Current Events in Europe

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 …

RUSSIAN NAVY TO MAINTAIN SURFACE SHIP FLEET INTACT FOR 10-15 YEARS MOSCOW, May 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia can maintain its current surface ship fleet without sizeable reduction for the coming 10-15 years, the Russian Navy's commander-in-chief, Adm. Vladimir Kuroyedov, told RIA Novosti. "By overhauling our ships, we can maintain the current surface fleet until 2015-20 without any considerable reduction," he said. According to the admiral, the situation is more complicated as far as small surface ships and craft operating in the littorals are concerned. "Repairs and overhaul will not be enough here," Kuroyedov stressed. "It is simple - the smaller is the ship,…

NATO Members Train for Electronic Threats Source: US Air Force May. 3, 2005 eDefense In today’s technologically advanced wartime environment, training in a realistic electronic combat threat environment is essential. Attached to the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Detachment 2, or Multinational Electronic Warfare Tactics Facility Polygone, is charged with training pilots on how to avoid surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft artillery, jamming devices, and other like defense mechanisms, said Lt. Col. Jess Palmer, Det. 2 commander. Based on a 1979 agreement, the unit, located south of Ramstein Air Base, is jointly hosted by the US, Fren…

U.S. May Use Spanish Base for Special Forces Report By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, MADRID DefenseNews The United States is considering a plan to concentrate its special forces units in Europe, which currently are scattered across the continent, at its base at Rota, southern Spain, the El Pais newspaper reported May 2. Right now, U.S. Marine, Army and Air Force special forces units are stationed in Britain, Germany and Italy. A possible regrouping of the forces at Rota could be discussed during a visit by Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono to the United States this week, his first since the Socialist government came to office in 2004 and pulled its forces out of …

Revealed: Blair to upgrade Britain's nuclear weapons PM secretly signs up to new deterrent as UN tries to cut global threat By Colin Brown, Deputy Political Editor 02 May 2005 The Independent Tony Blair has secretly decided that Britain will build a new generation of nuclear deterrent to replace the ageing Trident submarine fleet at a cost of more than £10bn - a move certain to dismay thousands of Labour Party loyalists in the approach to polling day. The disclosure that the decision has already been taken will expose Mr Blair - who has struggled throughout the election campaign to fend off accusations that he lied over the Iraq war - to fresh allegations of d…

From DefenseNews Italy Finds Fremm Funds By TOM KINGTON, ROME Italy’s Cabinet agreed April 29 to allocate long-awaited funds to launch construction of 10 multimission frigates for the Italian Navy. The Ministry of Industry will provide around 400 million euros ($515.9 million) to kick-start the program with France, which is building 17 of the so-called Fremm frigates. Rome’s Ministry of Defense will then continue paying for the Italian frigates, which will cost around 350 million euros each. Sen. Giovanni Lorenzo Forcieri said the decision confirmed funding for the first tranche of six Italian frigates. The cabinet decision followed pressure from …

Aegis Tested Successfully on Norwegian Frigate eDefense Source: Lockheed Martin Apr. 29, 2005 Lockheed Martin (Moorestown NJ) successfully completed the first live shipboard tracking exercise with its new SPY-1F multifunction phased-array radar system aboard the Norwegian frigate Fridtjof Nansen (F-310). The Aegis-based system identified and tracked multiple live targets during a three-hour window of fault-free operation at Navantia's shipyard in Ferrol, Spain. The SPY-1F is a modified version of the AN/SPY-1D radar system, designed to provide anti-air warfare capability with the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile and Standard Missile-2. Lockheed Martin is res…

April 27, 2005 NavyTimes.com Russian navy to get new submarines Associated Press MOSCOW — Russia’s navy will get two newly equipped nuclear submarines in 2006, armed with new Bulava-M intercontinental ballistic missiles, Russian news agencies quoted Commander in Chief Adm. Vladimir Kuroyedov as saying Wednesday. The submarines will bear the names of Yuri Dolgoruky, the prince who founded Moscow, and Dmitry Donskoy, who led Russian warriors in a decisive battle that brought Tatar rule of Russia to an end in the 14th century. Kuroyedov said the submarines should join the navy by the end of next year. The missiles have a range of 5,000 miles and are in the m…

From Defence Aerospace "U 32" Submarine Leaves the Nordseewerke Shipyard For Final Tests (Source: ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems; issued April 22, 2005) HAMBURG, Germany --- The "U32" submarine left the shipyard in Emden on 20th April 2005 for its final sea-testing phase. Extensive tests will be carried out until July 2005 in the deep water on the South Norwegian coast (Skagerrak) and in different shallow water regions of the Baltic Sea. After the tests have been completed, the "U32" will be handed over to the German Navy in July 2005 as scheduled. The overall order comprises of a total of four units of the submarine class 212A, which are being collectiv…

From Defence Aerospace Czech Gripens Have Arrived (Source: Gripen International; issued April 18, 2005) Today 18 April 2005, the first six Czech Air Force Gripen aircraft arrived in the Czech Republic. The six (6) Gripen multi-role fighters, the latest C and D versions of the aircraft, are the first to be delivered to another country’s Air Force. The aircraft were flown by three pilots from the Czech Air Force two from the Swedish Air Force and one from FMV. The flight, which departed from FMV´s facility outside Linköping, lasted for one hour. “The flight went very well. The Gripen aircraft was easy to handle and everything functioned perfectly," said…

