Russian Military To Be Fully Rearmed By 2020

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian Military To Be Fully Rearmed By 2020

Around 80-100% of the Russian Armed Forces will be equipped with modern weapons and military hardware by 2018-2020, the Russian General Staff chief said on Wednesday.

"In the next 3-5 years we plan to equip 30% of the Armed Forces with advanced weapons and military hardware and to raise this figure to 80-100% by 2018-2020," Gen. of the Army Nikolai Makarov said.

He also said the command staff of Russia's Defense Ministry and the General Staff of the Armed Forces was also overstaffed and inefficient and failing to carry out its tasks effectively.

"The command staff, including the General Staff and Defense Ministry, is being reduced. The staff has grown to an unbelievable size and the functions and tasks it is supposed to fulfill are not being fulfilled," Gen. Makarov told journalists.

He also said the troop command system in Russia is out of date and should be streamlined.

Earlier Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said staffing levels at central headquarters and high-level command structures are expected to be slashed by 60% from 22,000 personnel to 8,500 by 2012 as part of sweeping military reforms.

Serdyukov announced the cuts to Russia's Armed Forces in October and said some 150,000 officer posts are expected to go by 2012. The minister said, by global standards, officers should comprise 7% to 20% of staffing levels, but at 32% the officer level in Russia's Armed Force was far too high.

Serdyukov said that there were currently more than 1,100 generals in the Russian military and around 200 of those posts needed to be abolished, while the number of junior officers should be increased.

In addition, he said more than 100,000 serving warrant officers are due to be discharged or absorbed into other ranks by the end of 2009.

Russia has already downsized its Armed Forces from Soviet-era levels of 4.5 million personnel to the current figure of about 1.2 million, which includes 310,000 officers. The latest reforms will see the military reduced to around 1.1 million.

The reforms will also include drastic changes to the structure of Russia's Armed Forces to ensure greater mobility and improve combat readiness.

Makarov explained the changes: "Two command chains will be eliminated: regiments and divisions as far as recent events (two Chechen campaigns and the August Caucasus conflict this year) have demonstrated, that our command system, created in the 1960s - army, division, regiment and battalion is so complex and heavy that at the present time we are unable to ensure quick decision making, that orders reach troops, interoperability and effective command."

Keep in mind, this is the timeframe they are giving. It could well be sooner.

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Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Russia flexes its military muscle

A draft document on Russia's security strategy suggests it is geared up for the possibility of conflict over energy resources.

by Roger McDermott
Guardian, January 4, 2008

As Russia once again resorts to aggressive economic tactics in its latest dispute over gas supplies with neighbouring Ukraine, its official state documentation is raising the spectre of future military conflict over energy resources. Russia's security council prepared a draft document on national security strategy until 2020. At a joint security council and state council meeting held in Moscow on 25 December and chaired by Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, the document in question was to be discussed, but this was postponed at the last minute, instead concentrating on Russian policy in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

President Medvedev ordered a new security strategy in June 2008, and its draft form has been discussed among all its regions. The "strategy of national security of the Russian Federation until the year 2020" – written under the direction of Nikolay Patrushev, secretary of the security council, is expected to be adopted at a state council meeting on 20 February 2009. In early December 2008 Patrushev toured Russia's federal districts promoting the new security strategy. Following a meeting on national security in the far eastern city of Blagoveshchensk he said the proposed draft was pragmatic and practical, and lists specific measures to ensure Russia's national security.

The document itself begins with the claim that Russia has overcome the "consequences of the systemic political and socioeconomic crisis of the late 20th century" and has now restored its capacity to promote its national interest through "multipolar international relations". After predictably designating the United States as Russia's main rival, it then turns to how Russia may maintain its position in the world in future and describes rivalry for controlling global energy resources as a longer term source of conflict. The regions where such confrontations are expected to sharpen is also defined: "The international policy will focus on the access to the energy sources of the world, including the Middle East, Barents Sea, the Arctic Region, Caspian Sea and Central Asia. The struggle for the hydrocarbon resources can be developed to the military confrontation as well, which can result with violation of balance on the Russia's borders with the allies and increasing of the nuclear countries". It also suggests existing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Middle East, some of the South Asian and African countries, as well as in Korean peninsula will have a continued negative impact on the international situation over the next 12 years.

Emphasising possible future Nato enlargement, the new strategy promises to resist US plans to develop its missile defence capabilities, which the Russian elite claims are being aimed against Russia, rather than North Korea or Iran. Furthermore, Russia will pursue a "pragmatic foreign policy" which eschews a new arms race, which clearly the country cannot afford in any case.

Despite widespread disagreement among Russian academics and security experts, the document assumes the possibility of future military conflict erupting over energy resources. Its current gas dispute with Ukraine compelled the Russian government to downplay fears within the EU of any possible disruption to energy supplies, has triggered speculation of increased gas prices in the UK and recently disclosed British government documents confirm that during the last Russo-Ukrainian energy dispute in 2006 the UK energy minister Alan Johnson was briefed eight times on threats to energy security emanating from Russia.

