The Rise of the Second Soviet Empire

[vector7]

2 years old...recent comments relevant.

What scares NATO, Russia

Uploaded on Sep 4, 2011

In the next 10 years, the government will spend 22 trillion. rubles for re Russian armed forces.

Under the State Armaments Program for 2011-2020. for the Army planned to buy:

- 1000 helicopters
- 600 combat aircraft
- 100 warships
- A new generation of intercontinental missiles
- Modern air defense system

By 2020, the fleet of military equipment upgraded by 70%.



YuoTube 1 week ago
This is an old video .. I will not tell others about the industry, but I live in a town where produce "Northwind" ... All we have good ... My number one city in the world from such, it is not the pathos, it's true ... Nowhere is there such technologies, capacities and development in the world. as we have, and the City was built in 1937 specifically for this. Never voted for Putin, but now, he does a lot for the defense and voennyh.Hochetsya that we finally became proud of what we, Russian,


Mila Svistoplyasova 3 days ago
We Russians too long Chmarov , wanted us ashamed of my country , but the people of Russia is patient , but not forever .... More and more people see, the more I want to be proud lo Motherland!

[American Patriot]

Here you go, you damned Putin lovers. Coming to an America Near You.... with Obama.

Russian protester found guilty and sent for forced psychiatric treatment

Published October 08, 2013Associated Press



MOSCOW – A Russian man who participated in an anti-Kremlin protest has been convicted of "calling for mass riots" and sent for forced psychiatric treatment.


Mikhail Kosenko was one of 28 people arrested after clashes broke out between demonstrators and police at a protest on May, 6, 2012, the eve of President Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a third term.


The prosecution claimed that Kosenko used violence against policemen, but said a psychiatric examination found he "wasn't able to realize the public danger of his actions" due to a "chronic mental disorder."


Human rights activists assailed Tuesday's ruling, describing it as the return of the Soviet practice of using punitive psychiatry against dissidents.


After returning to the presidency last year, Putin has cracked down on street protests and other demonstrations of dissent.

[Avvakum]

Here you go, you damned Putin lovers. Coming to an America Near You.... with Obama.

Russian protester found guilty and sent for forced psychiatric treatment

Published October 08, 2013Associated Press



MOSCOW – A Russian man who participated in an anti-Kremlin protest has been convicted of "calling for mass riots" and sent for forced psychiatric treatment.


Mikhail Kosenko was one of 28 people arrested after clashes broke out between demonstrators and police at a protest on May, 6, 2012, the eve of President Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a third term.


The prosecution claimed that Kosenko used violence against policemen, but said a psychiatric examination found he "wasn't able to realize the public danger of his actions" due to a "chronic mental disorder."


Human rights activists assailed Tuesday's ruling, describing it as the return of the Soviet practice of using punitive psychiatry against dissidents.


After returning to the presidency last year, Putin has cracked down on street protests and other demonstrations of dissent.

Ah, the return of the Psychiatric Prisons, so well described by Alexander Solszhenitsyn. Criticism of the Regime is obviously a mental illness, just as it was in the openly Communist days.

[American Patriot]

Russian Special Forces to Be Trained for Arctic Combat

Posted on October 16, 2013 by newsworldrussia

Russian army special forces units have had their first training sessions in Arctic warfare, under plans to boost the country’s military presence in the region, a Western Military District spokesman said Monday.

According to Col. Oleg Kochetkov, Russian special forces reconnaissance units have carried out a number of training missions on the Kola Peninsula under an experimental program simulating combat in the polar regions’ mountainous terrain.

“Combat training missions involving elements of mountaineering in the conditions of the extreme north are a new experience for reconnaissance units that normally train in the mountains in southern Russia,” Kochetkov said.

[American Patriot]

Russian Tu-160 Strategic Bombers Land in Venezuela

Posted by aurelius77 on October 29, 2013

MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) – Two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers on Monday flew from an airbase in southwestern Russia and landed in Venezuela, the Russian Defense Ministry said.


The nuclear-capable bombers, which took off from the Engels airbase in the Volga region, “flew over the Caribbean, the eastern Pacific and along the southwestern coast of the North American continent, and landed at Maiquetia airfield in Venezuela,” the ministry said in a statement.


According to the Russian ministry, the bombers covered a distance of more than 10,000 kilometers (over 6,200 miles) during a 13-hour non-stop flight. Two NATO F-16 fighter jets were scrambled from Bodo airbase to monitor their flight near the Norwegian airspace.


…The Tu-160 Blackjack is a supersonic, variable-geometry heavy bomber, designed to strike strategic targets with nuclear and conventional weapons deep in continental theatres of operation.

Full article: Russian Tu-160 Strategic Bombers Land in Venezuela (Ria Novosti)

[vector7]

MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) – Two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers on Monday flew from an airbase in southwestern Russia and landed in Venezuela, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The nuclear-capable bombers, which took off from the Engels airbase in the Volga region, “flew over the Caribbean, the eastern Pacific and along the southwestern coast of the North American continent, and landed at Maiquetia airfield in Venezuela,” the ministry said in a statement.

Bombing flight plans that goes around the US and lands in Venezuela, and Hugo is no longer there so this isn't political.

They are planning and practicing tactical bombing runs and have the working logistics to pull it off.

FORWARD POSITIONING

[American Patriot]

Vector.... you voiced what I was thinking. "No longer political, forward positioning" exactly.

[vector7]

Similar disturbing dots...

Companion Thread:

• Russia Plans AK-47 Ammo Factory In Cuba

Two Words: "Forward Positioning"

Russia finalize plans to integrate Cuba and Venezuela into Russian Strategic Forces

Russian Missiles Arrive in Venezuela

Iran Is Stockpiling Shahab 3 Missiles in Venezuela to Reach U.S.