Greece Rethinks Eurofighter Deal By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ATHENS Originally posted to DefenceNews Greece is reconsidering a project by the former Socialist government to buy 60 Eurofighter jets for its air force, the defense ministry said here on April 9. As both the Greek prime minister and defense minister are due to visit the United States in the coming weeks, the press here is speculating the government may choose the U.S. F-16 instead. “The government has so far made no decision concerning the choice of company from which to buy the fourth generation jets. All options remain open,” defense ministry spokesman Stephanos Guikas told AFP. “A d…

From eDefense AMRAAM Proposed for SA-6 Launchers by Michal Fiszer Apr. 8, 2005 Raytheon International (Brussels, Belgium) earlier this year unveiled a proposal to equip Polish Kub (SA-6) systems (see "Russia's Roving SAMs") with SL-AMRAAM missiles, based on the AIM-120C-5 standard, which had already been purchased by Poland for its F-16 aircraft. The proposal is connected to a Polish Kub modernization program, conducted by Wojskowe Zaklady Uzbrojenia nr 2 (WZU-2, Grudziadz, Poland). Poland launched an earlier Kub modernization program in 1997. The effort resulted in an improved 1S91M2-P1 fire-control radar, replacement of vacuum tubes with solid-state circui…

From eDefense Production of Russian Su-34 Relaunched by Michal Fiszer Apr. 5, 2005 Serial production of the Su-34 has begun, according to the general director of the Novosibirsk Aviation Company (NAPO) (Novosibirsk, Russia), which is part of Sukhoi consortium. Officially, the first serial Su-34 flew on Dec. 20, 2003, but production of subsequent aircraft ended immediately thereafter. According to Russian Air Force plans from 2003, 10 production Su-34 aircraft were to be delivered by the end of 2005. But in a March 31, 2005, announcement, general director Aleksandr Bobryshev Bobryshev revised the projection to five aircraft to be delivered to the Russian Air …

From DefenseNews Rumsfeld Criticizes Spain for Venezuela Weapons Sale By REUTERS, MIAMI Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld criticized Spain for selling military vessels and planes to Venezuela amid growing U.S. concerns about Venezuela’s intentions in the region, a U.S. newspaper reported April 6. Rumsfeld told The Miami Herald that Washington was concerned about what Venezuela plans to do with its new military hardware, which in addition to transport planes and patrol boats from Spain includes 100,000 rifles from Russia and Tucano turboprop light attack aircraft from Brazil. “I personally think that Spain is making a mistake,” Rumsfeld said in the newspap…

From DefenseNews NATO Chief Says Door Open to Ukraine By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TOKYO NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said April 4 that the trans-Atlantic alliance had “an open door policy” for Ukraine, where pro-Western reformers toppled the pro-Russian regime last year. “If Ukraine has this ambition, my answer is NATO has an open door policy,” De Hoop Scheffer told a press conference in Japan, the final destination in a nine-day tour that also took him to Australia and New Zealand. “If Ukraine voices ambition to become a NATO member, NATO would take that ambition very seriously,” he said. “NATO is a performance-based organization. Ukraine is…

From DefenseNews Russian Aircraft Carrier On Its Way to North Atlantic By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, MOSCOW The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov left the port of Murmansk on March 23 to carry out military exercises in the north Atlantic, Russian news reports said. “For two weeks, the Admiral Kuznetsov will implement a series of military exercises involving the airplanes on board,” ITAR-TASS quoted the Russian Navy chief-of-command as saying. More than 40 takeoffs are scheduled to take place during the exercises. The Admiral Kuznetsov went into active service in 1993. It is 302 meters long, weighs 55,000 tons, can reach a speed of 30 knots and can…

DefenseNews Ukraine Admits It Sold Cruise Missiles to Iran, China By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, KIEV Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office on March 18 confirmed reports that Kiev had sold nuclear-capable cruise missiles to both Iran and China, but stressed that the deals were illegal and under criminal investigation. “This is not about exports of missiles but rather illegal sales which are being investigated by the SBU (security service) which has opened a criminal investigation of the director of the company Ukrspetsexport,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Svyatoslav Piskun, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, earlier told the respected, London-based F…

From CNN Ukraine 'admits missile sales' Friday, March 18, 2005 Posted: 4:18 AM EST (0918 GMT) LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Ukraine has acknowledged exporting 12 cruise missiles to Iran and six to China amid mounting pressure from other countries to explain how the sales occurred, the Financial Times reported on Friday. It quoted Ukraine's prosecutor-general Svyatoslav Piskun as saying 18 X-55 cruise missiles, also known as Kh-55s or AS-15s, were exported in 2001, although none was exported with the nuclear warheads they were designed to carry. ....

From Defence Aerospace Launch of NATO’s Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (ALTBMD) Programme (Source: NATO; issued March 16, 2005) NATO’s Theatre Missile Defence (TMD) Programme has reached a key milestone in Alliance efforts to field an Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (ALTBMD) capability by 2010. As a practical example of the ongoing transformation of NATO’s military capabilities, on 11 March 2005 the North Atlantic Council approved the Charter for the ALTBMD Programme Management Organisation (PMO). This decision launched the Alliance’s ALTBMD Programme, which will provide protection against the threat of ballistic missiles…

From Defence Aerospace Keel of Third Astute-Class Submarine Is Laid Source: UK Defence Procurement Agency; issued March 11, 2005 First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West today performed the traditional 'laying the keel' ceremony for HMS Artful -- one of the biggest and most powerful attack submarines ever procured by the Royal Navy. The ceremony marks the formal start of construction of HMS Artful, the third Astute-class submarine under construction by BAE Systems at Barrow-in-Furness. She joins HMS Astute and HMS Ambush, currently being assembled at the Barrow shipyard. With improved communications, a greater capacity for joint operations and the ability…