Current Events in Europe

From Flight International DATE: 03/11/08 SOURCE: Flight International Italian navy recapitalises By Luca Peruzzi To cope with new challenges from conventional and asymmetrical threats and provide a more flexible and capable organic capability, the Italian fleet air arm is involved in a recapitalisation programme that will see legacy rotary- and fixed-wing assets replaced with new-generation platforms including Agusta­Westland AW101 and NH Industries NH90 helicopters, and in the mid-term, Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning IIs. Meanwhile, navy fleet power projection capabilities are being significantly enhanced with the delivery in 2008 and entry into service n…

From Mer et Marine, and with implications in the DB: http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=119189 For now, six commanded frigates: F590 Carlo Bergamini: General purpose variant, shore bombardment. F591 Virginio Fasan: ASW variant. F592 Carlo Margottini: ASW variant. F593 Luigi Rizzo: ASW variant. F594 unnamed: ASW variant. F595 unnamed: General purpose variant, shore bombardment. Main differences: The main gun in the General purpose variant is a 127mm/64 OTO Melara LW. The main gun in the ASW variant is a 76mm/62 OTO Melara Super Rapid. (and another aft 76mm gun and 2x25mm/80 OTO Melara Oerlikon single guns in both variants, the French variant has on…

From Defence Talk World's Most Advanced Warship Departs River Clyde on Maiden Voyage BAE Systems | Jul 20, 2007 The most advanced warship in the world to date, HMS Daring, has departed from BAE Systems’ shipyard in Scotstoun on her maiden voyage down the River Clyde to begin sea trials off the west coast of Scotland. Launched by HRH the Countess of Wessex in February 2006, HMS Daring is the first of six Daring class Type 45 destroyers being built for the Royal Navy. They will provide the British fleet and her allies with an unparalleled level of anti-air warfare capability through to the middle of the 21st century and will be the most capable warships of the…

From http:/www.defence-aerospace.com NATO Forces Gather in the Mediterranean for the World’s Largest Annual Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercise Source: NATO; issued Feb. 25, 2005 Ten NATO nations will provide six submarines, ten maritime patrol aircraft and 16 surface ships to take part in NOBLE MARLIN 05 (NM 05), the world’s largest anti-submarine Warfare (ASW) exercise from 03 to 16 March 2005. The exercise will take place in the Ionian Sea to the Southeast of Sicily. Forces are provided by Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Six submarines from France (1), Germany (1), Gr…

From http://www.defence-aerospace.com VT Group Secures Contract For New Offshore Patrol Vessel Source: VT Group; issued Feb. 25, 2005 VT Group plc has been awarded a contract by the Ministry of Defence for the construction of a new 80 metre Offshore Patrol Vessel (Helicopter) for the Royal Navy. The ship will be built to VT’s account, with production starting in June. She will be handed over to the Royal Navy in Autumn 2006, entering service, after the completion of trials, in Spring 2007. The ship will be chartered to the MoD for an initial period until March 2012. The programme is expected to be worth an initial total of around £30 million, under a …

From Stratfor The Russo-Georgian War and the Balance of Power August 12, 2008 By George Friedman The Russian invasion of Georgia has not changed the balance of power in Eurasia. It simply announced that the balance of power had already shifted. The United States has been absorbed in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as potential conflict with Iran and a destabilizing situation in Pakistan. It has no strategic ground forces in reserve and is in no position to intervene on the Russian periphery. This, as we have argued, has opened a window of opportunity for the Russians to reassert their influence in the former Soviet sphere. Moscow did not have to concer…

I'm playing around with ideas for scenarios and I was curious if people had any suggestions regarding this one... 2016: A worst case scenario for Italy. Forget the sword of Damocles; you should worry about his mountain. Vesuvius explodes. And it's a bad one, about as powerful as the Avellino eruption of c. 1600 B.C., several times more powerful than the one that wiped out Pompeii. Tragically, the eruption came with relatively little warning, and the Italian government simply was not ready to handle the evacuation. As the volcanic dust clears, the horrifying damage is revealed: at least a quarter of a million people are dead, another half-million are injured, more…

CV32: Take a look at a map or Google Earth. This step essentially grounds the Georgian Air Force (as small as it may be) and locks down the regional airspace. From DefenseNews Russia Deploys S-300 Missiles in Abkhazia: Gen. By STUART WILLIAMS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 11 Aug 2010 12:19 MOSCOW - Russia announced Aug. 11 it had deployed a missile battery in Georgia's pro-Moscow rebel region of Abkhazia, infuriating its arch foes in Tbilisi some two years since they fought a brief war. "We have deployed the S-300 system on the territory of Abkhazia," air force commander-in-chief Gen. Alexander Zelin said in a statement carried by Russian news agencie…

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British nukes were protected by bike locks By Meirion Jones Newsnight producer BBC News Newsnight has discovered that until the early days of the Blair government the RAF's nuclear bombs were armed by turning a bicycle lock key. Inserting a key into a nuclear device There was no other security on the Bomb itself. While American and Russian weapons were protected by tamper-proof combination locks which could only be released if the correct code was transmitted, Britain relied on a simpler technology. The Dr Strangelove scenario The British military resisted Whitehall proposals to fit bombs with Permissive Action Links - or PALs - which would prev…

Says F-117A downed with a locally improved SA-3 Goa. Critical of NATO OPSEC and Comm discipline. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SER...EMPLATE=DEFAULT

The OPV BAM Meteoro, first of a long programmed series of OPV and other vessels, was delivered to the Spanish Navy on 28 July 2011, IOC 2012 (She's slow but cheap, and is a modular ship and with 3000 tons at least she has a 76mm gun as minimum standard armament ): http://www.ateneadigital.es/RevistaAtenea/...as_5303_ESP.asp http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=116880 Nowadays at least 4+5 ships, of a grand total of 13 forecasted: http://www.defensa.com/index.php?option=co...&Itemid=162 First series: - 4xOPV variant (BAM-P: Meteoro, Rayo, Relampago and Tornado) Second series: - 3xOPV variant (BAM-P). - 1xSearch and Rescue and Submarine support varia…

Link to the report here (pdf)

A great source for imagery, geolocation and some analysis of a number of airfields important to Russian strategic aviation. http://geimint.blogspot.com/2007/07/russia...on-imagery.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NY Times article here. August 17, 2008 Military Analysis Russians Melded Old-School Blitz With Modern Military Tactics By THOM SHANKER WASHINGTON — Russia’s victorious military blitz into the former Soviet republic of Georgia brought something old and something new — but none of it was impromptu, despite appearances that a long-frozen conflict had suddenly turned hot. The Russian military borrowed a page from classic Soviet-era doctrine: Moscow’s commanders sent an absolutely overwhelming force into Georgia. It was never going to be an even fight, and the outcome was predict…

Hello I was browsing through the german navy ships (Lutjens, Bremen) and the DM4A1 torpedo come up (324mm), I searched arround and found nothing on it. Anyone has any information about it ? Thanks a lot

BBC News report

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…

In short, UK retires the Nimrod MR.2 in March 2010, and it must wait to 2012 to see the Nimrod MRA.4 in service. A two year gap without ASW nor maritime patrol aircrafts, bad thing for a insular state: http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=112034 (in french) http://australianaviation.com.au/uk-brings...mr2-retirement/ Some relevant excerpts of the Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker-Siddeley_Nimrod : On 15 December 2009, the Ministry of Defence announced that the introduction to service of the Nimrod MRA4 will be delayed until 2012 as part of wide-ranging defence spending cuts

From DefenseTech and Ocnus