Urgent consultations in Washington, Moscow on reported US-Russian submarines in firefight

First reports reaching DEBKAfile’s military sources say that a US submarine intercepted a Russian nuclear sub in American waters opposite Alaska. The Russian sub escorting the nuclear submarine responded with a Balkan 2000 torpedo and scuttled the US vessel. Urgent consultations in both the White House and the Kremlin were taking place on Tuesday night. US Vice President Mike Pence called off an appearance in New Hampshire after being recalled to Washington for a conference called by President Donald Trump without explanation.

Russian nuclear subs flood British waters sparking major Navy hunt

The Royal Navy is hunting for Russian subs off the coast of Scotland

 

THE ROYAL Navy is hunting for up to six rogue nuclear armed Russian submarines off the cost of Scotland.

Three NATO coalition search planes, their anti-submarine frigate HMS Sutherland and a Trafalgar class hunter-killer submarine are searching for the vessels amid increased tensions.

NATO has reported Russian submarine activity in the North Atlantic has almost reached Cold War levels after Russia doubled the number of submarine patrols.

Putin ramps up WW3 fears as he launches NUCLEAR MISSILES in terrifying show of power

Putin ordered a nuclear preparation drill last week involving more than 40 million people

 

RUSSIA has carried out a series of ballistic missile tests today as tensions with the US continue to rise over the conflict in Syria.

The Topol missile, the fastest in the world, was launched from a submarine in the Barents Sea off the Russian coast today as part of a series of ballistic tests.

Another was later shot from an island in the north-west of the country with its warhead hitting a simulated target, and a third missile – a nuclear-capable rocket – shot from a Pacific Fleet submarine in the Sea of Okhotsk, north of Japan.

PUTIN PURGE: Russian leader sacks EVERY commander in his Baltic fleet after ‘they refused to confront Western ships’

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during celebrations for Navy Day in the Kaliningrad region in 2015. He has reportedly carried out a Stalin-style purge by sacking every commander in his Baltic fleet | Image: Getty Images

 

50 officers including Vice Admiral Viktor Kravchuk have reportedly been fired in a Stalin-style bloodletting

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has taken a page out of Joseph Stalin’s book — and sacked every commander in his Baltic fleet.

As many as 50 senior officers including a Vice Admiral have been purged amid reports they refused to confront Western ships.

Other Russian news sites also speculated that attempts to cover up a crash between a Russian sub and a Polish boat may have been behind the bloodletting.

Putin Hopes “There Will Be No Need To Nuke” The Islamic State

Earlier today, in a clear advance notice to the French and US navies which are both set to arrive just off the coast of Syria in the coming weeks, Russia for the first time targeted Islamic State targets in Syria with Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles launched from a submarine in the Mediterranean Sea off the Syrian coastline, according to Russia’s Defense Minister.

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In addition to the submarine, a Russian Ministry of Defense source revealed that the Rostov-on-Don, equipped with modern Russian Kalibr cruise missiles, had appeared near the Syrian coast. Additionally, just before the USS Harry S. Truman carrier arrives, the Russian cruiser Varyag, which is currently off India’s coast for Exercise Indra till Dec. 12, will set sail for the Mediterranean to replace the cruiser Moskva.

Russia to Receive Fifth-Generation Nuclear Submarine by 2020

The completion of the new submarine type, known as the Yasen project, could take some time. The Yasen-class submarine will replace Soviet-era nuclear submarines by 2020. The new submarine is expected to be 118 meters (390 feet) long, 13.5 meters (44 feets) wide and weight almost 14 tons. The Yasen will have a maximum speed of 31 knots when submerged and 16 knots surfaced.

Finland calls ONE MILLION troops with ‘event of war’ alert amid growing Russia tension

 

FINLAND has called upon nearly ONE MILLION troops to alert them to their roles “in the event of war” amid growing aggression from neighbouring Russia.

Letters from the Finnish Defence Forces have been dispatched to 900,000 former conscripts in the armed forces in the last few weeks, telling them where to report to in the event of hostilities.

While the letters did not detail any specific upcoming events or forces to be prepared against, their arrival has led to recipients assuming they are the result of rising tensions with Moscow.

Finland shares a 830-mile border with Russia, leading to fears the Scandinavian country could be vulnerable to military aggression from Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

Finland fires warning shots at ‘foreign submarine’ near Helsinki

Incident comes amid growing military tensions with neighbouring Russia, months after Sweden mounts unsuccessful hunt for suspected Russian submarine in its waters

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Carl Haglund, Finland’s defence minister, did not say whether Russia was involved, but the incident was reminiscent of a Swedish hunt for a foreign submarine in its waters last October that many thought to be Russian.

