Russian Navy Blog

Leviathans stir

2011-11-01T06:13:00.000-04:00

Leviathans stir from the depths...of the shipyard.

What purports to be Project 885 Severodvinsk K-329 gets underway from Sevmash for sea trials on 23 October 2011. More pics here.

The day before, what purports to be Project 985 Borey-class Aleksandr Nevsky K-550 gets underway for the first time.

Way down in the hole.

2011-10-24T18:37:00.000-04:00

The Strategic Rocket Forces must be on some sort of PR blitz, since one of the bloggers that visited the Strategic Rocket Forces HQ in Vlasikha (highlighted in the previous post) also visited the 28th Guards Missile Division in Kozelzk, armed with the SS-19 ICBM. Some highlights:

The SRF - Guaranteeing the peace and security of Russia!

Quick check of the barracks. Yup, being a conscript still kinda sucks.

Let's eat! "A satiated soldier is the Motherland's shield!"

Not the worst chow hall I've seen.

I wonder if that's a kosher dog.

Hope the bloggers brought gift bags for the lunch ladies!

So where in the 168th Missile Regiment are we going?

Time to get in the truck and go...somewhere.

Fortunately the truck has a combined GLONASS/GPS unit so we are TWICE as likely to find the right hole!

We're on a road to nowhere...

I see fence line...must be close.

This little building is connected to the guard shack by an underground passage.

The guard shack.

A close up of the device, described by the blogger as as a "firing point", on top of the guard shack.

Finally, the hole!

Good shot to get an idea just how big the silo cover is.

I'm pretty sure there isn't any ICBM, or first stage of an ICBM, in this silo...

....but let's go down and find out.

Wait a second...THAT guy is going to hold ME if I slip and fall? Yeah, right!

Watch your step getting on the elevator.

What is the proper elevator etiquette in a lift this small?

"The launch canister containing the missile in the the silo launcher is secured with a highly effective mitigation system which provides additional protection to the missile against the destructive effects of a nuclear explosion."

Well, now I'm down here and I'm really, really sure there isn't a missile in here.

It's a long way up...'bout 30 meters

What do you mean we have to climb the ladder?!?

Let's look at some of the division's special vehicles. Standing in front of what one of the bloggers speculates to be two types of emplacement equipment, one for the missile and one for the front section.

One of the two emplacers that are in the garage. Although the escorts didn't say why there were two different types, one of the bloggers speculates that this emplacer is used to extract the front section of the missile containing the things that go "boom" and places it into the warhead transport vehicle.

Front view of the first emplacer.

One blogger speculates that the middle vehicle under canvas is a front section transport van.

The front section and canister emplacers together.

Taken from here, here, and here.

"But they'll see the big board!"

2011-10-23T16:36:00.000-04:00

Apparently the Russian Ministry of Defense Press Club and Strategic Rocket Forces press secretary Vadim Anatolyevich Koval invited a bunch of Russian bloggers into the holiest of holies - the Strategic Rocket Forces Central Command Post and Strategic Rocket Forces Museum (Open 1000-1700 daily, appointments only) in Vlasikha (Odintsevo-10), just outside of Moscow. Let's take a look:

You see all sorts of strange playground equipment in Russia, but this is one of the strangest.

SS-2 combustion chamber

SS-9 mod 3 ICBM instrumentation section

Instrument section of the SS-17 ICBM

Good view of the gyro mounted in the SS-17 instrument section.

SS-20 Pioneer warhead (15F542)

Interesting how it appears from the museum exhibit that the missile shelters were originally designed to look like a farm house, or how the missiles were designed to be hidden in ordinary tractor trailers.

"Honey? Did you leave the garage open again? You know those kids will get in and steal the truck again!"

You can hide a silo in your uncle's barn, too.

Interesting re-entry vehicle configuration here. Four go up, four go down.

The very welcoming front gate to the command post.

"Time to make the doughnuts. Or blow up the Americans. One of the two."

The outer door of the command post.

And some sort of inner door. It's like Get Smart or something.

Six diesel generators provide back up power.

And those diesel generators and electrical power in general is controlled from here.

Apparently, this is mural is the only item allowed to be photographed in the main hall of the Vlasikha command post. I am reliably informed that the main hall is big, and has lots of buttons and phones.

Taken from here, here, here, here, and here.

Separated at birth?

2011-10-21T18:50:00.000-04:00

The Parrot AR drone?

And a Spetsnaz reconnaissance drone?

USS Carr makes a port visit to Murmansk

2011-10-21T18:36:00.000-04:00

"What the hell are you looking at?" "More pictures of the USS Carr's visit to Murmansk on 02 September, sir!"

Ockham's Rocket

2011-10-18T19:03:00.000-04:00

Yeah, sounds about right:

The submarine launched ballistic missile experimental design (OKR) "Layner". Developed by the Makeyev Design Bureau (was SKB-385, Miass). The development of the OKR Layner theme was begun after a decision by the Ministry of Defense and the Military-Industrial Complex in 2008. The design phase of the project was probably prepared in the middle of 2009 and in June 2009 there was a designers conference in which the work schedule was approved.

Vibration testing of the 1Eh1.50.00.000 OKR Layner mock-up was undertaken. The first launch of the flight testing program occurred on 20 May 2011 from Delta IV class K-84 "Ekaterinburg" (Program number 380) from the Barents Sea to the Kura Test Range on Kamchatka. The launch was successful. As a result of these tests, an interagency commission adopted the design and technical documentation to allow serial production and employment. The second launch of the Layner occurred on 29 September 2011 from the Barents Sea with the target at the Kura Test Range on Kamchatka, the launch taking place from the Delta IV K-114 "Tula". On 06 October 2011, the mass media reported the end of the R-29RMU2.1 flight test program.

The production of the missile was ordered from the OAO "Krasnoyarsk Machine Building Factory" and has entered series production…The missile, created as part of the OKR Layner theme, is an improvement of the R-29RMU2 Sineva/RSM-54 armed with more warheads and, probably, a new guidance system. After the Delta IV SSBN is armed with the Layner SLBM, they can remain in service until 2025 or 2030.

Layner test launcher, K-114 Tula in drydock, 2004.

Launch system - launchers on the Delta IV SLBM. The modernized digital computer system "Arbat-U2.1" will support the operation and combat readiness of the SSBN and it's missile.

Guidance system - Inertial autonomous guidance system, probably with astro correction.

Engines - Liquid in all stages.

Warheads -

12 low yield warheads (data not confirmed);

10 low yield warheads with ABM penetration aids;

8 low yield warheads with strengthened penetration aids;

4 medium yield warheads with penetration aids;

or, a mixture of low and medium yield warheads with and without penetration aids.

A new type of low yield re-entry vehicle was developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology together with a nuclear warhead design facility - the All-Russia Scientific Research Institute of Technical Physics (Snezhinsk) - and will equip the Topol-M, the Yars, and the Bulava. The new physics package will be employed on the R-29RMU2.1 Layner without any sort of designer modifications by using cables and adapters and also specially designed individual mounting platforms. …

Sources: Yearly Report of OAO "Makeyev Design Bureau" for 2010

Konstruktor No.16/2008, No.6/2009, No.5/2011

Lenta.ru

Maritime Strategic Missile Systems - Moscow: "Voyennyy Parad", "Makeyev Design Bureau", 2011.

Pretty much what you would expect. Not that I expected it to be something as silly as a conversion of the Sineva from a liquid fueled missile to a solid fueled missile, or that it would be launched from the sea by specially converted Narwhals and from the land from specially converted Unicorns.

Ballad of the BDRM

2010-08-10T17:30:00.001-04:00

If the Strategic Rocket Forces can have their own anthem, and you can drink to Russian gas, why not get out your guitar for the SS-N-23 Sineva?

Now begrudgingly on Twitter

2010-08-06T17:15:00.001-04:00

I've always thought Twitter was pretty stupid. Now it looks like I'll be issuing or Tweets or Twits or whatever the hell you call it with the rest of ya.

Test

2010-08-02T18:54:00.002-04:00

I'm at PD passing very close astern....

Pic of the day

2010-05-25T20:02:00.000-04:00

Moskva takes a shot line from the Petr Velikiy, somewhere in the Indian Ocean a couple of weeks ago.

I don't think the Russians are going to reconstitute their rail mobile ICBM force anytime this century

2010-05-24T20:23:00.000-04:00

Questions about rail-mobile missiles started to pop up a few days ago. I haven't heard about "reloads", though, until I saw a piece by Christopher Ford, currently a senior fellow at Hudson Institute. Entitled "Does 'New START' Fumble Reloads and Rail-mobile ICBMs" the piece conveniently summarizes the arguments and "frets about" scenarios in which

"SS-25-style treaty-accountable deployed ICBM launcher could be accompanied by one or more nuclear-armed reload missiles and any necessary reload vehicles,"

or, even worse,

"unlimited numbers of rail-mobile launchers deployed with nuclear-armed missiles."

All this, of course, is just plain crazy.

I think its worth noting what an insane amount of very expensive infrastructure and rolling stock and trials and testing it takes to make a rail mobile ICBM system which you can see for yourself in this video:

Best part of the video is at about 4:30 where, somewhere on the test range in Plesetsk, they set 900 tons of high explosive 650 meters from an SS-24 rail car set and blew it up for shits and giggles or testing or something. And yet, the narrator of the video claims that that very rail car set survived the explosion and successfully launched an SS-24.

Watch what you put on Facebook kiddies!

2010-05-17T17:44:00.002-04:00

It will stay with you forever!

Although it CAN be almost like poetry (nsfw).

It's also slightly amusing that sailors seem to be disproportionately more dissatisfied with their service than their soldier, airmen and Marine counterparts, although to be fair to the jarheads, only one of them is a Marine and saying FTM.

But the sailors seem to be very unhappy.

Panteleyev sailors conduct a ship boarding - video

2010-05-14T17:58:00.005-04:00

I make no claims to the authenticity of this video. I am not certain of the context. It is mostly is Russian (with much NSFW language), partly in English (with NSFW language) and shows several obviously wounded men.

The explosion at the end is nice though!

From the description at You Tube:

Yesterday on Tuesday (27 April) at 1812 Moscow time the large antisubmarine ship Admiral Panteleyev captured a pirate ship off of Somalia according to the Ministry of Defense.

The capture took place at 1812 Moscow time and took place about 15 miles from shore. Inspection of the vessel revealed seven Kalashnikovs, pistols, aluminum boarding ladders, navigation equipment, including satellite navigation, fuel cans and ammunition.

Twenty nine were detained.

Based on the number of pirates in this video, I don't think these were the pirates killed under the auspices of Russia's "catch and release" program.

And this concludes the winter training cycle...

2010-04-26T17:58:00.000-04:00

In the Sea of Japan, a strike group consisting of a destroyer and two missile boats (at least one a Tarantul, the subject of this report), destroy a group of targets simulating an enemy strike group. The report notes that the boat performed a launch that was complicated, not only because they made multiple simultaneous launches, but because it was an offset launch with the boat moving in the opposite direction from the targets. The report also noted that the target, which was 70 km away, was successfully destroyed. The commander of the Brigade of Surface Ships, Igor Osipov was satisfied, noting that this is the sixth year in a row of successful launches.

Meanwile, in the Black Sea, much the same was happening at the same time last week:

In the waters around Crimea, a task group repelled an attack by a notional enemy. Cruise missile strikes destroyed targets with direct hits. More than 15 ships participated in the large scale exercises. The strike group consisted of the air cushion missile boat Samum, the small missile boat Shtil and two cutters. Naval Aviation helicopters and aircraft supported the exercise. The tactical commander was given complete freedom of action. These have been the first exercises of its kind in almost three years. The agreement to extend the lease of Sevastopol Naval Base has led to better relations between the Slav brothers and means that the Russians plan to hold joint exercises with the Ukrainian Navy.