Russia's pursuit of the "multipolar world order" will involve support from its allies in the CIS and its partners elsewhere. It pledges deeper participation within the G8, G20, RIC (Russia, India, China) and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China). Although referring positively to its allies within the collective security treaty organisation, t here is no doubt that drawing on the lessons of its experience of the Georgia war last August, Russia will rely more on its own devices and especially its armed forces, which are promised financial and other resources "sufficient" for the creation of a new image of the armed forces while retaining its strategic nuclear potential. The strategy also calls for establishing a "highly professional community of Russian secret services" as a means of ensuring the external and internal security of Russia and developing a "national framework of dealing with international terrorism, extremism, nationalism, and ethnic separatism". All this implies that Russia will continue to use its intelligence services at home and abroad to exaggerate Russia's power and its image in the world.

Almost bombastic in its tone, once again portraying an "image" of a resurgent Russia, the new security strategy neglects real risks stemming from falling production and social hardship – these are not risks based on an imaginary enemy attacking Russia for its energy resources. The price of oil has fallen sharply, the world's economy is slowing down and t he financial crisis is hitting Russia hard: the country's political leadership must adjust to new harsh economic realities, but instead chooses to flex military "muscle".

© Guardian News and Media Limited

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March 18, 2009
Russia Is Planning a ‘Large-Scale Rearming’

By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
MOSCOW — President Dmitri A. Medvedev said on Tuesday that Russia
would begin a “large-scale rearming” in 2011 in response to what he
described as threats to the country’s security.

In a speech before generals in Moscow, Mr. Medvedev cited encroachment
by NATO as a primary reason for bolstering the armed and nuclear forces.

Mr. Medvedev did not offer specifics on how much the budget would grow
for the military, whose capabilities deteriorated significantly after the fall of
Soviet Union.

Russia has increased military spending sharply in recent years, but with the
financial crisis and the drop in the price of oil, the country’s finances are
under pressure, suggesting that it would be hard to lift these expenditures
further.

Even so, Mr. Medvedev’s timing was notable. He is expected to hold his
first meeting with President Obama in early April in London on the sidelines
of the summit of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries.

In recent weeks, he has said he is looking forward to the meeting, and
both he and Russia’s paramount leader, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin,
have been expressing some optimism about improving relations with the
United States under the new administration.

Mr. Medvedev’s comments on Tuesday, though, indicated that Kremlin did
not want the United States and its NATO allies to presume that Russia was
coming to the table from a position of weakness.

“An analysis of the military-political situation in the world shows that there
are a range of regions where there remain serious potential for conflicts,”
Mr. Medvedev said. “Threats remain that can bring about local crises and
international terrorism. NATO is not halting its efforts to widen its military
infrastructure near the borders of our country. All of this demands a quality
modernization of our armed forces.”

Mr. Medvedev emphasized that Russia would not be deterred in this plan by
the financial crisis.

His announcement comes as the Kremlin has already begun an effort to
overhaul the operations of the armed forces, which are still run largely
according to Soviet-style dictates.

While Russia’s far larger military easily triumphed over Georgia’s in the
conflict in August, the fighting exposed what many experts described as
flaws in training, weapons and equipment.


Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

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		Russia
		Russia to begin large-scale rearmament of Armed Forces in 2011
		14:03 | 17/ 03/ 2009

MOSCOW, March 17 (RIA Novosti) - A comprehensive rearmament of Russia's Armed Forces will begin in 2011, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday.

"Last year we equipped a number of military units with new weaponry, and we will start large-scale rearmament of the Armed Forces in 2011," Medvedev said at a meeting with Defense Ministry officials.

He said that the current military-political situation in the world calls for a thorough modernization of the Russian Armed Forces, primarily its strategic nuclear forces.

"They must be able to accomplish all tasks aimed at ensuring Russia's military security," Medvedev said, adding that this process would involve the enhancement of combat readiness of all military units.

The president reiterated that "despite the current financial difficulties, Russia has never had better favorable conditions to create modern and highly efficient armed forces."

Medvedev also said that the Russian Security Council would soon endorse a national security strategy for the period up to 2020.

"Long-term plans in the defense sphere should be based on a Russian national security strategy for the period up to 2020, which the Security Council should endorse in the near future," Medvedev said.

The president announced last year that Russia would make the modernization of its nuclear deterrent and Armed Forces a priority in light of the August military conflict with Georgia.

Russia's military expenditure has been steadily growing recently, and the country reportedly plans to increase the current defense budget of $40 billion by 50% in the next three years.

Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Tuesday that the share of modern weaponry in the Russian Armed Forces would reach 30% by 2015, and would total 70% by 2020.

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Russia plans military upgrade to match Nato

• Luke Harding in Moscow
• The Guardian, Wednesday 18 March 2009
• Article history

Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev addresses the defence ministry's staff in Moscow. Photograph: Ria Novosti/Reuters

Russia plans to boost both conventional armed forces and nuclear forces to counter a growing threat from Nato, President Dmitry Medvedev said yesterday, raising the spectre of a military confrontation between Moscow and the west.