Russia Says It'll Rebuild Ties With Old Ally Cuba

[vector7]

Putin Checks Readiness of Russia’s Nuclear Deterrent


Vladimir Putin overseeing the previous snap check in July 2013
© RIA Novosti. Alexei Nikolski

18:29 30/10/2013
Originally published at 17:57, Updated Throughout the Day

Tags: snap check, Voyevoda, Russian Army, Topol-M, Russian Strategic Missile Forces (SMF), Russian Armed Forces, Sergei Shoigu, Vladimir Putin, Plesetsk, Russia
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Multimedia

• The Topol mobile intercontinental ballistic missile
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• Topol-M ballistic missile
• R-36M2 Voyevoda ICBM
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• The S-300P surface-to-air missile system
• The Pantsyr-S1 mobile short-range gun and missile air defense system

MOSCOW, October 30 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw a snap check Wednesday of Russia’s nuclear deterrent, aerospace defenses and strategic aviation.

“The exercise involved launches of ballistic missiles, drills by air defense and missile defense units,” Kremlin press spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that all practice targets had been destroyed.

The Defense Ministry has confirmed the launches of two silo-based and sea-based ballistic missiles apiece as part of the snap check drills.

“Missile Forces conducted launches of a RS-12M Topol ballistic missile from the Plesetsk space center and a RS-20V Voyevoda ballistic missile from the Dombarovsky missile site [in central Russia],” the ministry said in a statement.

“Both missiles hit the designated targets at the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula,” the statement said.

The Defense Ministry said in a separate statement that Russian strategic submarines – the Delta IV-class Bryansk from the Northern Fleet and the Delta III-class Svyatoy Georgy Pobedonosets from the Pacific Fleet – launched ballistic missiles while submerged in the Barents and the Okhotsk seas.

The ministry said the drills confirmed high degree of readiness of the Russian nuclear deterrent and the efficiency of all tiers of the combat control structure.

In addition, the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces carried out live-firing exercises at the Kapustin Yar testing range in southern Russia. The exercises involved S-300 Favorit, S-400 Triumf and Pantsir-S air defense systems.

“The ADF units destroyed over 15 drones simulating aircraft and ballistic missiles flying at various altitudes and speeds in a massive strike [against Russian air defenses],” the Defense Ministry said.

The drills were the latest in a series of surprise combat-readiness checks since January and follows a major shake-up at the top of the country’s military establishment, tarnished by persistent evidence of rampant corruption.

The previous snap check, in July, was the largest in the post-Soviet period and involved some 160,000 servicemen, about 1,000 tanks and armored vehicles, 130 aircraft and 70 warships from the far-eastern and central military districts.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who took the post in November 2012, has said snap inspections of combat readiness will be conducted regularly and will involve all branches of the Russian Armed Forces.

Updates with statement on air and missile defense drills at the Kapustin Yar testing range.

[American Patriot]

What are they doing that for?

They are getting ready for something, something big.

Planning nuclear attacks against a fake enemy.... sure we do the same thing, but certainly not with any regularity right? Nope.

We do training exercises just like they do. However, we have not had a nuclear roll out, check out, that I can remember since about the the 1980s (Busy Prairie for instance) - on which I attended several of those exercises....

Full tilt nuclear systems, security, B52s, you name it....

[vector7]

Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers complete Venezuela and Nicaragua flight

1 November 2013, 01:29

Photo: RIA Novosti

Under the framework of the Long-Range Aviation and Operational Training programs of the Russian Air Force, two supersonic Tu-160 strategic bombers completed a flight from the Maiquetia Airfield in Venezuela to the Managua airfield in Nicaragua.

An official spokesperson of the Russian Defence Ministry said the two aircraft; "flew over the neutral waters of the Caribbean Sea, after which they entered the air space of the Republic of Nicaragua and made a routine landing".

During the transit mission, the aircraft covered a distance of more than 2,500 kilometers with a flight time of approximately three hours.

All flights by the Russian Air Force are made strictly in line with international rules governing the use of air space, the official said.

The missile-carrying Tu-160 aircraft began their mission from the Engels airbase in the Saratov Region and flew over the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean, then along the south-western coast of North America and made their first landing at Maiquetia airfield in Nicaragua with the 13-hour nonstop flight from Russia, covering a distance of 10,000 km.

When flying over the territory of Norway, the aircraft were escorted by two Norwegian F-16 fighter jets out of the Norwegian Bodo air-force base.

At Maiquetia airfied, the crews of the aircraft were greeted on behalf of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the Republic's Defense Minister Carmen Melendez.

Voice of Russia, TASS

Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_1...a-flight-8263/

[vector7]

The missiles went on alert, Russian nuclear forces stood the test

Text: Yuri Gavrilov
01.11.2013 , 00:50

Facebook Google+ Twitter VKontakte SsylkaOpublikovat blog version pechatiVersiya Print

Video: The strategic nuclear forces of Russia have raised the alarm in the process of checking Staff



Today, the chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov at the Central Command Post heard via video reports of the generals and admirals who led troops and missile launches during surprise inspections, arranged by the President of our nuclear triad.

It lifts the alarm of the Russian army will not get used - only in this , her readiness and mobility were assessed six times.

However, the signals received unexpectedly on Wednesday duty crews and crews of strategic deterrence forces and troops of air and space defense are on this list alone. First of all, the fighting positions , perhaps for the first time brought nuclear submarines , bombers and missile systems SRF. Then the team went to the real starts. Previously, these tasks land, air and sea " strategists " have decided , as a rule , independently.