And here are some fun eyewitness pics of the Black Sea exercises.

Twenty four years later...

2010-04-26T17:24:00.000-04:00

Pripyat, April 2004:

The Russian Navy Blogger doesn't have those clothes anymore...

Photos of the day: Alang shipbreakers, India

2010-04-26T17:10:00.000-04:00

Via

For more on the Alang shipbreakers, see William Langewiesche's great article from The Atlantic, "The Shipbreakers", an article I read over a decade ago and has stuck with me to this day.

Is Wonderwall the new British national anthem?

2010-04-23T23:27:00.000-04:00

Rock on.

Imagine

2010-04-23T23:08:00.000-04:00

Imagine:

Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose.

What do I imagine? I imagine a lot of white folk with dirty undies, that's what I imagine!

Happy Charles Krauthammer Day!

2010-04-23T06:33:00.000-04:00

Charles Krauthammer has had seven years. How's that search going, Chuckie?

Hans Blix had five months to find weapons. He found nothing. We’ve had five weeks. Come back to me in five months. If we haven’t found any, we will have a credibility problem.

Yet, that war worshipping pundit continues to have a forum, like Bill Krystal, like Tom Friedman, et. al, while the Dirty Fucking Hippies that were right continue to be Dirty Fucking Hippies.

It's Fox News' world, we only barely survive in it.

Jump

2010-04-20T18:52:00.001-04:00

Rock on.

Smokers in the Gulf of Aden

2010-04-20T18:22:00.000-04:00

Anyone remember smokers?

Rough gist: The flagship of the Black Sea Fleet has reached the Gulf of Aden, one of the most dangerous seas in the world. The cruiser will spend a few days there training. As the cruiser passes through the Bab el Mendab, the Gulf of Aden lies ahead. But the cruiser doesn't have to worry about Somali pirates that the sailors are vigilant against. There have been a couple of times in the past month when Somali pirates mistook warships for civilian ships, with disasterous results. The crew is read history and stories about the region during meals over the 1MC.

Marines stand four hour watches on deck. After watch in the 40 degree heat, the Marines do PT. Dozens watch as they do hand to hand combat on deck. A Marine explains that long-range combat can turn hand to hand at any minute, so they practice. The gunners' mates won a competition, their Captain lifting a 24kg weight more than 100 times.

By the end of the week, the ship will be on course for India and they'll start reading up on the Indian Ocean.

Local old age home turns out to greet USS John L Hall in Sevastopol, Ukraine

2010-04-20T18:08:00.000-04:00

Gist: About a hundred activists turned out to greet the USS John L Hall at the pier in Sevastopol. They carried anti-US and anti-NATO signs and shouted "Yankee go home!". The Ukrainian authorities delayed the Hall's entry into port in hopes the small crowd would disperse, but in vain.

Comment: In contrast to the visits of the USCG Dallas and the USS Mount Whitney back in 2008, right after the Five Day War, the crowds are much smaller and there isn't much discussion of the visit on message boards.

Just a normal port visit to an almost normal foreign port, like anywhere else in the world.

Is this some sort of anti-ballistic missile maybe?

2010-04-19T19:13:00.001-04:00

I'm guessing an ABM of some sort...
(Via)

Update: Apparently it is an ABM...

Looks like the Peter the Great made it through...

2010-04-19T18:59:00.000-04:00

Peter the Great apparently made an uneventful transit through the Suez Canal. Meanwhile, the Moskva is supposed to make a port call in Muscat, Oman on 24 April en route exercises in the Indian Ocean and eventual participation in Vostok-2010.

In other deployment news, the escort ships Yaroslav Mudriy and Neustrashimyy along with the tanker Olekma returned to their Baltic Fleet base in Baltiysk. The Yaroslav Mudriy was in the Mediterranean on her first deployment when the Neustrashimyy joined her as the Neustrashimyy was returning from her duty off the Horn of Africa.

Given the lies of Fox News

2010-04-16T15:07:00.002-04:00

this can only be a good thing (no link, I refuse to give that fat, Nixon protege, Jabba the Hut looking motherfucker Roger Ailes the traffic):

Members of the U.S. Navy were denied access to FoxNews.com for hours on Friday before service was finally restored shortly before noon ET, the Navy confirmed.

Cmdr. Danny Hernandez, a Navy spokesman, said he was unable to offer an exact reason why access to Fox News' Web site had been blocked, but he said it most definitely was a technical issue.

"This was not a policy issue," Hernandez said.

...

Fox News - lying liars who are destroying America with their lies. Keep it shut off, Navy! For more about Fox News' hard fought legal right to lie, click here. And all that lying done by Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, and the whole "news" division led by Jabba the Hut stunt double Roger Ailes is tearing this country apart.

And you thought coastal artillery went out with the Lindy Hop...

2010-04-15T21:08:00.000-04:00

The self propelled artillery system Bereg is the only coastal artillery system of its kind in service in Russia and is based exclusively in Novorossiysk. Today's exercises took place on the Taman Peninsula, where the littoral zone is perfect for firing upon any sort of target. The coastal defense system consists of six mobile units on a MAZ chassis. At full battle readiness, it is as long as two buses and reaches cruiser speeds, 60 km/hr, and it can deploy in less than five minutes.

The objective of this exercise is to prevent an enemy landing by destroying the enemy while he is still fourteen to twenty km from the shore.

Crewman with thick, unidentified accent: I'm talking about the gun-layer's station...It's the most important place.

Many specifications of the weapons system are a military secret. Civilians are strictly prohibited from approaching the camo covered command post. The number of sailors manning the Bereg is classified. Riflemen guard the perimeter even during exercises.

Pavel, the crew commander, says that the system can engage in combat in any conditions, day or night, in temperatures from -50 to +50 degrees. The coastal artillery system has advantages over guided missiles:

Track commander: "You can knock a missile out, but a shell is, basically, a hunk of iron. Not much you can do about that."

You can tell if a target has been destroyed only by looking at the radar screen. A couple of hits will sink a destroyer. Just one hit will send a landing vessel capable of making 180 km/hr to the bottom. Only the Bereg can hit that kind of target.

Igor Siratskiy, commander of the Novorossiysk coastal defense forces: One Bereg system can track four targets, on land or at sea. Any combination of forces, any combination of equipment.

...Today's exercises took three hours and expended a hundred rounds and sank dozens of targets. They packed up in less than five minutes and returned to base. The sailors say that the main thing is suddenness and accuracy.

The Great Migration to Vostok 2010 update

2010-04-15T20:08:00.000-04:00

Peter the Great welcomes visitors, including the Russian ambassador to Syria and the commander in chief of the Syrian Navy aboard during her two day port visit to the Tartus roadstead:

I see from the video that the Russians also believe in the "if the foreigner doesn't understand you, just repeat it louder and slower until they do" method of foreign language translation. I hope the libs in Tartus were good, since this will be the last port they hit for a month and a half, according to the reporter.

Two days in Tartus, and its off to Egypt to follow the Moskva through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea.

A very special Russian language lesson...

2010-04-15T19:15:00.000-04:00

...starring the most important word in the Russian language:

The Central Navy Portal publishes a video taken on the Northern Fleet large anti-submarine ship (BPK) Vice Admiral Kulakov in which an officer, while instructing sailors, hits them and threatens them with physical punishment for stray pencil marks. The officer calls his pupils "animals" and "cattle".

Rather than do the translation myself, I found another You Tube clip that reasonably approximates whats being said:

I like big butts...

2010-04-13T19:06:00.003-04:00

...and I can't lie.

Hell yeah.

Come for the butts, stay for the rhumba-fied Depeche Mode....

Rock on.

Sarah Palin displays her mastery of nucular strategy issues

2010-04-11T12:06:00.000-04:00

I didn't realize that there WAS a safe way to use nucular weapons...

Moskva departs Sevastopol for Vostok 2010

2010-04-09T17:12:00.002-04:00

Via Navy.ru:

The flagship of the Black Sea Fleet the Guards Missile Cruiser Moskva left Sevastopol on deployment on 09 April. The ship will execute missions in the Mediterranean, Indian and Pacific Oceans according to the press service of the Black Sea Fleet.
...
Earlier Interfax news agency reported sources in the fleet headquarters as saying that the cruiser Moskva and a support ship will be the first participants in the operational-strategic exercises Vostok-2010 to arrive in Vladivostokin the middle of May. Ships from the Northern and Pacific Fleets will also participate. During the deployment the ship will operate in the Indian Ocean with elements of Long Range Aviation, carry out combat exercises with the P-500 Bazalt main missile armament on maritime targets and take part in bilateral exercises with India.

The cruiser will participate in joint exercises in the Mediterranean with French and Italian ships this spring.

But once she's seen the big city of Vladivostok, will she ever settle for salo again??

Update: According this report, the Moskva returns in September.

Our Stupid American Discourse, part 2

2010-04-09T16:55:00.000-04:00

Failed VP candidate, half-term governor and noted arms control expert, Sarah Palin:

"Now, the president is working with all that vast nuclear-policy experience he acquired as a community organizer and short-time senator and full-time candidate!"

President of the United States, and the new "Nunn" in "Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction" agreement, Barack Obama:

STEPHANOPOULOS:I want to get to some of those broader issues [of nuclear proliferation]. Because you're also facing criticism on that. Sarah Palin, taking aim at your decision to restrict the use of nuclear weapons. Your pledge not to strike nations, non-nuclear nations, who abide by the nonproliferation treaty. Here's what she said. She said, "It's unbelievable, no other administration would do it." And then she likened it to kids on the playground. She said you're like a kid who says, "Punch me in the face, and I'm not going to retaliate." Your response?
OBAMA: I really have no response. Because last I checked, Sarah Palin's not much of an expert on nuclear issues.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But the string of criticism has been out there among other Republicans as well. They think you're restricting use of nuclear weapons too much.
OBAMA: And what I would say to them is that if the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff are comfortable with it, I'm probably going to take my advice from them and not from Sarah Palin.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But not concerned about her criticisms?
OBAMA: No.

I wonder how many SS-24 ICBM eliminations Sarah Palin has attended?

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative."
John Stuart Mill

And what the hell is George Stephanopoulis asking Obama what he thinks of Sarah fucking Palin's ignorant criticism anyway? There are literally a thousand conservatives out there who have thoughtful opinions on arms control, and he goes to Sarah fucking Palin. What a tool.

Peter the Great has a date in Tartus...

2010-04-07T17:27:00.000-04:00

Via.

Flagship of the Northern Fleet, the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Peter the Great passed through the English Channel on Sunday on her way to the Straits of Gibraltar. In a few days she will be in the roadstead in Tartus, Syria where she will meet the the Black Sea Fleet missile cruiser Moskva and continue on to the Indian Ocean as a surface strike group.

The Ministry of Defense has told Izvestiya that the latest cruise by the Peter the Great will last not less than two months. The ship will visit Syria, Oman and India. Together with ships from the Black Sea and the Pacific Fleet, she will take part in exercises in the Far East called "Vostok-2010". There are also plans for two exercises in the Indian Ocean - first with a joint Russian task group and a second with the Indian Navy.
...
The idea behind the deployment is to "execute tasks in support of strategic and regional deterrence and support the maritime activities of the Russian Federation". By the way, experts say that the material expenditures don't matter when it comes to Russian military presence and professional development. "It's not a lot of money. It's more important to show that we are everywhere....One deployment like this for the crew is like finishing two academies", says former vice commander of the Navy, Admiral Igor Kasatonov.

"One deployment like this for the crew is like finishing two academies." Interesting thing to say when 50 percent of your crew is conscripted from the fall call up...

Our stupid American discourse

2010-04-07T16:43:00.001-04:00

Noted arms control expert, Rudolph 9iu11ani:

“A nuclear-free world has been a 60-year dream of the Left, just like socialized health-care. This new policy, like Obama’s government-run health program, is a big step in that direction. President Obama thinks we can all hold hands, sing songs, and have peace symbols.”