In a hawkish speech to Russia's top generals, Medvedev said Russia intended to upgrade the army and navy from 2011. Strategic nuclear forces would also be overhauled in an effort to guarantee the country's security.

Modernisation was necessary because of the danger posed by the transatlantic military alliance. "Attempts to expand the military infrastructure of Nato near the borders of our country are continuing,"
Medvedev said. "The primary task is to increase the combat readiness of our forces. They must be able to fulfil all the necessary tasks to ensure Russia's security."

Another task on Russia's agenda was to move all combat units to a state of "permanent readiness".

Medvedev's remarks come two weeks before his first meeting with Barack Obama at the G20 summit in London on 2 April. The administration has said it wants to "reset" America's troubled relations with Moscow, but has received mixed signals from the Kremlin. Russia has offered to assist the US in the transport of non-military supplies to Afghanistan. At the same time, Moscow agreed a backroom deal last month with Kyrgyzstan, which is likely to lead to the closure of the US's key military base in central Asia.

At issue is what Moscow regards as the west's creeping encroachment into Russia's backyard. Russia vehemently objects to Nato membership for Georgia and Ukraine, and bitterly opposes the deployment of the US's proposed missile defence shield in central Europe, which is currently under review.

Yesterday the Russian defence minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, said the world situation meant the "likelihood of armed conflicts and their potential danger for Russia" was rising. "The military-political situation is characterised by the US leadership's desire ... to expand its military presence and that of its allies in regions adjacent to Russia," he said.

America was trying to grab energy and mineral resources in central Asia and other post-Soviet countries on the borders with Russia, he complained, adding that Washington was "actively supporting processes aimed at ousting Russia from the area of its traditional interests".

Later, military officials announced that Russia plans to deploy intercontinental missiles fitted with multiple warheads once the strategic arms reduction treaty [Start 1] expires in December. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said a new strategic arms deal with Russia was a priority. Russia has also welcomed talks on a nuclear deal.

Last night Yevgeny Myasnikov, a Moscow defence analyst, said Russia's wishlist ahead of next month's Obama-Medvedev meeting was well-known. "Russia wants an end to the US's missile deployment in Europe, a moratorium on Nato expansion, [and] a deal on Start," he said.

He added that there were doubts as to whether Russia had enough money to modernise the crumbling Soviet-era army and navy after 2011.

[vector7]

U.S. military presence irks Russia

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's defense minister on Tuesday accused the United States of beefing up its military presence near Russian borders and poaching for mineral wealth there, signaling that Moscow could take a tough position in upcoming talks with Barack Obama's new administration.

Anatoly Serdyukov's statement -- made alongside President Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting of the military's top brass -- reflected deeply entrenched Russian suspicions despite Obama's desire to improve relations with Moscow.

Medvedev, meanwhile, cited NATO expansion, international terrorism and regional conflicts as reasons why upgrading Russia's nuclear forces was the top priority in an ambitious military modernization plan that he pledged to pursue despite the worst economic crisis in a decade.

Relations with Russia plunged to a post-Cold War low under the previous U.S. administration, whose plans to build missile defense sites in eastern Europe and bring ex-Soviet republics into NATO angered Moscow.

Medvedev's first meeting with Obama next month will set the tone for talks over a new arms control treaty and other major disputes and Russia is signaling that it will be a tough negotiating partner.

"U.S. aspirations have been aimed at getting access to raw materials, energy and other resources" of ex-Soviet nations, Serdyukov told military officers. "Active support was given to the processes aimed at pushing Russia out of the sphere of its traditional interests."

Moscow has fiercely opposed plans to put Ukraine and Georgia on track to NATO membership. Russian officials also hope the Obama administration will cancel plans to deploy missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. Moscow has raised the stakes by threatening to deploy missiles next to Poland if the U.S. goes ahead with the missile shield.

Russia is also deeply wary of any U.S. presence in oil- and gas-rich Central Asia, which Moscow considers its historic sphere of influence.

Windfall oil wealth over the last decade allowed the Kremlin to nearly quadruple defense spending, start upgrading aging arsenals and press efforts to revive the nation's clout and prestige. Still, military modernization has gone slowly and glaring weaknesses, such as shortages of precision "smart" weapons and modern communications gear, were highlighted during Russia's war with Georgia in August.

The financial crisis has raised more doubts about meeting modernization goals, something Medvedev sought to dispel Tuesday.

"Let me mention the top priorities. The main one is a qualitative increase in the troops readiness, primarily of strategic nuclear forces. They must guarantee the fulfillment of all tasks of ensuring Russia's security," Medvedev said.

He also repeated past pledges, made by his predecessor Vladimir Putin, that Russia's armed forces would be equipped with modern equipment.

"In the past year, we have transformed a whole range of combat units and formations by providing them with modern equipment, and in 2011 we will begin the large-scale rearmament of the army and navy," he said.

