Current Events in Europe

Russia's Resurgent Military Fueled by billions in oil wealth, it looks to reclaim the USSR's status as a global military power. By Fred Weir, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor As a newly self-confident, oil-rich Russia teams up with China in joint military exercises Friday, it is moving to reclaim the former Soviet Union's status as a global military power. A seven-year, $200-billion rearmament plan signed by President Vladimir Putin earlier this year will purchase new generations of missiles, planes, and perhaps aircraft carriers to rebuild Russia's arsenal. Already, the new military posture is on display: This summer, Russian bombers have ex…

Russia’s A-100 AWACS makes maiden flight (Jane's)

Russia’s Upgraded Kirov-Class Cruiser Admiral Nakhimov to Start Sea Trials in 2023 (Naval News)

Russia’s Upgraded Tu-22M3M Long-Range Bomber to Make Maiden Flight in August (The Diplomat)

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…

Russian air force takes first modernised Tupolev bombers (Flight Global)

Russian Air Force to get 10 MiG-31BM This Year

From RIA Novosti [excerpt]

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 Flight Global [excerpt]

From RIA Novosti [excerpt] CV32: You can already find the AA-X-13 'Arrow' in the HCDB.

From Russian Military Reform blog English version available at the link. [excerpt]

From Aviation Week Russian Assault Reveals Weaknesses Aug 20, 2008 By David A. Fulghum Russian military officials, in writings there that are catching U.S. analysts' attention, are concluding that Russia's offensive into Georgia was morally justified but poorly organized and executed in the opening phases due to surprise. U.S. government officials and analysts have been poring over open-source literature to gather operational and technological clues to events in the Georgia-Russia conflict. The opinions are coming from current and recently retired senior military commanders, and appear in Russia's Independent Military Review, other defense related publicatio…

Mostly soft propaganda, but sometimes some data of interest, both news reports and short articles (in English): http://www.ruaviation.com/news/

From Defence Talk Russian Bombers Could Suppress US Missile Shield RIA Novosti | Mar 6, 2007 Moscow: Russia's strategic aviation has sufficient potential to suppress elements of a U.S. missile defense shield should it be deployed in Central Europe, the commander of the Strategic Air Force said Monday. "Missile shield elements, which are located in silos, are very vulnerable and have weak defenses," Lieutenant-General Igor Khvorov said. "Therefore, all aircraft deployed by [Russian] strategic aviation can either apply electronic counter-measures against them or physically destroy them." Russia, which has been anxious about NATO bases that have appeared in form…

From DefenseNews Russian Bombers Spotted Again Over North Sea; Fighters Scramble By Agence France-Presse, Oslo British and Norwegian fighter jets scrambled over the North Sea after Russian bombers were spotted flying at “unusual” latitudes overnight, the Norwegian military said July 20. The repeated sightings of Russian jets — the most numerous off Norway’s coast since the end of the Cold War, according to Norwegian public radio NRK — came amid an escalating diplomatic crisis between Russia and Britain. In the third incident of its kind this week, Norwegian jets were again called out early July 20 as another two Russian bombers were spotted close to Norwe…

Russian bombers to be armed with new Kh-50 theatre-level cruise missile (Jane's)

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…

Russian destroyer design revealed (Jane's)