President Ronald Reagan, second Inaugural Address:

There is only one way safely and legitimately to reduce the cost of national security, and that is to reduce the need for it. And this we are trying to do in negotiations with the Soviet Union. We are not just discussing limits on a further increase of nuclear weapons. We seek, instead, to reduce their number. We seek the total elimination one day of nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth.

Why are people as stupid as Rudy fucking Giuliani invited on my teevee and called an expert?

18 years, 18 years She got the Kulakov got you for 18 years

2010-04-05T19:33:00.000-04:00

Get down, Russian Navy, get down get down:

The Vice-Admiral Kulakov destroyer will rejoin Russia's Northern Fleet after an 18-year overhaul, a spokesman for the Severnaya Verf shipyard said on Monday.

The Vice-Admiral Kulakov, a Project-1155 Udaloy-class destroyer, was commissioned in 1982 and was in service until March 1991 when it was retired for repairs.

The retrofit program ran into serious difficulties over a lack of funding and there were even plans to scrap the warship. However, in the early 2000s, the Russian Defense Ministry raised enough funds to complete the modernization.

Is this a record for a refit? Will the overhaul of the Gorshkov break this record?

Russia truly is that QB you see on TV Any Given Sunday
A country that won the Resource Superbowl and drives off in a Hyundai.

Peter the Great at the Mike Datum

2010-04-05T19:22:00.001-04:00

Peter the Great transited the English Channel at 19 knots on Sunday, but before that, she was in the Norwegian Sea conducting exercises and paying respects to the Project 685 Mike class attack boat that sank in the Norwegian Sea on 07 April, 1989.

The video starts with the crew coordinating with an IL-38 who made the flight from the Kola just to play with Peter the Great. As soon as the IL-38 departs, a Norwegian P-3 takes its place, while a Norwegian reconnaissance ship shadows Peter the Great at the edge of visual range. A KA-27 practices searching for submarines by lowering dipping sonar. Next the special purpose damage control division shows off their mad fire fighting skilz acquired through daily damage control drills. Finally, Peter the Great goes full stop in a snowstorm to lay a wreath at the Mike datum to commemorate the sinking 21 years ago this month before she gets underway for the English Channel, Gibraltar, the Suez and beyond.

Miss Belarus Detective

2010-04-02T20:50:00.000-04:00

The Russian Navy Blogger's picks:

Is there nothing sexier than "Law and Order" and the woman that will enforce it?

Her shoulder boards say, "Do you understand the rights I have read you?" but her eyes say "I'm going to have to conduct a more THOROUGH search..."

Why didn't the cops that stopped me in Moscow asking for identification EVERY SINGLE DAY I WAS THERE look like her?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, every single one is a Russian cop, but the title at English Russian is "Miss Belarus Detective 2010", so complain to them and go there and pick your own damn hot cop.

It cannot be emphasized enough what a scumbag Sean Hannity is

2010-04-01T22:45:00.001-04:00

So not only does he steal from the children of dead and wounded vets, he is a terrorist sympathizer also, and proud of it apparently:

Here is Timothy McVeigh's handiwork, for those who forget:

Sean Hannity - objectively pro-truck bombing terrorist. Objectively pro-child killer.

Steregushchiy class project 20380 corvette Soobrazitelnyy launched in Saint Petersburg

2010-03-31T19:03:00.000-04:00

Video summary: The sixty percent complete Soobrazitelnyy was launched at Saint Petersburg's Admiralty Shipyard. It is a stealth vessel whose radar cross section is ten times less than previous ships. The stealth characteristics are achieved through the use of special construction techniques. The Soobrazitelnyy will undergo sea trials this year and enter the Baltic Fleet in 2011. About two dozen of these ships are planned.

Petr Velikiy is splittin' atoms and boiling water...

2010-03-30T20:00:00.001-04:00

...and headin' East:

On Tuesday, 30 March, the Russian Navy begins deploying forces to carry out largest exercises on the world ocean in recent years. The exercises began with the departure of the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Petr Velikiy from Severomorsk...The cruiser will pass through the Atlantic, Mediterranean and the Suez Canal and enter the Indian Ocean. Ships from the Baltic, Northern, Pacific Fleets as well as Naval Aviation will act in support.

This video from Zvezda News notes that one goal of this deployment is to train the crew, fifty (50) percent of whom are new conscripts. The reporter notes that this is a bit of a risk, but on the other hand the experience will allow the conscripts to master their tasks quicker. The Captain of the Petr Velikiy, Feliks Menkov claims that "Not one man wouldn't want to go on this deployment. People who wouldn't want to go to sea need to serve on another ship. And if they don't know how to do their jobs, we'll teach them." The electrical department head, Vitaliy Khadzhi adds, "It'll be tough, but we'll try..." The Petr Velikiy will pass through the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Indian and Pacific Oceans in the first two months. She got a completely new paint job. The commander of the Northern Fleet concludes with remarks about how interesting the exercise will be, as well as how interesting the port calls and exercises with "probable partners" will be as well. The next land the crew of the Petr Velikiy will see will be Gibraltar.

Note to Russian Navy: Hundreds of untrained conscripts + tons of high explosives + nuclear power = not good. Just sayin'...

And in other dino-cruiser news, any idea why the Admiral Ushakov has apparently changed it's name back to Kirov?

I knew Sean Hannity and Oliver North were scumbags, but...

2010-03-29T20:53:00.000-04:00

...stealing from the children of wounded servicemen and women? What next - curbstomping crippled orphans for their lunch money? Shit, it don't get much lower. And we're talking about Sean Hannity and Oliver North here. I mean, my expectations weren't high to begin with, but THIS?

Hoodathunk that Oliver North would divert money for improper purposes? What a disgrace to the uniform...

Bear porn. Time for a smoke.

2010-03-26T17:02:00.000-04:00

While new arms control treaties are signed, old habits remain...

Rough, partial transcript:

A pair of Tu-95 MSs take off for Vorkuta, where the notional enemy is located. On board the bombers are Kh-55 cruise missiles. Each aircraft can carry 16 of these missiles, but today each crew must destroy the enemy with one round.....

Radio chatter.

To make it more understandable how powerful these missiles are, they are equivalent to the destructive power of 4,000 rail cars loaded with high explosives, but in peace time, the crew practices with training rounds. The missiles can fly 3,000 km and to make the missile appear as small as possible to the enemy air defenses, the wings can fold in to the body of the missile like scissors. After the missile hits the target, this little piece of the missile is left with the number on it so that they can determine the accuracy of the strike.

The accuracy of the strike depends most of all on the navigator. For the navigator on today's flight, Vadim Viktrovich, this will be his first launch in twelve years of service in Long Range Aviation.

Vadim Kodrik: I can relax a little now. Of course, it was nice, especially at the moment everything went off. There was a little pressure. I was thinking about how to mark this occasion and so first a smoke break!
But the smoke break had to wait because of an aviation tradition.

In accordance with our traditions, in commemoration of the occasion I'd like to present him with this little bell.
The crew found out about the successful launch and mission graded "outstanding" on the way home and immediately after landing, a new red star appeared on the TU-shchik. Each star marks the time the aircraft has made a direct hit on the target during firings.

Ah, I need a cigarette.

Keep hustlin', ya'll.

2010-03-26T15:39:00.000-04:00

Rock on.

Casualty on Pac Fleet spy ship

2010-03-23T19:05:00.000-04:00

Photo: SSV-493 Aziya, sister ship to the stricken SSV-80 Pribaltika

The Pacific Fleet large reconnaissance ship "Pribaltika" has suffered a casualty in the Korea Straits in the Sea of Japan.

A Pacific Fleet representative announced that the Pribaltika flooded through the kingston valve in the machinery room Sunday morning...."The large anti-submarine ship Admiral Vinogradov set sail from Vladivostok to the scene of the casualty...The crew is trying to restart the engine. There are no casualties", the source added.

China gets the Varyag for peanuts while the Gorshkov remains a money pit

2010-03-12T17:27:00.000-05:00

VPK quotes a Chinese blog that the ex-Soviet almost carrier Varyag is going to be commissioned into the People's Liberation Army Navy as a training carrier, giving the People's Liberation Army a People's Liberation Army Naval Airforce with fixed wing capability:

VPK:

According to the Chinese source blog.sina.com, the leadership of the Chinese Navy confirmed press reports of accepting the Ukrainian aircraft carrier "Varyag" into the fleet as a training carrier.

The carrier is the ideal training platform for carrier pilots since it can go to sea and pitch and roll. Rolling can't be simulated on land training bases. The carrier will also be a test platform for self-defense systems. Besides that, the experience with the Varyag will give the Chinese the opportunity to choose a power plant for an indigenously built carrier. According to unconfirmed sources, testing of a carrier based version of the J-10 has already begun. A series of escort ships like the "Chinese Aegis" Type 054 destroyers and other vessels are already building.

It's highly unlikely that the Varyag will be a fully capable combat aircraft carrier since the carrier was built in 1988 and has been in the water almost 20 years. Carriers in the US Navy have a 50 year service life, so the Varyag wont be in the Chinese order of battle for very long.

China originally bought the Varyag for $20 million without an engine or a rudder. A Chinese entrepeneuer wanted to turn it into a floating casino in the fascinating, but shady, enclave of Macau.

Perhaps the Indians should have waited a bit and bought the Gorshkov for scrap, instead of approving $2.35 Billion to renovate a 25 year old hull. I wonder how many dachas, Hummers and condos in Dubai were bought with the skim off all the money the Indians have poured into that pit?

Moskva goes East

2010-03-11T18:29:00.000-05:00

The Black Sea Fleet flagship, the missile cruiser Moskva has a couple of international exercises planned for the spring of 2010. The ship will sail for the Mediterranean to participate in PASSEXes with ships from Italy and France. The cruiser also plans to take part in bilateral naval exercises with the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean.

Besides that, the Moskva should sail for Vladivostok, where it will participate in the Vostok-2010 strategic exercise.

One on-line source suggests that the Moskva will be accompanied by the Krivak class Pytlivyy and a tug.

Another blogger, citing an Interfax report, says that the Northern Fleet Kirov class cruiser Petr Velikiy, the Pac Fleet Slava class Varyag, several Udaloy BPKs, several Sovremennyy EMs, and other surface and subsurface combatants will participate in the maritime events of Vostok-2010 in June. He also asserts that there will be an SS-N-12 shot during the exercises with the Indians.

Putin's Mini-Me reportedly expressed a desire to attend in order to watch modern war at sea.

Last month, rumors circulated that the Moskva was leaving for the Pac and wouldn't return to the Black Sea Fleet.

Goddamn you, Stephen Colbert. Goddamn you to hell....

2010-03-05T16:49:00.001-05:00

For finding this clip and featuring it on your show this week:

This picture was taken from a Su-24...

2010-03-01T18:43:00.000-05:00

Allegedly.

USS Kitty Hawk, 17 October 2000, Sea of Japan

What I'd like to know is why Russian film stock for their recon photos sucks so bad.

This is a little curious and slightly disturbing

2010-02-27T18:24:00.001-05:00

While surfing through some photos of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov at the pier, I ran across these photographs:

What is that in the upper right corner, behind the kingpost on that red ship moored nearby?

Why it appears to be the former Golf class diesel powered ballistic missile submarine K-118, later converted to a communications submarine and now in its final resting place, next to the Kuznetsov.

You'd figure that a country which has an ambition to build six aircraft carriers in the next forty years would find the time and money to dispose of their junked ships properly, instead of just leaving them derelict at the carrier pier.

Excellent photo essay on the Caspian Sea Monster

2010-02-27T17:26:00.001-05:00

Livejournalist igor113 has an excellent series of photos of the weird and wonderful Caspian Sea Monster.