Photo: Victor Pogontsev / WP Reservists will call in the army for training
Photo: Olesya Kurpyaeva / WP Military extend storage in the ranks
How to serve military equipment , soldiers now tell pocketbook . Photo by Vitaly Bezrukikh soldier wrote to a service catalog of rights and responsibilities

New check " Tile" in a single scenario of the General Staff . In addition , it , again for the first time , is actively involved means of controlling air space and outer space , as well as air defense and missile defense systems .

Here's how it looked in practice. In SRF alarm raised on legs duty calculations 13th and 14th missile divisions . Start-up was two, both - at the Kura test site in Kamchatka. The intercontinental ballistic missile RS-20V " Governor " kicked out of the mine Dombarovsky position area in East Orenburg . A RS-12M "Topol" launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome . Warheads traveled more than 6,000 kilometers and formed what is called the bull's-eye .

At the same time learning a nuclear strike on Kure struck from the Barents Sea strategic submarine "Bryansk" . Although her crew shot from underwater position and the large - more than 5.5 thousand kilometers of range, intercontinental ballistic missile was successful. So he was at the Pacific submarine sailors "St. George the Victorious ," which from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and also their underwater position accurately target was set on the northern range Siskin . In both cases, the marine landfills been recorded telemetry data : the Northern Fleet has provided its crew of a large anti-submarine ship "North " and in TOFe - the sailors command-measuring complex "Marshal Krylov ."

In the long-range aviation solve the problem of sudden check six crews of Tu- 90ms from the airbase Engels (Saratov region). And in the sky mostly acted young pilots and navigators , which, however , did not affect the outcome of the battle . After going in pairs by separate routes in the northern latitudes , the crews have successfully completed three launches of cruise missiles at targets on the range Telemba .


Photo: Alexei Nikolsky / RIA Novosti www.ria.ru

Defense established a prize for the best works of the Armed Forces

And thousands of miles away from home new areas of operations have mastered the two pilots of the Tu - 160. According to the commander of long-range aviation Zhikhareva Anatolia , on Wednesday they flew from the airport Maiquetia (Venezuela ) in the Nicaraguan capital, Managua. And by the way almost three hours circled over neutral waters of the Caribbean Sea. So on the map of our air combat patrol "strategy" , new routes .

As for the participation of troops in a surprise inspection of air and space defense , they were not as extras. For example, the Division of complexes " Iskander -M" of the Southern Military District after the transfer at the Kapustin Yar launch performed tactical missiles . A brigade complexes " Tochka-U " of the Central Military District , quickly re-subordination SOUTH , just hit two targets at a distance of more than a hundred kilometers. At the same time on another test site Astrakhan - Ashuluk were conducted firing anti-aircraft missile and gun systems " Shell - C" air defense system S-300 , S-400 and Buk- 2M . A landfill Priosersk successfully worked on multi- purpose complex ballistic missile defense.

Gerasimov said that these results generalize now for a detailed report of the commander in chief . But it is clear that the strategic nuclear forces of the sudden check stand .

------------------------------------------

Ракеты ушли по тревоге
Ядерные силы проверку выдержали


Текст: Юрий Гаврилов

01.11.2013, 00:50

Сегодня начальник Генштаба Валерий Герасимов на Центральном командном пункте заслушал по видеосвязи доклады генералов и адмиралов, которые руководили войсками и ракетными пусками во время внезапной проверки, устроенной президентом страны нашей ядерной триаде.

К подъемам по тревоге Российской армии уже не привыкать - только в этом году ее боеготовность и мобильность оценивали шесть раз. Однако сигналы, неожиданно полученные в среду дежурными расчетами и экипажами стратегических сил сдерживания и Войск воздушно-космической обороны, стоят в этом списке особняком. Прежде всего, на боевые позиции, пожалуй, впервые одновременно вывели атомные подлодки, стратегические бомбардировщики и ракетные комплексы РВСН. Затем прошла команда на реальные пуски. Раньше такие задачи наземные, воздушные и морские "стратеги" решали, как правило, самостоятельно.

• Резервистов будут призывать в армию на тренировки
• Военным продлят срок нахождения в строю
• Для солдат написали служебный справочник о правах и обязанностях

Новая проверка "уложилась" в единый сценарий Генштаба. Кроме того, в ней, опять же впервые, активно задействовали средства контроля за воздушным и космическим пространством, а также системы ПВО и комплексы противоракетной обороны.

Вот как все выглядело на практике. В РВСН тревога подняла на ноги дежурные расчеты 13-й и 14-й ракетных дивизий. Пуска было два, оба - по полигону Кура на Камчатке. Межконтинентальная баллистическая ракета РС-20В "Воевода" стартовала из шахты позиционного района Домбаровский в восточном Оренбуржье. А РС-12М "Тополь" запустили с космодрома Плесецк. Боевые блоки преодолели более 6 тысяч километров и легли, что называется, в яблочко.

В это же время учебный ядерный удар по Куре нанесла из Баренцева моря стратегическая подлодка "Брянск". Хотя ее экипаж стрелял из подводного положения и на большую - свыше 5,5 тысячи километров дальность, пуск межконтинентальной баллистической ракеты был успешным. Таким же он оказался у тихоокеанских моряков атомохода "Святой Георгий Победоносец", которые из акватории Охотского моря и тоже их подводного положения точно накрыли цель на северном полигоне Чижа. В обоих случаях на морских полигонах велась запись телеметрической информации: на Северном флоте ее обеспечил экипаж большого противолодочного корабля "Североморск", а на ТОФе - моряки командно-измерительного комплекса "Маршал Крылов".

В Дальней авиации задачи внезапной проверки решали шесть экипажей самолетов Ту-90МС с авиабазы Энгельс (Саратовская область). Причем в небе главным образом действовали молодые летчики и штурманы, что, впрочем, не повлияло на результаты боевой работы. Пройдя парами по самостоятельным маршрутам в северных широтах, экипажи успешно выполнили пуски трех крылатых ракет по целям на полигоне Телемба.