Military officials say about 25 percent of the 1.5 trillion rubles ($43 billion) budgeted for weapons purchases this year will be spent on upgrading the aging, Soviet-era nuclear force.

The military has said more than 10 new intercontinental ballistic missiles will go into service by year's end ? a much faster pace of deployment than in previous years. It also intends to put the Bulava missile into service by January, despite several high-profile failures.

Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, the chief of the Strategic Missile Forces, said the first three RS-24, multi-warhead ballistic missiles will be deployed after Dec. 5 when the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, expires, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported Tuesday.

The new missile, which Solovtsov said would carry "at least four" nuclear warheads, would violate the landmark treaty.

Russian and U.S. officials are gearing up for negotiations on a successor pact to START, though no date talks have been announced. Observers expect the talks to be very difficult.

[Ryan Ruck]

Medvedev Calls to Rearm Russian Military as Defense Minister Attacks U.S.

Russian President Medvedev ordered a major military rearmament Tuesday, warning that his country faced the risk of "significant conflict."

In a stark assessment, Medvedev said that NATO was still intent on expanding closer to Russia's borders and told military chiefs to raise the combat readiness of the country's armed forces.

Russia's Defense Minister also lashed out at the United States, accusing it of plotting to take control of energy and mineral resources in states bordering Russia.

Medvedev called for modernization of Russia's nuclear forces and said that "large-scale rearmament" of the army and navy would commence in 2011.

"Analysis of the military-political situation in the world shows that serious conflict potential remains in some regions.... attempts to expand the military infrastructure of NATO near the borders of our country are continuing," he told Defense Ministry officials.

"The primary task is to increase the combat readiness of our forces, first of all our strategic nuclear forces. They must be able to fulfill all tasks necessary to ensure Russia's security."

The hawkish tone of the remarks came despite recent improvements in relations between Russia and NATO, and attempts by President Obama to ease tensions with the United States over missile defense in eastern Europe that built up under his predecessor George W. Bush. They also coincided with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's most progressive speech yet on nuclear disarmament, in which he called for a "forward plan" to be agreed by nuclear and non-nuclear states.

Anatoly Serdyukov, the Defense Minister, told the same meeting that the U.S. was attempting to gain control of oil and gas resources in Russia's former Soviet neighbors in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Serdyukov warned that "the likelihood of armed conflicts and their potential danger for our state are rising" as America sought to expand its influence around Russia's borders and push Moscow out."

[Cutaway]

That would be some job, but will take time though.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia To Boost Naval Presence: Medvedev

Russia is to build up its navy over the coming decade, President Dmitry Medvedev announced on Monday, as he visited a Russian guided missile cruiser in Singapore.

Speaking to sailors on board the Russian Pacific Fleet's Varyag, Medvedev said around half of Russia's military hardware would have to be renewed by 2020.

"Yes, an expansion of our naval presence is planned. Russia can only consider itself a full naval power if it has a full fleet that carries out training and combat tasks," he said, according to official Russian news agencies.

The Varyag, built in the 1980s under the Soviet Union, is on a week-long port call in Singapore in what Russian officials have described as further proof of the Russian navy's ability to deal with piracy in the region.

It left its home port of Vladivostok earlier this month for the call in Singapore. Medvedev's visit to the ship rounded off his trip to the island, the first ever by a Russian president.

Russia is carrying out a far-reaching reform of its armed forces -- vehemently opposed in some quarters of the military -- in a bid to make its forces more suited to the demands of modern warfare.

The government is hoping that much of its ageing Soviet-era military hardware will be renewed.

By 2020 the main branches of the armed forces "must be rearmed by 30-50 percent and in some -- I will not specify -- 80-90 percent", Medvedev said.

"The task must be fulfilled otherwise we will be unable to say that we have an effective army and navy," he said, describing the current situation with procurement as "not ideal" but better than in the 1990s.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian Defence Funding At 'Unprecedented' Level: Putin

Nov 18, 2009

Russia has provided an "unprecedented" 970 billion roubles (22.6 billion euros, 33.8 billion dollars) to its defence industry this year, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.

State support for the sector had helped it grow by 3.8 percent since the start of the year despite the economic downturn, Putin said in comments reported by Russian news agencies.

"During the recession we have allocated enough money to the military-industrial sector, which is a priority for government support. In 2009 funding reached an unprecedented level for our country: almost 970 billion roubles," Putin said.

State aid had taken the form of reduced-rate loans and guarantees as well as direct subsidies, he said.

While Russian industry generally had declined during the global financial crisis, he said, the defence sector had remained buoyant.

Speaking on a visit to the town of Kolomna, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) south east of Moscow and home to one of Russia's main missile production sites, Putin warned it was vital the sector modernised.

"Under our plan, the proportion of modern weapons and technology used by the army must radically increase between now and 2020," he said.

"We need modern, forward-looking equipment," he said.

On November 12 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the armed forces would get new missiles and nuclear submarines from 2010.