There are photos of the flight deck (bridge? flight deck? I have no idea what to call it!), the crew quarters (the ekranoplan could stay at sea for five days), the galley, the anchor room, the forward most radome in the nose, the flight engineer control panel, some sort of damage control panel, the "engine room" and the weapons control station under the first pair of SS-N-22 tubes. The beast is truly the weird offspring of a 747 and a missile corvette; parts of it are genuinely airplane like and parts of it are genuinely ship like. Igor climbs the tower to the tail gunner's station up on the vertical stabilizer and I am stunned by the good material condition that the area is in. In fact, the entire interior looks pretty good, good enough that it looks like with a little rehab and paint, it could be restored to operational condition pretty quickly.

Astounding.

Photos from the outside.
Photos from the inside.
Photos of the Orlan's specially built support dock.

Russia is very different from America

2010-02-25T20:04:00.000-05:00

The head of Murmansk Oblast Dmitriy Dmitrienko gifted his apartment to the commander of BPK Severomorsk...

According to the official press release, the governor gave the apartment to the CO "during the fleet wide formation held in honor of Armed Forces Day. Captain First Rank Andrey Klimenko, captain of the Severomorsk, received the special gift. The governor gave him the deed to the apartment that he received during his service in the Northern Fleet".

Dimitrenko had the apartment since it was assigned to him. With the agreement of the Northern Fleet and the administration of the city of Severomorsk, he gave it to a new owner who needed a better place for his family...

Via KGRR.

Somebody check Frank Gaffney's garage for a crescent wrench

2010-02-25T19:32:00.001-05:00

Because anyone who owns a CRESCENT wrench, an obvious symbol of Islamic Jihad if I've ever seen one, clearly wants Sharia law in the United States:

The Obama administration’s determined effort to reduce America’s missile defense capabilities initially seemed to be just standard Leftist fare — of a piece with the Democratic base’s visceral hostility to the idea of protecting us against ballistic missile threats. A just-unveiled symbolic action suggests, however, that something even more nefarious is afoot.
...
What could be code-breaking evidence of the latter explanation is to be found in the newly-disclosed redesign of the Missile Defense Agency logo (above). As Logan helpfully shows, the new MDA shield appears ominously to reflect a morphing of the Islamic crescent and star with the Obama campaign logo. (For a comparison, the previous logo is below.)

You know what else is evidence of the Islamic conspiracy to remake the United States?

Does the crescent moon and palm tree signify that South Carolina is under imminent threat of Islamo-fascist take over? I'll bet Frank Gaffney thinks YES!

Is this lovable American icon also a sinister harbringer of Islamo-fascist takeover?

He makes CRESCENT SHAPED PASTRIES! FRENCH CRESCENT PASTRIES!

Since Frank Gaffney has obviously moved on to write for the Onion, I'd say its fair to say that no one should give a shit what he thinks about anything.

Addendum: Bonus "Frank Gaffney is crazier than a shithouse rat with tertiary syphilis" blogging -

When do we get to hear the phrase “sap and impurify our Precious Bodily Fluids” used in all seriousness? And by whom? I’ll take Sarah Palin, by the end of the year.
-dms

Word, yo.

Su-33 almost buys it on Kuznetsov

2010-02-24T19:59:00.004-05:00

Don't know when this was filmed, but it doesn't look good to my black shoe clad eye. Make sure you check out the tailhook.

Russia vs. the Pirates: Round Four for the Pacific Fleet

2010-02-24T19:37:00.001-05:00

Via Vladimir Pelevin's blog:

Gist:

A task force left Vladivostok for the Indian Ocean today consisting of the large anti-submarine warfare ship (BPK) Marshall Shaposhnikov, the ocean going tug and the tanker Pechenga. The sailors will ensure the security of vessels in the Horn of Africa area. This will be the fourth deployment by Pacific Fleet vessels to Somalia. During previous deployments our ships escorted more than a hundred vessels from 26 nations and thwarted more than 20 attacks.

Other reports indicate that the ships will carry detachments of marines and the Shaposhnikov will embark two helos.

Previously, the BPK Admiral Tributs, the tanker Boris Butoma and the ocean going salvage tug MB-99 returned to Vladivostok on 16 Nov 2009 after a 140 day deployment to the Indian Ocean on piracy patrol.

Photo of the Day

2010-02-23T19:27:00.000-05:00

An undated photo of an SS-N-18 being loaded into/removed from an unidentified Delta III with the Marshal Krylov missile range ship in the background.

A retaliatory strike for sending us T.a.T.u.

2010-02-23T18:47:00.000-05:00

American Porno Model Adopts a Child From Russia.

Model and Lesbian Tila Tequila Adopts Child From Russia.

What ever you do Russia, you don't EVEN want to know what we would retaliate with if you send up Ksenia Sobchak...Mutually Assured Cultural Destruction, Bitchez!

Apparently, I can now engage in armed bank robbery at will

2010-02-20T13:37:00.002-05:00

All I have to do is consult a lawyer first. If that lawyer gives me bad legal advice which causes me to commit all manner of sordid and horrible crimes, I'm covered, since "lawyers can make really really crazy arguments and still avoid professional sanction" and they can have honest disagreements on difficult matters of legal judgment without violating ethical standards.

Margolis' last point is especially important, since the former Vice-President of the United States is now going around the country telling people that he supports waterboarding and actively sought to use it when he was in office. Put differently, there is at least one member of the previous Administration walking around that is an admitted war criminal, although, to be sure, confessing to the elements of a war crime on television apparently does not, at least in this country, lead to any serious danger that one will actually be prosecuted for such crimes.

Whether or not the DOJ refers Yoo and Bybee for professional discipline, no one should think that either man behaved according to the high standards we should expect of government attorneys. They, and the government officials who worked with them, shamed this nation. They dragged America's reputation in the dirt. They severely damaged our good name in the eyes of the world. They undermined the values this country stands for and that the legal profession should stand for. Nothing the DOJ does now--or fails to do--will change that.

Now, who wants a bag of money? But Clinton got a blowjob and that's all that matters.

Rum, Sodomy and the Lash.

2010-02-20T11:32:00.004-05:00

Its pretty disgraceful and historically ignorant to say that homosexuals can't be warriors (ever hear of the ancient Greeks?). And Tony Perkins, who never served a day in the military, lecturing people about "conditions in the barracks" is amusing.

But comparing honorably serving homosexuals to drug dealers and thieves is pretty despicable and an apology to gay servicemen and women is in order. But then, why should we give a shit about what some dude who retired from the Navy 25 years (or 125 years, I can't really tell) ago thinks about DADT? Consorting with bitter, primitive, hate-gnomes like Elaine Donnelly and Tony Perkins who want to bring a vision of a religious dictatorship to America doesn't do much for your cred.

Abraham Simpson on acid. Heh.

For those who don't want to click through to the video, here is a rough transcript:

Like the time I took the ferry to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe so I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on them. Give me five bees for a quarter you'd say. Now where were we, oh ya. The important thing was that I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because if the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones.

Email these bigots and tell them that you wont put up with insulting servicemembers like that. Tell them the Russian Navy Blog sent you.

Even the Russians know they suck: Epilogue

2010-02-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

Chill Descends Over Russia as Olympic Medals Prove Elusive

After Australian aboriginal groups accused a Russian ice dancing pair of mocking aborigines, Valentin Piseev, president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, suggested that they were the target of an international plot to force them to alter their performance.

“I think that this is a well-executed strategy directed against our athletes,” Mr. Piseev told Russian television from Vancouver.

Yes, Russia is victim of a conspiracy. Russia has often been the victim of international plots. Usually that plot is some sort of Jewish plot and not an Australian aboriginal plot, so for this routine they get a 10 for originality.

Rarely do Bulava launches achieve this...

2010-02-19T21:01:00.001-05:00

When did moustaches go out of style in rock?

Fire! Fire! Fire!

2010-02-19T18:44:00.001-05:00

Photo: K-480 being rolled out of the building hall at SevMash, 16 April 1988. Source: military.tomsk.ru and TV program Udarnaya Sila

Arkhangel'sk - The efforts to extinguish a fire on a submarine awaiting disposal at the Zvezdochka Shipyard in Severodvinsk has been continuing for seven hours according to a source.

The fire on Akula class K-480 Ak Bars (Project 971) began at approximately 1445 Moscow time. "Cable raceways caught fire. Initial efforts to extinguish the fire were ineffective. The compartment is relatively big, but it almost immediately filled with smoke and visibility was practically zero. An attempt was made to flood the compartment in an attempt to extinguish the flames without effect".

K-480 is pretty young for being being a candidate for disposal (not that that is a BAD thing from my perspective!). For a taste of what disposal involves, see A Unique Operation in Gremikha.

Johnny, you are too bad.

2010-02-17T22:42:00.004-05:00

One of these days, when the evil boys they come, where you gonna run to?

Queen always sounds better in the original Tartar

2010-02-15T08:00:00.002-05:00

Shameless rumor mongering about the Black Sea Fleet

2010-02-13T19:25:00.003-05:00

Moskva in drydock recently, though she's out as of 05 Feb and apparently preparing to deploy to the Far East and never return. Or return by Navy Day in late July, one of the two.

I mean the future Azov-Black Sea Flotilla.

The "Moskva" wont return to the Black Sea Fleet after she finishes exercises with the Pacific Fleet. Anyone who isn't lazy already knows this. The 30th Division will be broken up and the 41st Brigade will be transferred to he Caucasus....The Black Sea Fleet will be reconstituted as the Azov-Black Sea Flotilla. Together with the Caspian Flotilla, they will be directly subordinated to an infantry General - the commander of the new Southern district. Numbers of servicemen will decline from 18,000 to 12,500 in the spring.

At this rate, all that will remain of the former Black Sea Fleet by 2017 will be a pair of roadstead tugs. Friends of mine on ocean going tugs say that crews are going to one watch and they are being converted to roadstead tugs.

What's the greasy silver pole that's a propulsion machine to all the ships? Shaft!

Damn right!

What was the part that put Moskva into maintenance dock? I'm talkin' 'bout shaft, and I can dig it!

==================================================================

In related shameless, baseless potential slander, the chief of the Black Sea Fleet may be fired soon for...what else is there (besides creepy sex murders that is):

A source in fleet headquarters told Goryachiy Novosti ("Hot News") that the Federal Security Service (FSB) has thwarted an attempt by the Black Sea Fleet commander, Vice Admiral Aleksandr Kletskov to sell a decommissioned auxiliary ship (information needs to be verified).
...
One thing is known for sure. An eighty man audit team is coming into Sevastopol on 20 February to inventory fleet assets and see if Kletskov is mixed up in any other dirt.

Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains

2010-02-13T17:21:00.002-05:00

An' go to your Gawd...no, wait a minute, that can't be right...back to your socialist paradise in a zinc box marked груз 200 like a fighter in support of international socialist solidarity.

In commemoration of the Reds getting their asses kicked back across the Panj and returning to a country that would cease to exist in less than three years, lets take a look at the Do's and Don'ts in support of international socialism, unity and brotherhood:

Collection of counter-propaganda materials

January 1987

To the internationalist warrior:

Value the honor and integrity of Soviet citizenship highly. Without fail follow Soviet law, uphold the military oath and military regulations, carry out the orders of commanders and leaders and conscientiously fulfill your patriotic and international duty.

Prohibited!

Do not enter into unauthorized communications or acquaintances.

Prohibited!

Do not patronize Afghan stores, shops or markets whether government or private. Do not obtain from there or from private people any sort of item, food, liquor or drugs.

Do not undress to sunbathe or swim in the sight of local population or near houses since such behavior is not in keeping with national and religious customs of the Afghans and are considered offensive.

Prohibited!