• Минобороны учредит премию за лучшие произведения о Вооруженных силах

А за тысячи километров от родных мест новые районы полетов освоили пилоты двух стратегических бомбардировщиков Ту-160. По словам командующего Дальней авиации Анатолия Жихарева, в среду они перелетели с аэродрома Майкетия (Венесуэла) в никарагуанскую столицу Манагуа. А по пути почти три часа барражировали над нейтральными водами Карибского моря. Так что на карте боевого патрулирования наших воздушных "стратегов" появились новые маршруты.

Что же касается участия во внезапной проверке Войск воздушно-космической обороны, то они не были в роли статистов. Например, дивизион комплексов "Искандер-М" Южного военного округа после переброски на полигон Капустин Яр выполнил пуск оперативно-тактических ракет. А бригада комплексов "Точка-У" Центрального военного округа, оперативно переподчиненная ЮВО, точно поразила две цели на расстоянии более сотни километров. Одновременно на другом астраханском полигоне - Ашулук были проведены стрельбы из зенитных ракетно-пушечных комплексов "Панцирь-С", систем ПВО С-300, С-400 и Бук-2М. А на полигоне Приозерск успешно отработал по баллистической цели многоканальный комплекс противоракетной обороны.

Герасимов сказал, что все эти результаты сейчас обобщают для подробного доклада Верховному главнокомандующему. Но уже ясно, что стратегические ядерные силы внезапную проверку выдержали.

[vector7]

Russia’s big rise in military spending, training has allies worried


November 2 2013 at 10:36 PM

RIA NOVOSTI | REUTERS
3TPRussian President Vladimir Putin looks on during a meeting with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic in Moscow's Kremlin October 30, 2013.


LONDON When NATO forces start a major exercise in Latvia and Poland this weekend, they will be rehearsing how to oust an anonymous invading enemy from a fictional region.

For some, however, exercise Steadfast Jazz will test how the Western alliance could deploy rapid reaction forces to its eastern flank which borders Russia.

A militarily resurgent and swiftly rearming Russia is alarming NATO states that lie close to its territory, chiefly the Baltic States. Other alliance members are simply baffled, wondering why Moscow feels the need to spend vast sums on meeting a threat from the West they say will never materialize.

NATO stresses that the wargames are not aimed at Russia directly, although some officials say part of their point is to reassure eastern member states at a time when Russia is probing NATO airspace with bombers, building warships and conducting ever more sophisticated exercises.

From Nov. 2-7, Steadfast Jazz will involve about 7,000 troops and other personnel including special forces, as well as tanks, aircraft and ships. Officially the NATO Response Force is designed to operate anywhere in the world.

But in the Baltic States, which once lived under the Soviet Union, the wargames are also a rehearsal for an unlikely but plausible scenario closer to home.

Russia as a country in the last five years has been increasing its assertiveness in the Baltic, Latvian defense minister Artis Pabriks told Reuters. Steadfast Jazz is important to us as these are the first exercises where we really train to defend our territory.

NATOs Supreme Allied Commander General Philip Breedlove said the exercise would show the alliances ability to fight sophisticated wars and defend its territory. Russian monitors would be invited.

We have to be prepared for more high end military operations, he said in September, adding that NATOs counter- insurgency experience from Afghanistan was no longer enough.

By high end Breedlove meant combatting any possible threat from a well-armed state, rather than relatively crudely-armed guerrillas as in the alliances most recent operations.

Russias high end capability, experts say, is improving fast and NATO is responding. Apart from Steadfast Jazz, NATO training near Russia recently included the Brilliant Arrow fast jet exercise in August in central Norway.

Such activity could antagonize Russia further. President Vladimir Putin has long complained that the collapse of the Soviet Union allowed the West to expand too far into Russias traditional sphere of influence particularly the former Soviet Baltic states.

Bomber flights, naval maneuvers
Moscow and Washington have worked together in recent months on removing Syrias chemical weapons, but strains are clear.

For Putin, a stronger military and more assertive foreign policy are central to Russian ambitions. Ensuring Russia has a reliable military force is the priority of our state policy, he said earlier this year.

Unfortunately, the present world is far from being peaceful and safe. Long obsolete conflicts are being joined by new, but no less difficult ones. Instability is growing in vast regions of the world.

Last year, Russia announced its defense budget would rise by about 25 percent, pushing spending above that of France and Britain. Moscow says it will spend $700 billion by 2020, hoping to equip at least 70 percent of 1 million active-duty personnel with modern weapons. That will include 2,300 new tanks, 1,200 new helicopters, 15 new surface ships and 28 submarines.

Nikolas Gvosdev, professor of national security studies at the U.S. Naval War College, said Russia wants to regain something of its Soviet-era standing in the world. It is restoring its conventional capabilities to back up claims to great power status, he said.

In operations reminiscent of the Cold War, Russian bombers now periodically approach NATO airspace. In response, British fighters scrambled 29 times in 2010-12 while non-NATO Japan and even neutral Sweden have been on the receiving end of such missions.

Latvia says Russian military aircraft have come close to flying over its territory 37 times in 2013 alone, compared with perhaps once or twice a year five years ago. Naval activity has risen, including a task force sent to the Arctic in August.

Weve seen an increase in the frequency of Russian military activities and the substantial modernisation of their capability, General Charles H Jacoby, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, said earlier this year. While we must strive for increased cooperation we must continue to be prepared to demonstrate the intent and the capability to defend our interests.

Exercises on land have particularly worried neighbours. Among the largest was Septembers Zapad-2013 maneuvers in Belarus. The Kremlin described these as largely anti-terrorist in nature but foreign analysts said they appeared to revolve heavily around conventional war fighting.