[Ryan Ruck]

=35677&tx_ttnews[backPid]=7&cHash=e48e898db8]The Russian Navy Recalibrates its Oceanic Ambitions

October 30, 2009

In early October, the Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Vladimir Popovkin announced the decision to take two heavy nuclear-powered missile cruisers (TAKR) out of conservation and restore them to the active fleet. This decision coming just one year after the Petr Velikii (Peter the Great), the fourth ship of its class and the only one then in service, set out on a long-range cruise that took it from Severomorsk, the home port of the Northern Fleet to the Mediterranean, Caribbean, South Atlantic, and the Indian Oceans. On this voyage, which lasted from September 22, 2008, to March 10, 2009, the Petr Velikii exercised naval presence –taking part in naval maneuvers with friendly powers (Venezuela and India), making port calls and even engaging in antipiracy operations off the coast of Somalia. The arrival of the Petr Velikii at the port of La Guaira, Venezuela, in late November coincided with the state visit by President Dmitry Medvedev shortly afterwards (Interfax, October 2).

This voyage announced the reappearance of Russian naval power on a global scale. Commissioned in 1996 in time for the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy, Petr Velikii had a sad fate over the next few years. In August 2000, she took part in the naval exercise of the Northern Fleet that led to the explosion and sinking of the nuclear missile-attack submarine Kursk. In March 2004, Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov the then Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Russian Navy, declared her unseaworthy because of engineering problems. The ship went into dry-dock for repairs and rejoined the Northern Fleet in August 2004. In 2008-2009, she became the symbol of Russia's naval presence. She and her sister ships are the largest, nuclear-powered non-carrier surface warships in the world and are often classified by the archaic term "battle cruisers."

The navy judged the cruise to be such a success that the defense ministry unveiled plans to modernize and re-commission two other vessels from this class: Admiral Lazarev and Admiral Nakhimov. The fourth ship in this class, Admiral Ushakov (originally the Kirov, which was the first built in the 1970's at the Baltic shipyards in Leningrad) has remained at Severodvinsk since 1999 undergoing modernization and may also rejoin the fleet. Deputy Minister Popovkin spoke of deploying the re-commissioned heavy, nuclear-powered, missile cruisers to the east and west to protect Russian maritime commerce.

Andrei Kokoshin, the former First Deputy Minister of Defense, sees a different potential in these ships once they have been modernized. In an interview with Sergei Viktorov for Krasnaya Zvezda, Kokoshin called the measure "necessary, timely, and extremely important." He made specific reference to the long-range cruise of the Petr Velikii in demonstrating the military capability and political-military influence of such ships in various regions of the globe (Krasnaya Zvezda, October 3). When originally built, the TAKRs were intended to be the flagships for Russian task forces conducting anti-carrier operations during the Cold War. In the 1990's Kokoshin supported the funding for the completion of the Petr Velikii under very difficult financial and material conditions. The project kept intact key components of the naval ship building capacity in the St. Petersburg area at a time when the Ukrainian shipyards were in decline and those linked to the Northern and Pacific Fleets were overburdened with the decommissioning of nuclear submarines. Preserving this not only maintained the Baltic ship-building base, but it also provided expertise in terms of skilled workers, naval engineers, and architects for the revival of the shipyards of the Northern Fleet.

Under the new financial conditions, Kokoshin now envisions the modernized TAKR's as "strike cruisers" with super-structures of new materials, modern anti-ship missiles, and "Aegis-quality" anti-aircraft and missile defense systems as well as incorporating the latest Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) and electronic warfare capabilities. Assigned to the Northern and Pacific Fleets, these vessels will be key elements in the restoration of the strategic bastion concept in the Arctic and Sea of Okhotsk, where the Russian navy can protect its nuclear deterrent forces operating on Russian SSBN's. Similarly, these vessels and their support ships represent "a free naval force to protect Russian national interests in the world's oceans. Kokoshin particularly highlighted the need for two such large surface combatants in the Asia-Pacific region, where they could contribute to an enhanced political-psychological atmosphere in the Russian Far East and permit a greater naval presence in that region and in the Indian Ocean (Krasnaya Zvezda, October 3).

However, the original TAKR's were intended to be flagships and command and control platforms for carrier battle groups. And currently, Russia has only one carrier –Admiral Kuznetsov– which operates with the Northern Fleet. Last year, the C-in-C of the Russian Navy Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky outlined a plan to create six such carrier battle groups; three with the Northern Fleet and three with the Pacific Fleet (Interfax, July 27, 2008).

Nonetheless, no shipyards have started the construction of such ships. The Russians are, however, moving forward with the long-delayed conversion of the former Kiev-class heavy aircraft-carrying ship Admiral Gorshkov for the Indian Navy as the INS Vikramaditya. The Vikramaditya will be a radically different ship from the original Kiev class, with her forward armaments removed and replaced by a ski-jump bow, and arresting gear on the rear of its angled deck; which will allow it to conduct short-take-off but arrested recovery (STOBAR) operations. Modernization measures will include new European designed electronic systems and enhanced habitability for the crew. This work is being done at Severodvinsk, which will permit this shipyard to develop the necessary industrial base to support future carrier construction. Last month, test pilots conducted carrier operations off the Admiral Kuznetsov, practicing take-offs and landings with the MiG-29K/KUB, which were ordered by the Indian defense ministry for the Vikramaditya. Commenting on the successful tests, Mikhail Pogosian the CEO of the MiG Corporation said that the Russian defense ministry would find the aircraft attractive because of its advanced avionics, including the Zuk-ME phase-array radar (Izvestiya, October 1).