Russian Sub “Caught” By UK Fisherman After Moscow Threatens To Nuke Denmark

As US allies rapidly demonstrate their willingness to abandon Washington on key issues like China’s attempt to move the world away from US-dominated multinational institutions that have held sway for decades, and with NATO simultaneously building a “line of troops” along the Russian border, Moscow seems keen on proving yet again that Russia’s belligerence knob “goes to 11.” As we noted over the weekend, Moscow took the rhetoric up a notch recently when the Kremlin threatened (literally) to blow Danish ships out the water with nuclear missiles, prompting a NATO spokeswoman to dryly note that “such statements do not inspire confidence or contribute to predictability, peace or stability.” Here’s more from Reuters:

Britain had Canadian plane look for suspected Russian sub off Scotland due to defence cuts

Britain called in NATO sea patrol planes to hunt for a suspected Russian submarine off Scotland, after the Government scrapped its own similar aircraft in defence cuts.

Maritime patrol aircraft from France, America and Canada flew to Scotland to join Royal Navy warships hunting for the suspected submarine after it was spotted west of Scotland.

At the height of the hunt, in late November and the first days of this month, four allied patrol planes flew to RAF Lossiemouth to join the search, Aviation Week reported.

It came a month after another suspected Russian submarine was spotted off Sweden’s Stockholm archipelago, and with relations with the Kremlin at their worst since the Cold War.

Bulava missile launched from nuclear sub in Russia

MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. Strategic nuclear submarine Yuri Dolgoruky has launched a Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile from the Barents Sea towards the Kura testing range in Kamchatka, the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry told TASS on Wednesday.

Swedish Hunt for ‘Russian’ Sub… Smoke and Mirrors?

Would it make sense for a Russian submarine to sound a distress call and disappear? This could very well be news to plant distrust in the Swedish government. At this point, it’s still too early to say what should be made out of this.

 

There was no Russian distress call. That’s the opinion of a Swedish signal intelligence (SIGINT) source after a massive $2.8mn military and media sub-hunt consumed the country for a week.

Reports of a Russian distress signal and a grainy-picture were enough to deploy the navy while the media widely concluded the vessel had to be a Russian submarine spooking Stockholm.

Sweden faces military build-up call after submarine claims

Media reports of a suspected Russian submarine in Swedish waters could pressure the country to spend more on its military, expert says

While Swedish citizens enjoy a high standard of living and efficient national social welfare systems, they could face demands to increase spending on the military following widespread media coverage of allegations a Russian submarine may be in waters off the Stockholm archipelago, an expert says.

Many critics have questioned the veracity and timing of speculation a Russian submarine could be hiding in Swedish territorial waters at a time of heightened global military tensions under the US-led “war on terror”, and also point out it is common knowledge that most developed nations operate fleets of military submarines around the world.

But, in the wake of the allegations, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has raised the prospect of taxpayers increasing military spending, which currently accounts for one percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, a modest ratio of national income compared to its European neighbors.

U.S., allies scramble jets almost daily to repel Russian incursions

Russian military provocations have increased so much over the seven months since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine that Washington and its allies are scrambling defense assets on a nearly daily basis in response to air, sea and land incursions by Vladimir Putin’s forces.

Not only is Moscow continuing to foment unrest in Eastern Ukraine, U.S. officials and regional security experts say Russian fighter jets are testing U.S. reaction times over Alaska and Japan’s ability to scramble planes over its northern islands — all while haunting Sweden’s navy and antagonizing Estonia’s tiny national security force.

The White House months ago leveled economic sanctions on several Russian businesses and political players, and recent weeks have seen President Obama intensify his rhetoric toward Moscow. But many in Washington’s national security community say the response is simply not firm enough and that, as a result, Mr. Putin actually feels emboldened to push the envelope — Cold War-style.

“What’s going on is a radical escalation of aggressive Russian muscle flexing and posturing designed to demonstrate that Russia is no longer a defeated power of the Cold War era,” says Ariel Cohen, who heads the Center for Energy, National Resources and Geopolitics at the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security in Washington.

“The more we retreat, the more we are encouraging Russia to behave in a more aggressive way,” Mr. Cohen said. “We need to be engaging more deeply with our Central Asian allies, but instead we are in the process of abandoning turf to Russia, and it’s wrong — it’s against our interests geopolitically to let Russia feel that they all of a sudden have won all the turf without firing a shot.”

NATO intercepts Russian jets over Baltic Sea as Sweden continues search for a suspected damaged submarine

NATO scrambled fighter jets twice in two days to intercept Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea, amid reports that Russian military activity in the region is increasing.

Lt. Col. Robert Gericke said the Russian aircraft were flying in international airspace and had not violated the territory of alliance members.

Two Canadian F-18 Hornet jets were scrambled from the Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania on Monday to intercept a Russian Ilyushin-20 surveillance aircraft, which they shadowed for some 15 minutes, NATO said.