Cooperation hopes
Not everyone believes Moscow can achieve its ambitions. A slump in prices for oil and gas, a major source of revenue, could devastate its budget, and the economy is already slowing.

Within the military, bullying, morale problems and corruption remain rife. Islamist militancy in the Caucasus swallows up resources while some Russian strategists are more worried about China than the West.

Much of Russias resources, from fresh water to minerals, are in sparsely populated parts of Siberia within relatively easy reach of the Chinese border, while Beijings military budget is growing even faster than Moscows.

(There is) a growing fear that Russias vast natural resources endowment is vulnerable if the country lacks the means to protect it, said Gvosdev.

Budget problems mean most NATO states are cutting defense spending. The handful of Russias neighbours that can afford to raise expenditure, however, are doing so. As early as 2007, Norway announced it would expand its military and move much of it to new bases nearer the increasingly contested Arctic.

Poland is also in the midst of its biggest ever increase in military spending, earmarking $43 billion over the next decade to buy Western systems. Sweden is buying patrol boats.

Western officials say their priority remains to work with Russia. NATO jets have also trained with Russian counterparts on counter-terrorism exercises, while NATO warships have visited Russian ports. This months NATO-Russia summit in Brussels saw agreement on further co-operation.

In mainstream NATO thinking, Russian behaviour such as the Zapad-2013 exercise is more puzzling than alarming, although eastern members cling to Article 5 of North Atlantic treaty which obliges members to help any ally that comes under attack.

The very aggressive posture during Zapad caused much concern among the Baltic states for whom Article 5 really matters, said one senior Western official on condition of anonymity. However, the considered view is that the government of Russia does not pose a threat.

Another NATO diplomat told Reuters he believed there was little doubt Moscow was preparing its military for potential conflicts with well-armed nations.

That has a lot of us scratching our heads and thinking: why? the diplomat said, adding that NATO states had made clear they had no ambitions to expand eastward. Why in the world would you actually be arming yourself for a conflict with us? Isnt that all a monumental waste of resources?

[vector7]

Melendez : Future of Venezuela is closely linked with Russia

01:14 10/30/2013 .
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TWO RUSSIAN STRATEGIC RAKETONOSCA TU -160 on a mission landed next to Caracas


TU -160

During the execution of the task , two strategic bombers Tu- 95MS securing the radio link to " remotely " - between commands that participated in the execution of tasks

Venezuela's Defense Minister Carmen Melendez landed at the capital's airport where they landed Majketija two Russian strategic raketonosca , after an uninterrupted 13 -hour flight.

" We are happy to welcome you on behalf of the President of the Republic Nicolas Maduro in our hospitable country " - said Melendez , reports ITAR - TASS .

With these words she greeted the two Russian strategic raketonosca Tu- 160 that flew 10 thousand kilometers from Russia letevši 13 hours continuously . "The future of Venezuela is closely associated with the Russian Federation , which is our strategic partner - said the Minister . - We are proud that you're with us . "

He later visited Melendez Tu- 160th She bravely climbed the steep stairs from five feet to raketonosac "Alexander Novikov ," and accompanied by the commander of the crew examine the interior of aircraft heavy 275 tons.

Russian pilots have donated Melendesovoj models of their aircraft , and they in turn gave them a basket of exotic fruits and Venezuelan rum , with the words: "That you have a good rest after this hard work ."

Raketonosca two strategic Tu- 160 took off from the air base, " Engels " in Saratovskoj area, and across the Pacific flew to Venezuela in accordance with the plan of combat preparations of Russian strategic aviation.

Bombers were flying over the Caribbean Sea and the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean along the southwest coast of the North American continent and landed in the Republic of Venezuela.

A two strategic bombers Tu- 95MS securing the radio link to " remotely " between commands that participated in the execution of tasks.

Information Service of the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that all flights of the Air Force of the Russian Federation carried out and are carried out in strict observance of international rules of airspace use .

[vector7]

Russian Defense Minister initiated the development of the national plan of patriotic upbringing of youth

20:25 10/29/2013 .

Russian Defense Minister pointed out that we must cultivate commitment to the country and our armed forces


Sergei Shoigu

Russian Minister of Defense - Army General Sergei Shoigu - initiated the adoption of the plan of patriotic upbringing of young people.

It is every member of the Social Council at the Ministry of Defense RF recommended to propose a plan - a proposal for patriotic education of youth.

" This concerns not only konkertnih activities , but also propaganda and ideological work. Only what is called the support and cultivation of the spirit of patriotism , loyalty to our country and the Armed Forces " - said the Russian defense minister .

Shoigu announced that the next session of the Council, but talk about " ideas and suggestions " .

The Social Council includes renowned scientists and cultural workers , veterans of the Armed Forces , representatives of the clergy , journalists . The Council successfully operating within the Ministry of Defence of Russia since 2006. year.

[vector7]

From Russia, With Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles

November 1st, 2013 - 10:42 pm



It’s a sign of just how fast the balance of world power is shifting, that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin oversaw a huge exercise of Russia’s nuclear forces this Wednesday, involving — as the AP reported – “multiple test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles, a formidable demonstration of Russia’s resurgent military power.”

This follows the entry of Russian warships into the Mediterranean, concurrent with the Russia-brokered deal to relieve Syria’s Assad regime of its chemical weapons, at the cost of relieving the U.S. of any real influence in what might come next. That followed the biggest war games launched by the Russian military in more than two decades, involving, as the AP also reported, “160,000 troops, about 5,000 tanks, more than 100 aircraft and dozens of navy ships.”