These developments, taken together, suggest that Russia's commitment to an oceanic navy built around the Northern and Pacific Fleets is real, and it is making progress along non-traditional lines.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia's Black Sea Fleet To Receive New Frigates, Subs By 2015

2/5/2010

Russia's Black Sea Fleet based in Ukraine's Crimea will receive new frigate-type vessels and diesel-powered submarines by 2015, a top naval officer said Friday.

The unnamed admiral gave his reaction to RIA Novosti on some media reports that had earlier said at least two corvettes and three subs would join the Black Sea Fleet within the next five years.

"In line with the approved shipbuilding program and armaments program until 2015, the Black Sea Fleet is to receive two frigates and three diesel submarines," the admiral said, stressing that he indeed meant frigates, which are capable of traveling much longer distances than corvettes.

"We need to realize that the Black Sea Fleet's responsibility zone is the entire Mediterranean and not only the Black Sea. Besides, Russia's Navy... faces the task of fighting piracy off the Horn of Africa," he said, adding that only frigates are capable of fulfilling this task.

The Russian Navy has maintained a permanent presence off the Horn of Africa, with warships operating on a rotation basis. Russia joined international anti-piracy efforts off the Somali coast in October 2008. Pirates based in Somalia, which has been without an effective government since 1991, hijacked more than 35 vessels in 2009, and have already seized two this year.

The Black Sea Fleet uses a range of naval facilities in the Crimea, including a base in Sevastopol, as part of a 1997 lease agreement valid until 2017. Outgoing Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has led calls for Russia to pack up and pull out of Ukraine when the lease expires, although Russia hopes to extend it.

Relations between Moscow and Kiev have deteriorated markedly during Yushchenko's presidency. Russian leaders have said they hope to establish constructive cooperation with the new Ukrainian president, ruling out any rapprochement with Yushchenko.

[Ryan Ruck]

Moscow Military District Clears All Obsolete Weapons

May 01, 2010

All obsolete weaponry in Moscow Military District has been removed as part of Russia's transition to a ‘new-look’ Armed Forces, according to the district commander.

Col. Gen. Valery Gerasimov told Ekho Moskvy radio that all old weapons and military equipment was discarded and the bases under his command now had only modern military equipment.

"In the course of the transition to a new look, we got rid of all the old equipment at bases and in factories," Ria Novosti quoted him as saying.

"The materiel was kept at the bases of the military (district) and declared ready for operational use."

"In fact, as it turned out, this was not true," Gerasimov said, adding that some of the military hardware had been at the bases for 20 or 30 years without moving.

"We have checked it all and left the army with only modern weaponry, while all the junk has been cleared away," the commander said.

"The troops are left with modern equipment, such as T-90 tanks, BMP-3 (armored personnel carriers) and advanced artillery systems.

President Dmitry Medvedev, the commander in chief of the Russian Armed Forces, had earlier said that obsolete equipment was one of the three main problems facing the military. The military would be completely rearmed by 2020, he added.

[Ryan Ruck]

Putin Praises New Kalashnikov Assault Rifle

May 26, 2010

State tests of a new model of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, or AK, will be held in Russia next year, media reports said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Russian security forces have already signaled their readiness to purchase the sophisticated AK-200, which, experts said, will be based on the AK-74 version.

On Tuesday, the AK-200’s advanced characteristics were appreciated by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who visited the Izmash mechanical plant in the Russian Urals city of Izhevsk, where the legendary Kalashnikovs are currently assembled. Alexander Baditsa, an Izhmash spokesman, explains:

"The AK-200 is designed to contribute to a full-blown modernization of the Russian Armed Forces. Significantly, the new model is based on the AK-74, internationally known for its reliability and ease of use , the AK-200’s sophisticated design is fully in tune with new demands for waging modern warfare. The new Kalashnikov differs in weight and the magazine capacity, citing a 60-cartridge magazine the AK-200 is equipped with. It is safe to assume that the new Kalashnikov‘s characteristics are on a par with those of assault rifles currently used by NATO troops."

The world’s most widely used assault rifle, the Kalashnikov remains the weapon of choice for more than 20 countries, experts say. It is even featured on the coat-of-arms of four countries, they add, citing at least 70 million Kalashnikov assault rifles produced across the globe in the past. Created by noted Soviet inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1947, the AK assault rifle has since turned into what specialists called the best example of reliable and fool-proof kind of small arms in the world.