Do not enter the courtyards or houses of the local population, look through their windows and doors, at the faces of women or enter into conversation with them.

Prohibited!

Do not accept any gifts, awards or presents from local authorities or other civilians having any value as a good or service.

Always display a high level of political alertness, always and everywhere maintain OPSEC, do no talk about official business or other topics of conversation concerning operational activities of units in the presence of outsiders.

Source.

I don't think "Battlestar Galactica" means what you think it means.

2010-02-13T08:24:00.002-05:00

"Space is a battlefield. 'Mass culture' has been preparing the American public for this long before Reagan's plan to militarize space. The cast of the film 'Battlestar Galactica'. The hateful gaze, the laser pistols..."

Yep. We're gonna smoke your ass from MARS BITCHES! In mini-skirts! With turd looking robot dogs! To a groovy disco beat!

What you gonna do when we come for you!

2010-02-12T22:03:00.000-05:00

America! Fuck Yeah!

Republicans! (murmur) Books! (crickets).

12 Feb 1988: USS Yorktown vs. Bezzavetnyy

2010-02-12T19:56:00.009-05:00

The former Bezzavetnyy, shown in typical Ukrainian colors

Two different views (with my very rough translation of Russian report):

Twenty years ago, an attempt to enter Soviet territorial waters ended with the US Navy learning a lesson. Here is a unique view of the two powers in the Black Sea.

They came to test us. The 12th of Feb. 1988 is a date that the crews of the cruiser Yorktown and the destroyer Caron will always remember. That’s the day that a ship of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet shoved them out of Soviet territorial waters. Literally.

Everything was normal. The international situation was okay. The former head of the International Department of the Communist Party Central Committee Valentin Fapin remembers:

There was provocation in the Black Sea which consisted of a violation of our air space by an American aircraft. The Americans did this several times because they were implementing a new Maritime Doctrine emphasizing strikes on Soviet bases, on Soviet ports, with non-nuclear weapons.

Two Soviet escorts, the Bezzavetnyy and SKR-6 met the ships of the US 6th Fleet at the exit of the Bosphorus in order to accompany them. The US ships answered that they didn’t need any assistance. It is not acceptable for Russians to ignore guests, the Soviet side countered.

On the 12th of Feb, at about 1100, the task group commander reported to headquarters that “ the Yorktown and Caron are within two miles of our territorial waters”. There was a short colloquy between the Soviet and American ships:

Soviets: Your course takes you to denied territorial waters.
Good Guys: We are not violating anything. We are continuing on course and speed.

Vice Admiral Valentin Selivanov gave the command: sound collision. It wasn’t a ram (I.E. a deliberate attack), but rather a high speed approach to the rear quarter of the other ship, gently nudging the other ship off course. The Bezzavetnyy approached the Yorktown, while SKR-86 approached the Caron. The assignment wasn’t simple.

Vice Admiral Selivanov:

The cruiser Yorktown displaced at least two times the escort ship Bezzavetnyy and the frigate (sic) Caron displaced four times the escort ship SKR-6. But we issued our orders and the captains did their jobs correctly, suffering minimal damage.

First the Bezzavetnyy hit the Yorktown’s port side, damaging the Harpoon launcher and destroying the captain’s gig. The Americans, who had been smiling, were now sounding the alarm and bringing hoses to the missile launcher.

Vladimir Bogdashin, Captain of the Bezzavetnyy:

There was a group of sailors on the stern, mostly black sailors, with fire hoses. When they saw those missile warheads, they got out of there. They came back about 15 minutes later, to see what was going on. It was completely unexpected. The ship was in shock.

The Caron saw what was going on and changed course. The order was given again. This time, it was more like a ramming attack. The strike occurred in the area around the helo deck. A high, sharp blow and the bow ended up on deck, rolling the Bezzavetnyy to port 15 or 20 degrees…At that moment, the ships entered a thick cloud. A fire started on the Yorktown near the anti-submarine missiles. The Caron wheeled around and the American ships attempted to put the Bezzavetnyy into a pincer. Meanwhile, the Bezzavetnyy readied it’s RBU-6000, armed with depth charges.

Bogdashin:

Everyone knows that if you give the Americans a shove, they’ll withdraw when things aren’t going their way and concentrate their forces at another point. (Note: Bastard smirks here).

The Yorktown readied two helicopters, but two Soviet Mi-26s (sic) carrying full combat loads circled the American ships. The helos were rolled back into their hangers and within the hour, the Americans departed territorial waters. Within a day the battered ships of the US 6th Fleet headed to depart the inhospitable, Soviet controlled Black Sea. (end of video)

There is another Russian language account of the incident here. Maybe I'll translate it on a day that I'm not feeling so lazy and the HBO series "Rome" starring the super hot Polly Walker isn't beckoning...

Because I like missiles too...

2010-02-10T22:12:00.002-05:00

An SS-18 Satan ICBM gets removed from its silo.

I need a cigarette...

Huh

2010-02-09T20:36:00.004-05:00

I find it hard to believe that this isn't some sort of "K-Billy Super Sounds of the 70s" throwback, a lost gem from the hippie dippie daze just recently rediscovered and repurposed to sell Korean cars.

Even the Russians know they suck, Part 5 (end)

2010-02-09T13:20:00.000-05:00

Zh. “Other details noted by the French and Russian liaison officers”.

1. There is an identical uniform on surface ships and submarines in the French Navy: dark blue jumpsuit with corresponding stripes. There are service shoes, but in general everyone wears dark “civilian” shoes. They wear the same uniform in the mess at chow time. They go out and stand watch on the weather decks without covers since they don’t have the equivalent to our “pilotkas” (garrison cap?). On the Latouche-Treville, there was a ships laundry with a couple of modern automatic washers where they washed sheets. No ships laundry was ascertained on the Tourville. There was a meshbag full of underwear hanging in the wardroom, from which officers could take sheets (?!?). Probably there is system of single use sheets on the older Tourville.

2. (Note: Circled and exclamation pointed). Food on French ships was significantly better and varied. The basic part of the menu – frutti di mare, meat and vegetables. For the week the Russian officers were on board, the menu did not repeat itself. According to the French sailors, the menu begins to repeat itself after they have been at sea for a month. As opposed to the Russian BPK, where the ration worsens as you go from the Captains table, to the wardroom for the officers and warrants and further down to the crew, on the French destroyers and multipurpose submarines, there is one galley and the food is the same for everyone. The only difference: the crew’s mess is self service while the wardroom is served by well trained orderlies.

3. There are two wardrooms on the French destroyers: a senior mess and the wardroom for junior officers. Entry into the wardroom, except for those that mess there and the orderlies is prohibited. The prohibition on entry into the junior wardroom even extends to the senior officers. One shift an hour eats there since there is time to linger over cool drinks before eating and a cup of coffee and conversation afterwards. The senior wardroom has its own fund that they use to buy additional supplies and organize additional excursions during foreign port calls with everyone’s agreement. Similar funds on Russian ships are funded by the officers themselves, while in the French Navy they are a separate line in the ships budget.

4. All the combat posts and officer staterooms on French destroyers are equipped with laptops or computers connected to a local network. Each officer has a personal password and can connect with the appropriate access levels to a data base. Messages, including secret messages, are received on the laptops and sent by email to the radio room for transmission. All the incoming messages are sent to the commander’s laptop, who readdresses the messages to the appropriate combat post. There are very few messages printed out on paper on the ship. There a plans for the future of a paperless ship, where all documentation is electronic.

Power to these computers on the French ships is provided by ordinary power outlets both at combat posts and in living spaces without any additional adapters. There are a couple of computers on the BPK which were plugged directly into ship’s current without any sort of stabilizer. They malfunctioned because of surges in voltage and frequency.

5. All the passageways are named for streets on the destroyer.

6. The French officers noted that admirals in their Navy rarely go to sea and then only in specific circumstances. Usually, there are no senior officers on board.

7. All the household trash on French ships underway is collected and stored in bags in special compartments. When they make port call in a domestic or foreign port, the garbage (for pay or for free) is disposed of. Nothing is thrown overboard. We throw everything overboard, therefore one can often see a greasy stain and household trash in the water around our ships in foreign ports.

8. Smoking is prohibited inside the Tourville. There are two specially equipped areas to smoke in on the weather decks: the signal bridge and the fantail. There is only one spot in foul weather where one can safely smoke – the signal bridge. Smoking is prohibited on the signal bridge on the BPK, but they smoke there anyway (especially during storms), and butts are thrown overboard. The wind often blows them onto the decks below or onto the small boats.

9. French ships are painted a lighter shade. Against the background of the sea, they are less noticeable from the air than the darker Russian ships. Against the background of the land – it’s the opposite.

10. The French noticed that a Captain 1^st Rank (the Chief of Staff) spent a lot of time on the pier with a radio handset, assembled those who were going on liberty in town (after they had already assembled on the ship), as well as those returning from liberty, for uniform inspection.

11. The French noticed that there weren’t a lot of Russians on liberty out in town as compared to the number of crew members. The Russian side requested more buses during the exercise planning and the French met our request, but just two or three busses were used. The rest ran empty. In five days, the 530 members of the crews of the BPK and submarine made 925 trips to shore. When the French ships tied up, only the duty section and those who had work to do stayed.

International military cooperation at sea continues to develop at a higher level: from port calls to joint exercises at sea. It bears paying attention to the unofficial opinions that the French side has of the Russian Navy. It would be better if we could incorporate some of their experience (such as use of non-skid on the decks and the use of satellite phones).

Signed,

Acting Chief of the International Military Cooperation Detachment of the Northern Fleet, Captain 2^nd Rank O. Prasov

28 October 2004

Even the Russians know they suck, Part 4

2010-02-08T14:57:00.002-05:00

D. Joint Russian-French Training

1. “The Russian side tried to take control of the training”.

(…)

2. “Planning was complicated”

Questions pertaining to the joint exercise on the Tourville were handled by the operations officer equivalent in rank to Captain 3^rd Rank (the responsibilities of the operations officer is similar to our BCh-7, only he is also responsible for combat readiness and doesn’t stand a watch)(Note: Handwritten exclamation mark here). He himself resolved all issues (consulting with the commander for specific complicated problems) and immediately after agreement with the Russian liaison officers, issued corresponding commands to the Combat Information Center watch and the submarine Emeraude. The operations officer also developed the personnel plans for the officers on the ship. There in a special box in front of the stateroom, each officer on the ship could pick up his personal plan for the day in the morning. In accordance with this plan, each officer ran his division.

The commander of the task group made all the final decisions on the BPK. Plans often changed at night. As the French interpreter (in voice over the radio) noted, the change of the commander of the BPK for the Chief of Staff on the bridge lead to a change of plans. Late at night the plan changed again (probably by the task group commander). This inconvenienced the French operations officer since he had to revise the plan a couple of times and issue supplemental orders to the submarine Emeraude. And do this all at night instead of resting.

In Brest, after two hours of work to plan the final step of the training, the French side (represented by a Captain 2^nd Rank from the base ops department and the ops officer from the Tourville, a Captain 3^rd Rank) asked the Chief of Staff (representing the Russian side), “We agree, but is this the Russian side’s final answer?” The answer was, “I can’t make a decision. We have to consult the admiral.” This caused a misunderstanding with the French and when the task group commander arrived, planning began again.

3. “Exercise planning in this season in this area”.

More than once French officers, including the captain of the destroyer asked, “Why did you plan an exercise in this season in this area?” Traditionally there are strong storms here in fall. (Note: handwritten exclamation mark in the margin). It would have been better, in their opinion, to do these exercises in the Mediterranean.

4. No reason for stationing French liaison officers on the BPK.

The commander of the Tourville, just like the commander of the Latouche-Treville in 2003, asked the same question, “Why are our officers on board the Russian ship if you never resolve any issues with them?” The French liaison officers asked the same question.