This week’s nuclear attack drill was eye-catching not only for its size and scope, but for how relatively little attention Russia’s nuclear exercise drew in an America currently focused on the chaos of canceled health insurance policies, soaring premiums and a dysfunctional HealthCare.gov web site. The Russian drill was no small event. As defense expert Bill Gertz of the Washington Free Beacon reports, the drill “included the test launch of two land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and two submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).” More specifically, the land-based missiles included a silo-based SS-18, a missile with “a range of up to 10,000 miles and up to 10 warheads, or multiple, independently-targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs),” and an SS-25, or Topol missile, test-launched from the Russian base of Plesetsk, “capable of launching up to four MIRVs” with “a range of up to 6,200 miles.”

Russian forces also test-fired short-range missiles, and, as Gertz further reports, Russian air defense forces “also fired S-400 and S-300 anti-aircraft and anti-missile interceptors at incoming ballistic missiles targets. … The strategic missile exercise highlights Moscow’s large-scale nuclear forces buildup under Putin.” (You can sample more of Gertz’s well-informed reporting on Russia’s missile development in his June 25 article, “Treaty Cheating.”)


This is a staggering contrast with the scene I witnessed 18 years ago, while working as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in newly post-Soviet Russia. In 1995, I visited the Plesetsk space base and missile range — located about 500 miles north of Moscow, and site of this week’s SS-25 test launch. Back then, Russia was on the ropes, and trying out a lot of projects to convert Cold War military equipment into anything that might turn a profit. I went to watch a rocket launch, but it was an SS-25 that the Russians were trying to adapt to carry civilian-use satellites into space.


It was a display both impressive and pathetic. The Russians had struck a deal with an Israeli technical institute, to use an adapted SS-25 to put an Israeli prototype communications satellite into orbit, for the use of amateur radio buffs. Members of the press were invited — Israeli, Russian, and Moscow-based foreign reporters. It turned into a rolling fiasco. The Israeli reporters, arriving from Tel Aviv, were held up by Russian customs officers, who tried to confiscate their satellite phones. The chartered plane to take reporters from Moscow to Plesetsk was late taking off — in those days, it sometimes took a while at Russian airports to hunt down fuel. When we got to Plesetsk, with little time left before the launch, there was an altercation between some of the reporters, who wanted a closeup shot of the missile ready for launch, and a Russian military officer, who wanted them to go no closer than the safely distant viewing area. I still remember him screaming at one of the press liaisons, “No! They cannot go there! I am about to launch a ballistic missile!”


The launch itself was awe-inspiring. We could see the missile, on its mobile launcher. When it took off, the ground shook. I mean, it really shook. For a moment, there was nothing in the universe but the tremendous force boosting that missile. I had the obvious thought: You never want something like this, armed with nuclear warheads, actually heading in your direction.


That satellite launch failed. The Russians at Plesetsk told us it was all going well, but by the time we got back to Moscow that evening, the news was that the converted missile had gone down somewhere over the Sea of Okhotsk.


Plesetsk had more troubles later that year. In October, 1995, there were reports that its electrical power had gone out — one of a series of power blackouts at Russian military bases, as the post-Soviet government tried to sort out new ways of managing the electrical grid.

At the Journal’s Moscow bureau, my colleagues and I had a half-jocular half-nervous debate over what that meant — and whether anything untoward might happen if the power suddenly came back on. But we were worried about accidents in those days, not some abrupt return of a Russian nuclear threat.


These days, it appears that Plesetsk has sorted out its electrical problems, and that SS-25 test launch on Wednesday, part of a much larger drill, was not about trying to put civilian-use satellites into space. It was about the ability to hit nuclear targets. Gertz quotes a Russian spokesman as saying, according to Russian news agencies, “All launches took place as expected. All of the practice targets were hit.”


Elsewhere, earlier last month, U.S. Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller told the United Nations’ Committee on Disarmament (the so-called First Committee, where Iran now serves as rapporteur) that while the conditions for a world free of nuclear weapons do not yet exist, the U.S. is prepared to do its part, and is planning to further reduce its deployed strategic nuclear weapons.


And while all this goes on, Iran is watching. And spinning its uranium centrifuges. And the New World Order taking shape in 2013 is ever more dramatically different and more dangerous than it looked from Plesetsk, just 18 years ago.

[vector7]

Russian bombers fly to Venezuela, Nicaragua during strategic forces exercise

by J.E. Dyer

For some reason, the “reset/overcharge” policy of the Obama administration hasn’t induced Russia to take a chill pill on the global strategic forces exercises.

Several sources have reported that on Wednesday 30 October, the Russians conducted a no-notice exercise with their strategic forces, which included the launch of several intercontinental missiles from land and sea. Russian forces also fired missiles from the S-300 and S-400 air- and missile-defense systems (similar to the U.S. Patriot system), along with short range ballistic missiles (NATO designation SS-26 and SS-21) from the Kapustin Yar test center in southern Russia.

Missiles on the move

A U.S. State Department spokesman said Russia complied with the New START treaty, issuing the proper notification that the ICBM and submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launches would take place.

Claudia Rosett took a walk down memory lane in a Friday post at PJ Media, recalling the mid-1990s and how Russia’s strategic rocket force was languishing then. That was before Vladimir Putin announced a new build-up in 2007.

It’s worth noting that on 30 October, Russia launched two different types of ICBM (and has a third, newer type deployed in the operational forces, the SS-27, which apparently was not launched on Wednesday).

The U.S. has one type today (the Minuteman III). Russia launched two different types of SLBM on 30 October; the U.S. has one type (the Trident II). Russia launched two different types of short range ballistic missiles; the U.S. has one type (the U.S. Army ATACMS), and in fact does not field a missile in the range class of the SS-26 Stone, or “Iskander,” SRBM.

