Quick Update - Zvezda News Edition

Fire on the Marshal Shaposhnikov in the Sea of Japan:


According to this report there was a leak which caused fuel to leak under high pressure onto a gas turbine engine and ignited, causing a fire. The BPK was then towed back into Vladivostok. Two contract seamen were killed. Charges are being brought, but against whom is not specified. Blogger KVDM notes that a similar fire hit the Shaposhnikov's sister ship the Admiral Zakharov back in 1991 and that that was the last time the Zakharov went to sea.

For the record, if the Russians are going to have a serious engineering casualty anytime in the next couple of months, I'm glad it was now off Japan and not in a few months off of Venezuela.


Marine landing exercises in the Baltic Fleet:


The report notes that Baltic Fleet Marines conducted a practice landing with counter-reconnaissance as their objective. The equivalent of a battalion landing team supported by an airborne company, engineers, 30 ships and 15 aircraft and helos hit the beach at the Khmelova training range in Kalinigrad, debarking from three large landing ships and air cushion vehicles in 40 armored vehicles with support from offshore destroyers. The role of the sniper in an anti-sniper roll was highlighted.

The Blackjacks are on their way home from Venezuela:



And their families missed them. All together now - Aw....flowers!

Blackjack in the Caribbean: The Russians Continue to Hit

Allegedly footage taken during the first training flight flown by Tu-160s out of Venezuela over the Caribbean. The flight lasted about six hours and wasn't approached by foreign interceptors. Hugo Chavez, who had expressed his desire to fly in one, was not on board.

Comment: I wonder how long this strategic bomber deployment will last. Until the November exercises and beyond? That's two months away. Are there multiple crews? Will they fly every day? Will they switch out bombers and crews between now and November? Will the deployment last beyond November? Anybody have any firm answers to any of these questions?