Current Events in Europe

From Aviation Week's Ares Blog Parliament Hunts Nimrod Posted by Bill Sweetman at 3/27/2008 8:19 AM CDT Seven and a half years late and GBP787 million ($1.6 billion) over budget, the BAE Systems Nimrod MRA.4 program should be considered for cancellation, according to the latest report from the UK Parliament's Defence Committee. When the project was launched in late 1996, it was expected in service in April 2003, but the latest predicted in-service date (ISD) is September 2010. Some of the sad story is given here. Msasively delayed projects are not unique to the UK - the V-22 was originally expected in service when? - but the UK committee singles Nimrod MRA4 o…

The Most Serious Russian Violation of the New START Treaty Yet (RCD, 16 May 2022)

The Myth of Russian Aggression and NATO Expansion (Strategy Bridge)

From Stratfor GEOPOLITICAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT 10.16.2007 The Russia Problem By Peter Zeihan For the past several days, high-level Russian and American policymakers, including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Russian President Vladimir Putin's right-hand man, Sergei Ivanov, have been meeting in Moscow to discuss the grand scope of U.S.-Russian relations. These talks would be of critical importance to both countries under any circumstances, as they center on the network of treaties that have governed Europe since the closing days of the Cold War. Against the backdrop of the Iraq war, however, they have taken …

The Russian Navy - a Historic Transition (pdf, ONI) Lots of charts, maps and other OOB information.

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…

If any scenario creator is looking to put together scenarios depicting the evolving situation in Ukraine, I can offer the following information to assist: Spotted yesterday morning off Finnmark by a Norwegian P-3C Orion: Project 1164 (NATO Slava) class missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov, Project 1155 (NATO Udaloy) class destroyer Admiral Kulakov, Project 22350 (NATO Admiral Gorshkov) class frigate Admiral Kasatonov, a Project REF-675 (NATO Kaliningradneft) class tanker Vyazma and Project 712 (NATO Sliva) class rescue tug SB-406. Already in the Mediterranean, Project 864 (NATO Vishnya) intel collector Vasiliy Tatischev. Enroute to the Med, having passed th…

Great series of hi rez photos of the first production Sukhoi Su-34 'Fullback' strike jets at Air Power Australia.

BBC News story IIRC, Greek S-300s protected the 2004 Games in Athens.

From Defense Aerospace Christening of the K130 Class Corvette ERFURT in Emden: A New Benchmark In Corvette Building (Source: ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems; issued March 30, 2007) The German Navy’s third K130 corvette, Erfurt, was launched and christened at Emden on March 29. (TKMS photo) On March 29, 2007, a new corvette belonging to the new class K130 was launched and christened ERFURT in the presence of high-ranking guests from the Federal Ministry of Defence, the Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement, the German Navy and industry. The wife of the Lord Mayor of the town of Erfurt, Sysann Bausewein performed the launch, which took place at Th…

The name Dixmude is a rememberance of a battle fought in Belgium in the WWI by the Fusiliers Marins. Is out of the, for now, tradition of name the french amphibious vessels with the name of tempest winds, as Ouragan, Orage, Foudre, Siroco, Mistral and Tonnerre. The name is a rememberance also of the old zeppelin Dixmude, ex- LZ-114, lost in 1923, and of the CVE Dixmude, ex- HMS Biter, transfered in 1945. The original link (in french): http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=111998 About CVE Dixmude: http://frenchnavy.free.fr/ships/aircraft-c...ude/dixmude.htm About Dixmude ex- LZ-114: http://frenchnavy.free.fr/menus/menu_dirigeables-ballons.htm (only a small pho…

From RIA Novosti [excerpt]

Three Russian Nuke Subs to Be Recommissioned in 2013 (RIA Novosti) They are: Project 949A (Oscar II) Smolensk (K-410) and Tomsk (K-150) Project 971 (Imp Akula I) Kuzbass (K-419)

From Defense Aerospace [excerpt] Very impressive!

Find Defensenews video here.

From Navy Times TR group ready to deploy to Mediterranean The Associated Press Posted : Thursday Aug 28, 2008 14:52:16 EDT NORFOLK, Va. — The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group will deploy Sept. 8 with more than 7,000 sailors. The deployment will be to the Mediterranean, but the Navy said the group could go anywhere it is needed in support of maritime security. The group will deploy from Norfolk Naval Station and will later be joined by the guided-missile cruiser Monterey and guided-missile destroyers Mason and Nitze. On Monday, more than 450 sailors from the destroyer Gonzalez and the frigate Nicholas returned to Norfolk after a six-month deplo…

Previously paid for by the Treasury

From CBC News [excerpt]

New Tupolev Tu-160M2 Blackjack variant, with new NK-32 engines and avionics, to start series production near 2021: https://theaviationist.com/2017/11/16/russia-unveils-new-tu-160m2-strategic-super-bomber-update/

A series of articles and discussions about Tu-22M (NATO Backfire) strategy and tactics. Kamikazes - The Soviet Legacy (Naval War College Review, Winter 2014) Deception and the Backfire Bomber: Reexamining the Late Cold War Struggle Between Soviet Maritime Reconnaissance and U.S. Navy Countertargeting (Information Dissemination) Deception and the Backfire Bomber, Part II (Information Dissemination) Deception and the Backfire Bomber, Part III (Information Dissemination) Deception and the Backfire Bomber, the Finale (Information Dissemination)