The differences in the two nations’ approaches go beyond that, however. Russia has progressed meaningfully in developing new missiles of each major type in the last decade, whereas the U.S. has not. All of the intercontinental missiles launched on 30 October are older-generation weapon systems, designed and fielded between 25 and 50 years ago (although updated since). In this way, they parallel the U.S. strategic force – and the strategic thinking of both the U.S. and Russia in the first two decades of the INF/START era.

But Russia has now already deployed an even newer ICBM, the SS-29, in the operational forces. Russia has conducted multiple test launches of a new-generation SLBM, the SS-N-30. A Russian admiral suggested in 2012 that the SS-N-30, or “Bulava” missile, was operational in the fleet – on new-generation nuclear submarines, the Borei class – although full operational status is reportedly pending the correction of problems with the Bulava missile.

Variables moving in the wrong direction for U.S. security

The argument as to whether this is troubling or not should properly center on the question of missile defense – including the Russians’ emphasis on designing the new missiles to defeat U.S. missile-defense systems.

There are four major variables in the ICBM/SLBM and missile-defense equation: U.S. missiles, U.S. defenses, Russian missiles, and Russian defenses.

Out of those four variables, there has been significant technological activity in three, over the last 15 years: U.S. defenses, Russian missiles, and Russian defenses (i.e., the deployment of the S-400, a highly capable air- and missile-defense system). But out of those three variables, there has been a significant doctrinal update in only two:

Russian missiles, which are now being consciously designed to defeat our missile defense systems, and Russian defenses.

This means two things, in particular: first, that the doctrinal intent of the U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) program lags global strategic reality. The doctrinal update we have not made is shifting our emphasis from defending against North Korean-style missiles (“first generation” missiles) – which is what we’ve emphasized in BMD development since early in the Clinton administration – to defending against the most modern Russian or Chinese ICBMs. Russia designs new missiles with defeating our BMD systems in mind, but we are not improving our BMD systems with defeating new-generation Russian ICBMs in mind.

The other thing it means is that America’s intercontinental missile arsenal, which is not being updated today with either technology or doctrine in mind, is a lagging national-defense capability. It has remained static while Russia’s defenses have improved. This does not mean that the S-400 is capable of reliably shooting down Minuteman III or Trident II missiles. (It isn’t.) It does mean that America is not looking around the next corner to a future in which our current-generation ICBMs can be reliably intercepted. Russia is looking at the future from both standpoints: the missile and the interceptor. Russia is moving forward (as is China); we are standing still.

A violation of the 1987 INF treaty?

The other troubling aspect of Russian missile development is the nature of the new-generation RS-26 ballistic missile, which is yet another, different missile from any of the ones listed above. Russian sources call it an ICBM, but given its small size (and other factors), U.S. intelligence believes the Russians are covertly developing an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), in violation of the INF treaty signed by Reagan and Gorbachev in 1987. As with their other newer-generation missiles, the Russians have designed the missile system to defeat missile defenses.

Keep in mind that Russia has a history of shady missile development and treaty violations. The former-Soviet SS-20 IRBM, for example, deployed in Eastern Europe in the 1970s, was based on an ICBM design (the SS-16), and capable of functioning as an ICBM with the addition of a third-stage booster (or the use of a lighter warhead). But the SS-20’s nominal 5,000km (3,100 statute mile) range as an IRBM kept it just under the 5,500km (3400 miles) cut-off for limitation by the SALT II treaty. This wasn’t the U.S.’s or NATO’s principal objection to the SS-20’s presence in Europe, but it is emblematic of the Russian pattern of designating missile systems to put them outside of treaty controls.

A new Russian IRBM would violate the INF treaty, which banned them all for the U.S. and Russia. So the Russians are calling the RS-26 an ICBM.

Like the SS-20, the RS-26 is based on an ICBM design, that of the SS-25. But it has been test-launched only to shorter ranges, and in other ways fits the profile of the SS-20’s development in the 1960s and 1970s.

It can be argued, of course, that Russia perceives a need for IRBMs because of the neighborhood she lives in, which includes nuclear-missile-armed China, India, and Pakistan. But that’s where the title of this post comes into play. In a strategic sense, we need harbor no illusions about which nation Russia’s exertions are directed at.

Nice hemisphere you got there

Just before the big missile exercise on 30 October, the Russian air force deployed a pair of Tu-160 Blackjack bombers to Central America. On 28 October, the bombers took off from central Russia and flew to Venezuela, the first such deployment since 2008. From there, on 31 October, they proceeded to Nicaragua, making the first stop ever for Russian strategic bombers (or any other Russian combat aircraft) in that nation.

Tu-160 Blackjacks are equipped with the AS-15 Kent (or Kh-55) air-launched cruise missile, which is similar to the U.S. Air Force’s AGM-86 ALCM. The AS-15’s range, in the version most likely to be used, is 2,500km (1,550 miles). The Blackjacks on this deployment may or may not have carried AS-15 missiles; I consider it extremely unlikely that they carried missiles with nuclear warheads, at any rate, although the AS-15 is nuclear-capable.


Threat range of the AS-15 from Central American air space (Google map, author annotations)

But these bombers represent the “third leg” of the nuclear-strategic “triad,” the other two legs being ground-based ICBMs and sea-based SLBMs. Where Russia chose to deploy them during a highly publicized strategic forces exercise was to Central America.

The message could hardly be more pointed. The bombers could have ranged more of the United States with AS-15s if they had flown north, on their usual profiles in the North Pacific, North Atlantic, or the Arctic. Certainly, they could have held more of the U.S. at risk if they had gone to Cuba. But in an unprecedented move, Moscow sent them to Central America, where they could range only some of Florida and – once near Nicaragua – the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Why?

To emphasize, during a strategic forces drill, that Russia has allies in Central America: places to land and launch strategic bombers. Places, unlike Cuba, that the United States can’t just reach out and smack. Venezuela and Nicaragua are both outside the intercept range of U.S. Air Force fighters – and the AS-15 missile can be launched at U.S. targets from well outside our fighters’ intercept range as well.