[Ryan Ruck]

YouTube: Putin Praises New Kalashnikov AK-200 Assault Rifle

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia's Military Is Hoping A National Rearmament Programme Will Start Soon

7/19/2010

Russia's air force and aviation industry is waiting to see what the much-heralded national rearmament programme promised by President Medvedev will yield in terms of firm aircraft orders.

After years of shrinking inventories and straitened budgets, there are hopes that new equipment will at last start to find its way to units. Announcements on new equipment are expected later this year.

There have been strong indications that heavy transport aircraft in the form of the Antonov An-124 and latest versions of the Ilyushin Il-76 will be among the early types to see new orders.

However, some of the keenest interest inside and outside Russia will be focused on the future of Sukhoi's fifth-generation PAK FA advanced tactical frontline fighter.

Alexey Fedorov, chairman of United Aircraft, the umbrella organisation that includes Sukhoi's military operations, says that the PAK FA remains in "preliminary flight test", confirming its predicted performance. So far, "the aircraft behaves as we expected".

Two further aircraft are due to join the flight-test programme to concentrate on onboard systems, including air-launched weaponry, with operational service due between 2015 and 2016.

The Russian air force requirement for the PAK FA is 250-300 aircraft, with India requiring roughly the same number under its Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft programme, says Fedorov.

This aircraft would be a derivative of the PAK FA and "we are in negotiations with the Indian air force on specifications".

He declines to reveal further details, other than that service entry with India would probably be one to two years after the Russian air force receives its first examples.

India also holds the key to the continuation of another Russian design. The RSK MiG-35, the latest variant of the MiG-29 family, is one of six contenders squaring up for the biggest current prize in international fighter contracts, New Delhi's Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft contest for 126 aircraft.

India, whose air force and navy operate the MiG-29, would, until recently, have been considered to have a natural inclination towards Russian equipment.

However, the burgeoning Asian power has shown a new willingness in recent years to buy from the USA, in the form of Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules transports.

Whether this amity will read across to the fighter contest is a moot point and Indo-Russian co-operation on the planned Ilyushin Il-214 multi-role transport aircraft, a twinjet type that would replace India's large fleet of Antonov An-32s, shows that the two nations retain closer than normal links in the technological and defence collaboration field.

If the MiG-35 does not land the Indian MMRCA contract, however, then the end of the road for the aircraft could be in sight.

The Sukhoi Su-30 family, meanwhile, has a more assured future, with India planning to double the size of its fleet to 230 aircraft by 2015, while Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport plans to offer additional Su-30s to meet a new Royal Malaysian Air Force fighter requirement. The service already has 18 of the type.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported in April that Rosoboronexport had concluded deals for 16 Su-30MKI(A)s with Algeria and for six Su-30MK2s with Uganda.

In the advanced trainer sector, Irkut president Oleg Demchenko holds out great hopes for the Yakovlev Yak-130 advanced jet trainer. In notable contrast to his cautious predictions on the civil side with the planned MS-21 airliner, he says he is genuinely optimistic the Yakovlev aircraft can take 50% of a market estimated at 2,500 aircraft.

The aircraft was designed as a successor to the Aero Vodochody L-29 and L-39, both of which remain in extensive service in Russia and overseas.

Reports of the numbers of Yak-130s sold have varied over the past couple of years, but according to Demchenko, the Russian air force has signed up for 72 out of a requirement for 250. The first four have been delivered and took part in this year's 9 May Victory Day flypast over Red Square and another eight are due to be delivered this year.

Algeria has ordered 16 (12 to be delivered this year) and Libya six (three due for delivery this year). Demchenko says that a major export order, for around 30, is expected before the end of the year.

Unsurprisingly, given the initial extensive design co-operation between Yakovlev and Aermacchi on the aircraft, he rates the Italian company's M-346 Master as a competitor, but believes several other types, both established and new, are less of a threat.

The BAE Systems Hawk is reaching the end of its production life, he argues, while Korea Aerospace Industries' supersonic T-50 Golden Eagle will appeal to a limited number of nations.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia Needs More Flying Tankers For Its Air Force

7/8/2010

The inter-theater redeployment of aircraft during Vostok-2010 was one of the key events of the strategic war games, which end today. The Su-24 Fencer and Su-34 Fullback tactical bombers used midair refueling to fly to the Russian Far East.

In-flight refueling, routinely used by the world's leading powers, including the United States and NATO countries, allows for the quick build-up of air power in a given zone of conflict.

To efficiently implement that maneuver, a country should have a sufficient number of flying tankers, combat aircraft equipped for midair refueling, transport planes to carry auxiliary personnel and cargo, and crews capable of fulfilling such missions.

None of these elements are sufficient in Russia.

The Il-78 (Il-78M) Midas, based on the Il-76 military transport plane, is Russia's only flying tanker. Russia has 19 such planes equipped for midair refueling of the Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers and the A-50 Mainstay early warning and control planes. This is certainly not enough.

The U.S. Air Force has 250 KC-10 Extender and KC-135 Stratotanker air-to-air tanker aircraft and there are more in-flight refueling planes in the National Guard and in reserve. This allows the United States to project its military might by quickly redeploying large Air Force units from one theater of operations to another.