5. “Dangerous method of launching the rubber boat”.

As noted above, the Tourville launches and recovers their rubber boat without crew for safety reasons.

A SPETZNAZ detachment was launched in a rubber boat from the BPK for an inspection operation. The launch was conducted in full view of the French ship. Because there was no initial planning of the launch and the boat wasn’t hooked up in the center, the boat was launched in almost a vertical position with SPETZNAZ troops strapped in. The French noted that this was dangerous.

It can be noted about boarding operations that the order to form a boarding group was only given as the ship was leaving base. No member of the team had a clear idea of what to do or how to do it. For a month before deployment the commander of the SPETZNAZ detachment on board was told that his help wasn’t needed during boarding and inspection operations. As a result, the order was given to the SPETZNAZ representative to be included in the inspection group and they began a crash training course (without actually getting into a small boat).

E. Organization of communications.

1. “Ineffective comms in the tactical zone”.

Exercise experience has shown that existing means of communications (simplex radio communications on one frequency) normally allows only two ships to execute tasks. When submarine is added to the mix, confusion and missed messages results.

The French liaison officers brought to the BPK PC-NET device allowing comms between ships in automatic mode. But the device wasn’t installed and tried out by the Russian side. It’s practical application remained unknown. (The PC-NET device was developed by a civilian organization for automatic communications between French fishing ships. It worked well and was accepted into use in the French Navy. It consists of a PC and an attached small scale radio transmitter. The installation of the PC-NET on board the Russian ship was in the plan for the first French-Russian exercise, but wasn’t installed by the French for technical reasons). (Note: Big exclamation mark in the margin here).

2. “Lack of satellite phone on the BPK”.

The Tourville has two satellite phones onboard. One is on the bridge for official use. The second is located in the main passageway for the crew to use to call home. The crew pays for their own personal calls, but phone card can be obtained on base in advance.

The necessity for a satellite phone on board, even if it is only for official use, was demonstrated while resolving the situation surrounding obtaining medical help for Seaman Golub. Arrangements were made with the Russian embassy in Spain and an American airbase by the Russian liaison officers in a short amount of time because the French offered the use of the official satellite phone.

The French means of communication were used again to send a fax from the Admiral Chabanenko to the commander of the American airbase.

Besides satellite telephones, the French destroyer has access to the internet and permanent antennas for satellite television. Not everyone had access to the internet. There is an electronic address for the ship to which comes all the messages which allows delivery of personal messages to members of the crew. Members of the crew give their responses to the postal service. The satellite TV is streamed to the wardroom and sailors’ messes. (Note: big exclamation mark in the margin).

3. “Many personal messages on the radio”.

The French interpreters, who were always present during radio conversations and immediately conveyed the gist of those conversations to their commanders, had to interpret a series of incomprehensible conversations. For instance: The Chief of Staff ordered a Russian communications officer to read him the text of a message (already sent to headquarters using secure communications) over the HF radio concerning the readiness of Russian ships to carry out unofficial events during the visit, but the Russian officer evaded giving an answer, considering what a serious violation of communication’s security this represented.

In addition, the BPK openly reported names, ranks and positions of officers in the clear in HF. It is fair to say that the callsign of the 2^nd DPLK (Division of Anti-submarine Ships) “Maslina” is now linked to a concrete billet by the French Navy.

Even the Russians know they suck, Part 3

2010-02-07T16:21:00.000-05:00

C. The Crew

1. “How seniors in rank and position relate to juniors, particularly to the sailors”.

This was a topic that the French officers paid special attention to. There was much yelling and cursing on the BPK and subordinates were often belittled (even senior officers in the presence of sailors.

The Chief of Staff refused to talk with a Russian communications officer (who had told the COS that he was a Captain 3^rd rank) over the HF radio (I.E for the whole world to hear) to resolve some sort of problem. The French interpreter interpreted this conversation for the French servicemembers present. And they were very surprised: “Why doesn’t he want to talk to a Captain 3^rd Rank?”

It was noted by the French officers that similar relations between people in France would be intolerable.

2. “There are a lot of officers on the ship”.

There are twenty four officers in the three hundred person crew on the Tourville. On board the BPK Admiral Chabanenko, with just a little more crew, there were twice as many officers, and taking into account embarked staff – four times as many. French officers were surprised at the amount of senior officers on board, especially Captain 1^st Ranks – seven, whose functions could not be understood (on the Tourville, there is only the captain).

3. “Lots of musters”.

Russian liaison officers didn’t observe one crew muster onboard the Tourville in a week.

On the BPK, musters came one after another.

4. “Another BPK commander is onboard the Chabanenko, but he outranks the commander of the Chabanenko”.

After the Chief of Staff (the commander of the BPK Admiral Kharlamov) briefed the French, he was asked, “How can the commander of one BPK give orders to the commander of a second BPK?” and “How the commander of the BPK Admiral Chabanenko Captain 1^st Rank S. Grishin takes such orders?”

D. The Ship’s Watch

1. Organization of the bridge watch

While spending a lot of time on the underway bridge of the BPK, the French liaison officers (the first one – the navigator, who normally stands officer of the watch and the second one – the electronic warfare officer, who normally stands watch as the combat officer) noted the following:

- The constant presence of the captain or senior on the bridge, who runs the ship: he works the radio himself, he himself evaluates the situation, he himself gives the wheel and engine telegraph commands. The watch officer plays no role in the running of the ship. The function of the watch officer is not understood.

In the French Navy, ships and submarines are run by the watch officer. There is no command watch. In normal situations, the commander appears on the bridge only episodically (on submarines, surfacing is done without the commander): in complicated situations, he will be there but he does not take control, but is there to support the watch officer. The watch officer, in turn, trains his assistant (the warrant officer). In 2003, during a refueling evolution, the Latouche-Treville came along side the Admiral Chabanenko twice for refueling: the first time, the watch officer brought her along side (with advice from the commander), while the second time, the commander didn’t participate as the watch officer advised his assistant.

- Stationing an additional navigation watch.

On the French destroyers, the plot is kept by the watch officer or by one of his

two assistants (a warrant officer and a senior sailor who also is the signalman). The plot is kept on the bridge with the aid of GPS. Besides that, the plot is kept in the combat information center on an electronic map on a personal computer.

- Conflicting commands are issued.

Often, conflicting commands were issued when the commander of the ship, the chief of staff and task force commander were on the bridge. The French liaison officers were surprised when someone corrected the orders of the ship’s commander.

- Tense situation on the bridge.

This was noted especially in areas with a lot of shipping traffic. There was much screaming and cursing on the bridge. The BPK, even having the right of way in accordance with MPPSS-72, would initiate unpredictable maneuvers, confusing the transports proceeding in their own lanes. The French liaison officers asked, “Don’t you ever have intensive marine traffic transiting your area?” (Note: This whole paragraph is bracketed in the report).

- Current information for the watch standers are written on cardboard cards.

On French ships, all the current information (course, speed, callsign) is written in marker on glass on any convenient place, including the bridge windscreen.

2. “Many watchstanders have unclear roles”.

The French liaison officers, probably, have in mind the supplementary watch, stationed in the corridors and hatches along their routes.

3. “There are more watches on the BPK”.

There aren’t many differences between the French and Russian Navies concerning how watches are relieved or when. ON the Tourville, watch turnover is at 0400, 0800, 1200, 1500, 1800, 2000, and 2400 (on the BPK there is no turnover at 1500, but at 1600 instead). But they have four watch sections (and in certain situations, three) while we have two or three watch sections.

Even the Russians know they suck, Part II

2010-02-07T15:51:00.000-05:00

B. The ship.

1. “Presence on board of unnecessary, but potentially dangerous objects and materials”.

French officers paid attention to the presence on board the BPK of a large number of:

- large mirrors (which can shatter during explosions and seriously cut people standing nearby; and the shards are potentially dangerous);

- plastic and wooden surfaces (which burn well and put out toxic smoke).

The sauna is potentially dangerous.

In the French Navy, the presence on board of dangerous objects and materials without good reason is categorically and strictly controlled. (Note: Big handwritten exclamation mark here).

2. “Slippery decks: both the weather decks and the interior spaces”.

The metal decks, especially when they are wet or covered in salt, are very slippery. There is a great probability of falling and receiving serious injury during pitching. The guests often slipped. The decks on French ships (as well as on American, British and Norwegian ships) are covered with a rough paint which limits slipping even when wet. The ladders also have a special coating, kind of like emory board, that limits slipping.

3. “Many commands given on the 1MC”

Only reveille and the command to begin damage control training and the man overboard drill were announced over the 1MC on the Tourville. All underway evolutions, including watch change, happened without a command. The crew acted on their own in accordance with the plan of the day. (Note: Handwritten exclamation mark here).

4. “Radar detection of air targets didn’t work all the time”.

The air search and surface search radars on the French ships were on in active mode constantly, monitoring the air and surface picture. (Note: Bit exclamation mark in the margin here). On the BPK, the air search radar was periodically switched off, resulting in the detection of a British Nimrod and a British civilian helicopter only after they made a low altitude flyby.

5. “There is no accessible and clear way to deliver ship wide information to the crew”.

Russian liaison officers were invited to briefings held once per day on board the Tourville and the Latouche-Treville for the officers. Briefing topics included: weather forcast, disposition of foreign forces in the sailing area, the plan of the day for the current day and a provisional plan of the day for the next day, training events for the joint training and a supply and armament report. Information was presented in the form of slides, projected on the screen with interesting photographs made that day. There is a television in the central corridor on which the whole crew could watch information about the briefing.

There were similar events on board the BPK twice a day. Information was provided to the underway staff officers only, using maps. The French liaison officers weren’t invited. No notes were given to the crew.

6. “Hygiene on board the ship”.

On board the more than thirty year old Tourville, there was hot and cold fresh water in all the compartments and showers all the time. (Note: in the margin, someone scribbled “No comment!!!”). The Tourville boils about a hundred tons of fresh water a day.

French officers were surprised that onboard the most modern Russian ship, provision of hot water to the staterooms wasn’t even planned for and that cold water was available once a day for ten minutes.

The entire crew (450 people) washed once every ten days, over the course of eight hours. Each man had three to four minutes in the shower. The French officers paid attention to the appearance of the Russian sailors. By the end of the deployment, lice was found on the sailors. (Note: Exclamation mark in the margin).

Even the Russians know they suck, Part I

2010-02-07T14:54:00.004-05:00

I ran across an interesting document, an after action report detailing "living conditions on board ships of the Russian Navy, observations by officers in the French Navy during joint Russian-French exercises and a port visit to Brest, France by ships of the Northern Fleet" dated 28 October 2004. There are a lot of interesting observations here, which can be summarized thusly:

They have hot water! Shit, the French have water at all! The watch actually stands watch! Goddamn, we're dirty! Paint mixed with sand on the decks so people don't slip and break their necks? Mon dieu! Musters! Do we really need so many musters? And maybe our ships wouldn't be so dirty if we gave our guys stuff to clean with. Or if we let them shower more than once every two weeks!

Well, not quite, but pretty close.

Part I:

To the Commander of the Northern Fleet
Vice Admiral Abramov

Report

On the issue: “Some details on living conditions on board ships of the Russian Navy, observations by officers in the French Navy during joint Russian-French exercises and a port visit to Brest, France, by ships of the Northern Fleet”

The second joint Russian-French training exercise in the north-east Atlantic took place from 14-27 September, 2004. The large anti-submarine ship (BPK) Admiral Chabanenko, attack submarine K-157, French destroyer Tourville and submarine Emeraude participated. According to plan, the first evolution was an officer exchange: two Russian officers went to the Tourville and two French officers went to the Admiral Chabanenko. The liaison officers spent seven days on board, until the port call in Brest (21-26 Sep 2004). During direct interaction with French officers (on separate occasions), ((something)) managed to indirectly obtain information about the issues that they paying attention to during the joint exercises and port visit….