Add this message to the one sent in February 2013, when Russian strategic bombers (Tu-95 Bears, on that occasion) flew a profile against Guam in the Pacific. The Russians demonstrated a capability then to approach Guam outside the intercept range of the U.S. Air Force in Northeast Asia. Bear aircraft armed with AS-15s could get within strike range of Guam but remain outside the intercept range of our fighters.

Blackjacks launching from Central America could get within strike range of the American South, but remain outside the intercept range of our fighters there, too.

Russia is doing a lot of talking lately, if anybody is listening.

[American Patriot]

Prediction...

To become the top dog, you have to kill the other top dog. If not kill it, cow it. Wolves have a pack mentality and they will step aside for a younger, stronger animal when the time comes. Usually the elderly will be run off or killed, but occasionally they are allowed to travel with the pack for mutual protection, as long as they are unable to fight the younger boss dog.

In humans, as in animals, we have fallen by the wayside. We (the American people) have allowed Russia and it's leader to step to the forefront and become 'powerful'. The Russians haven't been in this position since the mide 1970s or late 1960s. They will NOT step back, they will NOT back down, they will NOT let us step back up and they will do whatever they must to prevent us from coming back into power.

Obama is a puppet of the Russians and Marxists. Those who somehow believe Putin was some Christian savior for Russia have it all wrong.

America is at a crossroads in history - and Russia has proven that it is ready to take the world on the Big Stage and push the United States into history.

We will fall, as the Soviet Union and the Wall did in 1989. Our fall however will not be at the behest of a leader like Reagan, but at the hands of a Marxist regime and that regime is already in place.

[Avvakum]

Prediction...

To become the top dog, you have to kill the other top dog. If not kill it, cow it. Wolves have a pack mentality and they will step aside for a younger, stronger animal when the time comes. Usually the elderly will be run off or killed, but occasionally they are allowed to travel with the pack for mutual protection, as long as they are unable to fight the younger boss dog.

In humans, as in animals, we have fallen by the wayside. We (the American people) have allowed Russia and it's leader to step to the forefront and become 'powerful'. The Russians haven't been in this position since the mide 1970s or late 1960s. They will NOT step back, they will NOT back down, they will NOT let us step back up and they will do whatever they must to prevent us from coming back into power.

Obama is a puppet of the Russians and Marxists. Those who somehow believe Putin was some Christian savior for Russia have it all wrong.

America is at a crossroads in history - and Russia has proven that it is ready to take the world on the Big Stage and push the United States into history.

We will fall, as the Soviet Union and the Wall did in 1989. Our fall however will not be at the behest of a leader like Reagan, but at the hands of a Marxist regime and that regime is already in place.

They may wait to see the results of the 2016 election, but I think you are correct. Putin, Francis, Merkel, Hollande, Ortega, Maduro, Obama. All the pieces are in place at this juncture in history.

[vector7]

New Russian Military Satellite Goes Into Orbit Next Week

Topic: Russian space programs


A Proton-M rocket (File photo)
© RIA Novosti. Oleg Urusov

03:02 08/11/2013
Tags: satellite, Express-AM5, Inmarsat-5 F1, Proton-M, Roscosmos, Russia
Related News

• Soyuz Takes Russian Military Satellite to Orbit
• Russia Launches Military Satellite
• Russian Military Satellite Falls in Pacific
• Russian Military Satellite to Splash Down in Pacific

Multimedia

• Proton Carrier Rocket

MOSCOW, November 8 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian military satellite will blast off atop a Proton-M carrier rocket next week, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said Thursday.

“The launch of a Proton-M rocket with a satellite for the Defense Ministry is scheduled for November 12,” a Roscosmos spokesman said.

The agency gave no further details about the satellite’s purpose or specifications.

Proton rockets are to take two more telecommunications satellites into orbit this year – the Inmarsat-5 F1 and Express-AM5. The launches will be held on December 8 and December 26, respectively.


Russia to Deploy More Yars Ballistic Missiles by Year-End


Yars mobile ballistic missile system
© Photo Defemce Ministry press service

21:22 06/11/2013
Tags: RS-24, Topol-M, Yars, Russian Strategic Missile Forces (SMF), Defense Ministry, Sergei Shoigu, Russia
Related News

• Putin Checks Readiness of Russia’s Nuclear Deterrent
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• Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces Start Snap Combat Drills

Multimedia

• Topol-M ballistic missile

MOSCOW, November 6 (RIA Novosti) – Russia will arm two more regiments of the Strategic Missile Forces with Yars mobile ballistic missile systems by the end of 2013, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday.

“We are facing an important task – to preserve the balance of the strategic deterrence system, which makes the maintenance and timely re-equipment of the strategic nuclear forces a key area of military development,” Shoigu said.

The SMF has so far fully equipped two regiments of the Teikovo Missile Division in central Russia with Yars systems.

The two regiments consist of a total of 18 missile systems and several mobile command posts, according to the Defense Ministry.

Shoigu did not say where the new missiles will be deployed, but mentioned that they will be first tested in the Novosibirsk Missile Division, based in Siberia.

According to plans announced earlier by the Defense Ministry, the Novosibirsk division is expected to receive mobile Yars systems, while the Kozelsk division in central Russia will be armed with the silo-based version of the system.

The Yars missile system is armed with the RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile, which has considerably better combat and operational capabilities than the Topol-M (SS-27 Stalin).

The SMF previously said the Topol-M and RS-24 ballistic missiles would be the mainstays of the ground-based component of Russia’s nuclear triad and would account for no less than 80 percent of the SMF’s arsenal by 2016.