Russia also lacks aircraft capable of being refueled in midair. For example, the Su-27 Flanker and the MiG-29 Fulcrum multipurpose combat planes are not equipped for this, mostly because in the Soviet era there were enough military airfields with a large number of aircraft in all the strategic locations.

Modern Russia cannot keep so many planes at so many airfields, which is why it is becoming critically important to equip fighter planes for midair refueling. All new and all modernized planes have such equipment, and some tactical aircraft can be used as flying tankers. In particular, the Su-24 Fencer has outboard fuel tanks and a refueling system.

But this is not a good solution as these planes usually have a shorter range and cannot be used as bombers, which would undermine a bomber squadron's potential.

The Tu-22M3 Backfire-C long-range bomber has no refueling equipment for political reasons: if it had a flight refueling probe, this would have made it an intercontinental plane and hence subject to START reductions.

Equipping a bomber with midair refueling equipment is fairly simple.

But the biggest problem concerns the crew. The most responsible missions in Russia are still assigned to crews led by senior officers (majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels) who have considerable practical experience. The ability of other pilots to fulfill such missions is not assured.

Another problem concerns transport planes, something the Air Force needs to support distant operations that involve the redeployment of combat planes. Russia has one of the world's largest fleets of transport aircraft, but they are still not enough given the country's huge territory and the need to transport a large amount of military cargo.

These problems can only be resolved comprehensively; a simple supply of flight refueling probes will not do. The country's leadership and military should approve the production of refueling planes and the training of the necessary crews for the Air Force. Taken together, this should increase the number of planes capable of long-range missions.

At the same time, the Il-78 Midas is too big for refueling tactical aircraft, which need a smaller, cheaper plane, possibly based on the civilian Tu-204 medium-range airliner. A few dozen such planes in the Air Force would dramatically improve its position.

Besides, the purchase of large batches of flying tankers based on the Tu-204 would save the airliner, which is breathing its last breaths.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia Plans To Upgrade 3 Nuclear-Powered Cruisers By 2020

7/25/2010


The nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov

Russia will upgrade and put on active duty three mothballed Soviet-era nuclear-powered missile cruisers by 2020, a high-ranking Navy official told RIA Novosti on Saturday.

Russia built four Kirov class nuclear-powered cruisers in 1974-1998. One of them, the Pyotr Veliky, is in active service as the flagship of the Northern Fleet.

"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 that their equipment and weapons will be fully modernized.

The Kirov class heavy cruisers are second in size only to aircraft carriers, and are similar in size to a World War I battleship.

The Admiral Ushakov (former Kirov) was commissioned in 1980 and suffered a reactor accident in 1990 while serving in the Mediterranean Sea. Repairs reportedly have never been carried out, due to lack of funds and the ensuing collapse the Soviet Union.

The Admiral Lazarev (former Frunze) was commissioned in 1984 and mothballed in 1998.

The Admiral Nakhimov (former Kalinin) was commissioned in 1988 and mothballed in 1999. The ship has been reportedly undergoing a major overhaul at the Severodvinsk Shipyard since 2005.

The Kirov class main weapons include 20 SS-N-19 Shipwreck missiles, designed to engage large surface targets, and air defense is provided by 12 SA-N-6 Grumble launchers with 96 missiles and 2 SA-N-4 Gecko with 40 missiles.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia To Hold Competition To Choose New Navy Corvette – Paper

August 23, 2010

The Russian Defense Ministry will hold a competition in September to select a new corvette for the Navy to replace the Project 20380 class, a business daily said on Monday, citing sources in the shipbuilding industry.

The competition should produce a mobile, fast-moving ship with a helicopter hangar and a distinct modular layout for weapons, Kommersant said.

The Project 20380 corvette is deployed to destroy enemy surface ships, submarines and aircraft, and to provide naval gunfire support for beach landings. It uses stealth technology to reduce the ship's secondary radar signature, as well as its acoustic, infrared, magnetic and visual signatures.

Five design centers are likely to take part in the competition, the paper said. Three belong to Russia's United Shipbuilding Coorperation: Zelenodolsk, Severnaya Verf and Almaz. A fourth unnamed foreign shipyard, which specializes in small civilian vessels, is a likely participant, the paper said.

The first Project 20380 corvette, the Steregushchy, entered service with Russia's Baltic Fleet in October 2008. The second, the Soobrazitelny, was launched on March 31, and two other ships of the same series, the Boyky and the Stoyky, are under construction.

The Russian Navy needs around 50 Project 20380 vessels to ensure the protection of its coastal waters, as well as its oil and gas transportation routes, especially in the Black and the Baltic seas.

However, a shipbuilding industry source told Kommersant that the Project 20180 ship "does not meet modern requirements" and a new class is therefore required.

If the competition in September is successful, the approved project "will determine the shape of surface shipbuilding for the next 15 years", the source told Kommersant.

[cylon47]

we are all doomed to a horrible fate. why doesn't the us or un step in