Event------------------------- Tourville--------------Chabanenko
Reveille-----------------------0745-------------------0700
Breakfast----------------------0700-0900----------First shift 0730-0745
(Officers serve themselves)--------------------------Second shift 0815-0830

Page 2

Event--------------------Tourville-------------------------Chabanenko
Shipboard evolutions---0900-1100----------------------0830-1125
Lunch:-------------------First shift -1100-1200----------1130-1145
---------------------------Second shift-1200-1300--------1210-1230
Rest----------------------Until 1445------------------------Until 1400
Shipboard evolutions---1500-1900-----------------------1400-1725
Dinner-------------------1st Shift 1900-2000-------------1730-1745
----------------------------2nd Shift 2000-2100-----------1810-1830
Shipboard evolutions----N/A------------------------------1830-2045
Free time----------------From 2100-----------------------2035-2200
Evening tea--------------N/A-------------------------------First shift 2330-2345
(Coffee, tea, juice, beer, etc.--------------------------------Second shift 0010-0020
always available to crew for free)
Taps---------------------Anytime after 2000---------------0030

Darken ship on French vessels is at 2000: the lights in the staterooms and common areas are covered and night lights are turned on in corridors (daylight lighting is turned on at 0800). As opposed to the lighting on the BPK, only running lights are visible from the outside.
There are no shipwide evolutions on the Tourville after 2000 except:
1. Night training (for instance, night time TOLs by the helicopter);
2. When the need arises because of a casualty.

Thus, French sailors (not standing watch) have twelve hours in which to relax
while Russian sailors have but six.

Page 3

2. “Typical shipboard evolutions during the week…”

The commander of the Tourville established three types of days at sea when he assumed command, depending on the situation:

1. Combat training day
2. Maintenance day – when the crew concentrated on repairs and material condition.
3. Sunday (rest day) – one or two times a week. Shipboard evolutions are kept to a minimum or just not carried out. No reveille. (“Sunday” was announced as one of the days during the joint exrcises).

Special attention was given to damage control and man overboard drills. They were carried out on maintenance days and also in parallel with joint training.

Man overboard drills are organized in an interesting manner. In secret from the crew, the First Lieutenant would give the signal and he would go to a cabinet and take out a manikin, throw it overboard and give the command “Man Overboard!”. The command is given over the 1MC. The watch officer presses the special button on the GPS to mark position and turns the ship around to return to that same position. At the same time fast rubber boat is prepared for launch. Launch of the boat is made without a crew aboard for safety reasons. Two members of the crew and a diver were lowered into the boat with a line after the boat was lowered into the water and placed under tow. The rubber boat was launched toward the manikin from the approaching ship. Upon return of the boat, the boat was secured to the ship and a Jacob’s ladder was lowered, and only then they raised the boat. The rescue operation – from the moment the “Man overboard” command was given to the recovery of the manikin on board in sea state three or four – took twenty minutes. No one from the ships command team took part in the drill. Action on the bridge was directed by the watch officer – a warrant officer. (Note: There is a big, handwritten exclamation point here).

3. “Multiple and prolonged cleaning events”.

Planned cleaning on the French ship is done once a day. The cleaner, who has a wide variety of cleaning implements and household chemicals, decides himself if he has cleaned enough or if he should clean some more.

LTC Paul Yingling, O.G. (Originalist Gangsta)

2010-02-06T18:43:00.003-05:00

In order to prevent future debacles, LTC Paul Yingling calls for a return to running an army the way the Founders intended - by making Congress actually work and do shit. And shit:

A RETURN TO CITIZEN SOLDIERS

The U.S. should therefore abandon the all-volunteer military and return to our historic reliance on citizen soldiers and conscription to wage protracted war. This approach proved successful in both world wars and offers several advantages over the all-volunteer military. First and most important, this approach demands popular participation in national security decisions and provides Congress with powerful incentives to reassert its war powers. Unlike the all-volunteer force, a conscripted force of citizen soldiers would ensure that the burdens of war are felt equally in every community in America. Second, this approach provides the means to expand the Army to a sufficient size to meet its commitments. Unlike the all-volunteer force, a conscripted force would not rely on stop-loss policies or an endless cycle of year-on, year-off deployments of overstressed and exhausted forces. Third, conscription enables the military to be more discriminating in selecting those with the skills and attributes most required to fight today’s wars. Unlike the all-volunteer force, a conscripted force would not rely on exorbitant bonuses and reduced enlistment standards to fill its ranks. Finally, this approach would be less expensive. Unlike the world wars of the 20th century, today’s dangers will not pass quickly, allowing for a return to a smaller and less expensive military establishment. Imposing fiscal discipline on the Pentagon would not only strengthen America’s depleted finances, but also constrain executive ambitions for adventures abroad and congressional appetites for pork-barrel projects at home.

...

Others may dispute these methods of raising and funding military power on the grounds of political expediency. Imposing conscription, mobilizing National Guard and reserve forces, raising taxes and cutting domestic spending to pay for military expenditures will be politically unpopular. However, the development of America’s military forces and their commitment to protracted wars were never intended to be politically expedient. The Founders placed these powers in the hands of Congress to ensure that such momentous decisions were undertaken carefully after sober public deliberation. The Founders did not expect that America would “go to war with the Army we have” but rather that Congress would raise the Army we need to prosecute carefully thought out war aims to a successful conclusion.

...

In many ways, the prosecution of the war in Iraq is a cautionary tale against bypassing the war powers of Congress. If members of Congress had to impose conscription and fully mobilize the National Guard, they might have been more skeptical of the case for war. Had members of Congress been required to cut popular domestic programs to pay for the war, they might have insisted on prosecuting the war more intelligently and vigorously. Instead, Iraq edged toward chaos over the course of four years, costing the lives of thousand of volunteers and hundreds of billions of dollars in borrowed money. Members of Congress held hearings and asked questions, but took no action to change the course of events in Iraq. The public did not have to endure conscription as it did during the Vietnam War; the nascent anti-war movement therefore never approached the size and intensity of its Vietnam-era counterpart. Congress played only a minor role in the 2007 change of strategy in Iraq, the so-called “surge” that has created a remarkable, if fragile, turnaround. Nonetheless, the underlying fact remains that our conduct of the war in Iraq calls into question both the intelligence and vigor of America’s capacity to wage war.

I can already hear the screams of the so-called "originalist conservatives" of "America hating traitor" and "why does the Russian Navy Blogger and LTC Yingling hate America so much that they are advocating disarmament?"

Because that is how those wanna be, gonna be prankstas in the non-serving Bill Kristol/Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck wing roll...

A Unique Operation in Gremikha, Pt II

2010-02-05T15:47:00.005-05:00

More than a year ago, I made a snide remark about how Gremikha looked kind of like the Book of Eli meets S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. Apparently, they CAN carry out those types of "unique operations" there:

I'll never underestimate the technical ability of a country that looks like the set for a remake of "Planet of the Apes" again.

I have no love for the Russians, but...

2010-02-03T20:12:00.005-05:00

...the morons who considered this need to be identified so they will never again allowed near the levers of power. What were these advocates of riding to Georgia's rescue thinking? That trading Tbilisi for Chicago or New York in a potential nuclear exchange would be a fair trade? That this was an "emotionally difficult" decision is absurd.

I want names!

President George W. Bush and his senior aides considered — and rejected — a military response to Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia, according to a new history of the conflict and interviews with former officials in the Bush administration.

“There were people on [Vice President Dick] Cheney’s staff and [National Security Adviser Stephen] Hadley’s staff who said, ‘We can’t let Georgia go down like this.'”

When Biggie Met Miley

2010-01-17T17:24:00.002-05:00

Awesome:

When Yura Met Dmitry...

2010-01-04T18:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Armistice Day!

2009-11-11T11:31:00.001-05:00

Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks

What's that being loaded on Yura?

2009-09-21T18:02:00.001-04:00

"Soviet Means Quality!"

2009-07-16T18:29:00.002-04:00

Bulava fail. Again.

Из-за нештатного срабатывания первой ступени ракета самоликвидировалась", - говорится в сообщении управления пресс-службы и информации Минобороны РФ.

First stage.

Dima <3 Yuri

2009-07-03T18:56:00.002-04:00

More pics of Yuri and Dima at U-96.

Admiral Tributs Goes Pirate Hunting

2009-06-29T18:39:00.002-04:00

Udaloy class BPK 534 Admiral Tributs gets underway for the Gulf of Aden. Will pass the Udaloy class Admiral Pantaleyev on her way back to Vladivostok.

Kavkaz-2009

2009-06-29T18:30:00.002-04:00

While in port Novorossiysk, moored next to the Vishnya class AGI SSV-201, the Large Landing Ship Tsezar Kunikov loads a company of the 7th Airborne Division with about a dozen armored vehicles for transport to the firing range. According to the 7th Division spokesman, transporting the Airborne company by sea is in accordance with the Minister of Defense's policy of ensuring that the 7th Airborne Division remains a premier rapid reaction force, able to act in a professional manner in any situation.

Yuri Dolgoruki Goes to Sea

2009-06-24T19:42:00.001-04:00

The Saakashvili Tie Hanger

2009-06-20T10:13:00.002-04:00

USS Klakring Arrives In Port Sevastopol, March 2009

2009-06-20T10:07:00.001-04:00

Place Holder

2009-06-20T09:27:00.001-04:00

This is why the Internet exists

2009-03-31T19:07:00.000-04:00

Los Colorados, hot and cold reprise Katy Perry
Uploaded by nico-eteignez

Don't Call it a Comeback

2009-02-06T18:19:00.005-05:00

Just a quick post, because I can't resist, via The Pilot's Blog, a good 11 minute video on the Gorshkov being refloated back in December. Note the detail of the guts of the arresting gear around minute five. And around minute ten, the head of Sevmash says that the experience with re-habbing the Gorshkov combined with the existing capability with regards to handling nuclear propulsion makes the yard the natural choice for building a future Russian nuclear carrier. I may have more on that in a later post. Some of you may also be interested in the footage from the carrier aviation base in Saki, Ukraine.

Conservation Status

2008-12-07T07:53:00.003-05:00

Not mothballs, not stricken from the blogrolls, just a hiatus until I can figure out how I can blog AND collect a paycheck AND not burn myself out.

Meanwhile, I leave you with something that underscores the importance of Russia watching:

British scholar rails at police seizure of anti-Stalin archive

Eminent British historian Orlando Figes yesterday accused the Russian authorities of trying to 'rehabilitate the Stalinist regime' after armed police seized an entire archive last week detailing repression in the Soviet Union.

Figes, professor of history at Birkbeck, a London University college, condemned the raid on Memorial, a Russian human rights organisation. He said that the police had also taken material used in his latest book, The Whisperers, which details family life in Stalin's Russia.

On Thursday, armed and masked men from the investigative committee of the Russian general prosecutor's office burst into Memorial's St Petersburg office.

After a search of several hours, they confiscated its entire archive - memoirs, photographs, interviews, and other unique documents detailing the history of the gulag and the names of many of its victims.

Yesterday Figes claimed the raid 'was clearly intended to intimidate Memorial'. The confiscated archive included unique documents detailing the 'Soviet terror from 1917 to the 1960s,' he said, adding that the office was 'an important centre for historical research' and a 'voice for tens of thousands of victims of repression in Leningrad'. He said he believed the raid was 'a serious challenge to freedom of expression' in Russia: 'It is part of a campaign to rewrite Soviet history and rehabilitate the Stalinist regime.'

Vladimir Putin Rears His Head Over Alaska

2008-11-29T07:11:00.002-05:00

If those Russian flyboys aren't careful, Caribou Barbie will make moose stew out of them, you betcha!

