Russia May Send 100K Troops to NATO’s Borders

In this Aug. 2, 2017, photo, Russian paratroopers mark Paratroopers Day in Moscow’s Red Square. The Russian military says major war games, the Zapad (West) 2017 maneuvers, will not threaten anyone. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

 

Russia showed off its growing naval strength last month ahead of huge land exercises on NATO state borders set to begin Thursday.

The exercises are part of President Vladimir Putin’s effort to demonstrate Russia’s full recovery from being a military basket case following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Russia’s Northern Fleet claimed to have sent about 50 ships, submarines and support vessels into the Barents and Baltic Seas in August on a series of anti-submarine, anti-mine and search-and-rescue operations, a Russian Navy spokesman told Russia’s Interfax news agency.

Russia tests hypersonic missile it says is impervious to U.S. missile defense systems

Russia’s said the Zircon would go into serial production in 2018.

 

Russia has conducted the first test of a hypersonic missile it claims can fly at 6 times the speed of sound and makes U.S. missile defense systems obsolete.

Military analyst Vladimir Tuchkov told government-controlled news agency Sputnik: “It (the Zircon missile system) is expected to be added into Russia’s arsenal between 2018 and 2020.”

Russian warship flotilla now off Syrian coast: military

 

A flotilla of Russian warships is now in the eastern Mediterranean off the Syrian coast after being sent to reinforce Russia’s military in the area, a naval commander said on state television.

The commander of Russia’s flagship Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, Sergei Artamonov, said via videolink that the ships are now in the “designated zone… in the eastern Mediterranean” and “are now jointly carrying out tasks, manoeuvering to the west of the Syrian coast”.

Russia’s Monster Battlecruisers Are Getting Hypersonic Anti-Ship Missiles

The Russian Navy is set to upgrade its nuclear-powered Project 11442 Kirov-class battlecruiser Pyotr Veliky with a new hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile. The new Mach 5.0-capable 3M22 Zircon missiles would replace the ship’s existing 390-mile range P-700 Granit supersonic anti-ship missiles.

“The Pyotr Veliky will start repairs in the third or fourth quarter of 2019. Repairs and upgrade are due for completion in late 2022, the ship to be equipped with Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missiles,” a Russian defense industry source told the TASS news agency on February 19. “The missile is undergoing development testing and will enter service if it passes,” he added.

Russian-Chinese Naval Training Exercise Begins in Mediterranean

MOSCOW, January 25 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian-Chinese naval training exercise in the Mediterranean Sea began on Saturday involving the Russian nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Veliky and China’s Yancheng frigate, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced.

As Kerry met Egyptian and Saudi leaders, planning advanced for a Russian naval base in Egypt

Consider American influence in the Middle East 90% gone. The Saudi’s no longer trust America to follow through on its commitments to the region and have instead turned to Russia and Israel. Both Egypt and Libyia were overturned by the Obama administration and likely won’t see normalcy for quite some time. Syria and Iran can now go largely unchecked in the region as America retreats and leaves Israel out in the cold.

Moscow’s request for a naval base in Egypt submitted last week by a visiting Russian general prompted US Secretary of State John Kerry’s decision to hurry up and visit Cairo and Riyadh for an attempt to smooth their prickly relations over Washington’s policies for Syria and Iran. However, Sunday, Nov. 3, the day he stopped over in Cairo en route for Riyadh, saw a mighty buildup of Russian naval stgrength in the Mediterranean.

Russia’s Pacific Fleet flagship, the Varyag,and the powerful nuclear-fueled battleship Pyotr Veliky arrived to carry out “a number of tasks” with other Russian Navy ships in the region, according to the official statement form Moscow.

Russia’s ‘aircraft carrier killer’ Varyag and battle cruiser Pyotr Veliky arrive in Mediterranean

From the state-run Russia Today:

The flagship of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, Varyag, and the country’s most powerful nuclear-powered battleship, Pyotr Veliky, entered the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday.

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Varyag is to assume the command of Russia’s Pacific Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, replacing missile cruiser Moskva, said Interfax’s military diplomatic source. He added that there are detachments of marine units employed on ships and vessels of the Pacific Fleet, while its air force wing boasts several Ka-27 helicopters that can conduct rescue and anti-piracy operations and kill submarines.