rider By Peter Zeihan Russian opposition members rallied in Moscow's Pushkin Square on April 14. The so-called Dissenters' March was organized by Other Russia, an umbrella group that includes everyone from unrepentant communists and free-market reformers to far-right ultranationalists whose only uniting characteristic is their common opposition to the centralization of power under President Vladimir Putin's administration. Minutes after the march began, the 2,000 or so protesters found themselves outnumbered more than four to one by security forces. They quickly dis…

Russia's Military Might Is Center Stage At Show By Associated Press ZHUKOVSKY, Russia -- The largest air show in Russia's post-Soviet history opened yesterday to show off the country's growing military might and to try to boost the country's sagging civilian plane-making sector. "The task stands before us of supporting our leadership in the production of military aviation technology," President Vladimir Putin said at the International Aviation and Space Show at the once-secret Zhukovsky military airfield in Moscow's outskirts. He said Russian manufacturers "must more actively enter the world market for passenger and transport aircraft with competitive prod…

Russia's Most Powerful Nuclear Attack Submarine Ever Is Almost Ready for Sea (National Interest)

Russias Newest Warship Completes Sea Trials (RIA Novosti)

Russia's Northern Fleet Brings The Fireworks In This "Explosive" Year In Review Video (The War Zone) some great footage here

Russia's PAKFAs to be transferred to Aerospace Forces later this year (Jane's)