LTC Vladimir Drik told the press that two TU-95MS strategic bombers carried out a patrol in neutral waters around Alaska on Thursday. The LTC noted that, "The Long Range Aviation crews were escorted during their patrol for an hour by two F-15 interceptors above the Arctic Ocean of the Alaskan littoral".

The TU-95s flew out of Ukrainka Air Force base. Aerial refueling was conducted during the flight. As of now the crews have successfully landed at their permanent base. The TU-95MSs were in the air more than 15 hours.

This is kind of a poke in the eye by the Russians, who are fully aware that Thursday was one of the great American holidays. This says to me that the Russians are poking us to let us know that they are still there and are doing it in a way to irritate us.

Missile Testing Update

2008-11-28T17:24:00.007-05:00

A claim of a successful Bulava test:

Gist: There was a test of the newest ballistic missile Bulava today. It was launched from the Dmitriy Donskoy from the White Sea and a notional target was destroyed at the Kura test range. The Bulava missile can carry up to 10 independently targeted re-entry vehicles. The range is not less than 8,000 km. It is planned to introduce this super-modern missile into service next year.

(RNB Comment: Unedifying commentary by Igor' Dygalo about how all the "combat components" successfully arrived at the range in Kura follow, plus yadda, yadda, yadda).

RNB Note: There have been initial claims of success followed by reports of failure before, so take it with a grain of salt. Also, if the Bulava is deployed next year as is so often claimed, that would make it a very undertested missile. Just as a reminder, according to this Soviet era documentary, the SS-N-23 were extensive, with nine sea-based tests, 16 firings from a land based test stand and multiple firings in different configurations from the lead boat of the Delta IV class. According to the testing timeline at Russian Strategic Forces, the Russians have pretty much foregone the land-based testing and seeing as that the Yuri Dolgoruki has just started to split atoms, there will probably be just one or two tests from the boat that the Bulava was intended for before the end of next year. Then, with fingers crossed, the Dolgoruki will conduct an under-ice transit to Vilyuchinsk and be anni-dominied as "combat certified".

We shall see.

Also, despite the fact that the news reports says that the Bulava could carry "up to ten" warheads, I believe that the Russians declared six re-entry vehicles per RSM-56 (the START name for Bulava) in the last Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty Memorandum of Understanding.

Speaking of START, in anticipation of the demise of START on 04 December, 2009, the Russians have conducted their latest test of the obviously treaty violating derivative of the SS-27 (and cousin of the Bulava), the RS-24 on the 26th:

Gist: An RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a multiple re-entry vehicle front section was test launched from a mobile launcher in Plesetsk. The Strategic Rocket Forces announced that the target at the Kura test range was destroyed. (RNB Comment: The rest of the piece is about a Soyuz-U launch from Baikonur).

How the development, testing and deployment (see next clip) of the RS-24 isn't a pretty blatent violation of START Article V, para 5 4 is a mystery to me. Article V, paragraph ~~five~~ four states that "[E]ach Party undertakes not to deploy on a mobile launcher of ICBMs an ICBM of a type that was not specified as a type of ICBM for mobile launchers of ICBMs in accordance with paragraph 2 of Section VII of the Protocol on Notifications Relating to this Treaty, hereinafter referred to as the Notification Protocol, unless it is an ICBM to which no more than one warhead is attributed and the Parties have agreed within the framework of the Joint Compliance and Inspection Commission to permit deployment of such ICBMs on mobile launchers of ICBMs".

I guess this means that START I as we know it, from the Russian perspective at least, is dead. Now the parties have already held their treaty-mandated meeting to discuss the future of START. It will be interesting to see how Obama will handle the START situation. Obama has demonstrated a keen interest in arms control, even going as far as being the "new Nunn" in the Nunn-Lugar series of agreements known as the Cooperative Threat Reduction initiative. I hope he would consider extending the treaty as is, if only so that inspectors can get a good first hand look at the Bulava and the RS-24. After all, satellites can't see under ascent shrouds, while inspectors conducting a paragraph six inspection can.

But I'm just a cranky, old retired Petty Officer and not a lawyer or a diplomat or lawyer-diplomat or a policy wonk and shit, so what do I know?

Finally, fresh on the heels of the successful RS-24 launch, the Commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces announces that the Teykovo division will be re-armed with new mobile missiles. Although it is unclear from the text in this announcement if the new battalion will be armed with the road mobile SS-27 (a firing unit is depicted in the video) or the new treaty-mocking RS-24, the timing of the announcement certainly arouses suspicion as to the identity of the new missile:

Gist: The commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces has announced that new ICBMs will be commissioned in the Russian Army next year. The first battalion will be stood up at the Teykovo missile unit in Ivanovskaya Oblast'. According to one colonel, the combat potential of the SRF strike force is increased many-fold with the introduction of this missile. A complete replacement of systems is planned in 2015. Its development should be complete soon. The first tests will be next year.

The text of this news report is a little muddled since the first tests of the RS-24 happened last year and wont happen next year.

Again, we'll see.

Peter the Great Update: It's About Time!

2008-11-24T18:10:00.003-05:00

Gist: The deployed Northern Fleet battle group has met Venezuelan Armed Forces. Having just barely entered territorial waters, they picked up an honor guard of Venezuelan Su-30s, the very kind that Russia has sold to Latin America. The Peter the Great and other ships will rest at anchor at the port of La Guaira, 35km from Caracas, while ashore they prepare to welcome Russian sailors, who in turn will return the favor.

Venezuela welcomes us! The task force enters territorial waters in the Caribbean Sea. This very morning two Su-30s are in the sky, made in Russia, sold to Venezuela. They circle the task group one after the other. Our sailors render honors to a friendly country and this frigate will escort us to the port of La Guaira. The exercises between the countries will last until the first of December. These will be the first exercises in history involving the submarines, frigates, cruisers and helicopters of Russia and Venezuela.

Comrade officers, I will now brief you on the exercises between Russia and Venezuela, ((missed))-2008.

They discuss the plans that lay ahead in the Navigator's shack - joint patrolling, search for and destruction of submarines and ships belonging to the potential enemy, reconnaissance and anti-air warfare. The militaries of the two countries have been preparing for these large scale exercises for a couple of months. The official language of the exercises wont be English, Spanish or Russian but the language of symbols and signs.

We have created a table of conditional signals which have been translated into both languages and both countries have approved this table of signals. These signals will be used during the exercise....

There is activity above decks as well. Two presidents will visit Peter the Great: Hugo Chavez and Dmitriy Medvedev.

This is the first time Peter the Great has visited South America. The cruiser was built for northern waters and not for the Caribbean. The air temperature is 34 degrees and the water temperature is 30.

Captain, Peter the Great, Feliks Min'kov: The ship has been at sea in the open ocean. Whether we want it or not, we have to battle against the effects of salt water, or just plain water. So we have to clean up everywhere.

The flag of Venezuela already flies on the mast. It is naval tradition to fly the flag of the countries in whose port you are conducting a friendly visit. Today the sailors checked out the missile tubes. The Peter the Great's armament will be shown to the presidents of both countries.

What is there to show? The Peter the Great is the largest non-aircraft carrier warship in the world. Two hundred and fifty meters of steel with dozens of missile tubes. And beneath each of these three ton hatches lays the main battery - the Granit nuclear anti-ship cruise missile (RNB comment - Huh! Well how about that!). As opposed to American cruise missiles, the Granit flies to its target at supersonic speed like a fighter jet. There is no ship as powerful as the Peter the Great in the world.

Peter the Great Update: Pirates of the .... Horn of Africa?

2008-11-24T05:43:00.003-05:00

Via Murmansk TV-21:

The TRKR Peter the Great may join the fight against pirates around the Horn of Africa soon, according to K1R Igor' Dygalo.

In an interview with Zvezda TV, Dygalo said, "It isn't ruled out that the TRKR Peter Veliki would go to the Horn of Africa after the completion of her mission off the coast of Venezuela and the joint exercises there".

The Pacific Fleet would also take on that mission and send there ships from that fleet. According to the Commander in Chief, the time frames of the temporary deployments have to be worked out, but it would either be one ship or a task group.

(...)

The Navy Headquarters also announced that the Northern Fleet TRKR Peter the Great will transit to the Indian Ocean in December after the Venezuelan exercises where she will take part in joint exercises with the large anti-submarine ship (BPK) Admiral Vinogradov from the Pacific Fleet. The Russian ships should also conduct exercises with India in January. The joint exercise Indra-2009 will have protection of maritime commerce and anti-piracy and anti-terrorism training as its main focus.

(...)

Because It's Monday Morning

2008-11-24T05:09:00.003-05:00

And I'm a crotchety old man.

Via Bad Astronomy.

USS Barry in Batumi, Georgia

2008-11-23T08:50:00.002-05:00

(Russian Navy Blog comment: A shout out to Uncle Sam's Misguided Child lost in the Men's Department of the Navy doing the interpreting. Ooo-Rah!)

The USS Barry has made her latest "friendly" port visit to the Georgian port of Batumi. The Barry was greeted with wine and national folk dancing. Special representitives from the Georgian Ministry of Defense and the Saakashvili administration went to greet them. The goal of the Tomahawk cruise missile armed destroyer's port visit is unusual. The Georgian Ministry of Defense has said that the goal of the visit is not humanitarian, but to improve foreign relations. That will take four days. After that, the Barry plans on visiting Poti.

Re-Launch of Delta IV K-18 Karelia

2008-11-23T08:20:00.002-05:00

The missile submarine K-18 Karelia has once again been rolled out in front of sailors. This Del'fin class nuclear missile carrier has long been an object of jealousy for other militaries. The best designers in the world have been unable to replicate such a design for their own navies. But in principle, that isn't possible. The submarine K-18 has always been undergoing modernization. But today, the submarine which has traveled 140,000 miles has once again become new. Our correspondent has become acquainted with Karelia's present capabilities.

The orchestra plays the Russian national anthem and the crew stands behind a rope line preparing for the ceremony. The boat stands on the graving dock ready for launch and in accordance with long standing maritime tradition, a bottle of champagne awaits breaking.

Karelia is a boat with a history. In 15 years of active service, the boat has gone to sea thirty eight times and has traveled 140,000 miles. It was the crew of the Karelia that planted the Andreyevskiy Flag on the North Pole for the first time. And in 2000 the boat had the honor of hosting Vladimir Putin. In 2004, the Karelia went to Severodvinsk for overhaul. Now the boat stands at 71 percent readiness. According to the shipyard, most of the modernization work went into reducing the noise levels on the submarine.

...so that when she is in combat service, the noise levels don't exceed the norms...

The reliability of this boat is comparable to a Kalashinikov automatic rifle, but instead of bullets, she fires ballistic missiles. The captain of the shipyard crew Ivan Shindyapin says that not only will the boat go to the North Pole, but she will go considerably farther.

The possibilities are colossal, not only in terms of sailing the world oceans, but also in terms of her other capabilities. I hope that in the future other boats of her class will also be overhauled in order to support the nation security of our country.

After the modernization the boat will be armed with the new ballistic missile system Sineva which was accepted into service last year.

The champagne bottle was smashed, in two weeks the boat will be in the water. Ahead lay the pierside testing and trials and then sea trials next summer.

K-18 is the fifth boat of the Project 667BDRM class to undergo modernization at the Zvezdochka shipyard. The sixth boat, the Novomoskovsk, is next. It is said that in two years the third generation Bars (Akula) and Granit (Oscar) class boats will arrive for overhaul.

Vladimir Nikitin, General Director Zvezdochka Shipyard: This is in the 2010 defense orders. We are ready for this boat as well as the titanium hulled Project 945 Barakuda (Sierra II). We'll be ready to overhaul her at Zvezdochka.

The Project 667BDRM will be the backbone of our strategic force for the next decade. Zvezdochka will be ready to turn the boat over to the Navy next year.