North Korea says U.S. has ‘declared war,’ warns it may shoot down American bombers

AP

 

North Korea’s foreign minister said Monday that the U.S. had “declared war” on the isolated nation, pinning the blame on President Donald Trump’s incendiary words days earlier while also threatening to shoot down U.S. bombers — even if they are not in the country’s airspace.

The White House later in the day dismissed the claim as “absurd,” but observers said the risk of miscalculation between the two nuclear-armed nations had hit a level unseen in recent years.

“The whole world should clearly remember it was the U.S. who first declared war on our country,” North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said during a televised news conference in New York.

Russia Goes Hypersonic: the West Lagging Behind in Missile Technology Race

Remember all those times Global Geopolitics has warned that the Russians and Chinese were either on par or soon going to be more militarily advanced than America?

Just in case, here’s a few refreshers posted throughout the years:

WORLD WAR III? US fears China will win any conflict because strength of Red Army’s fleet

Nuclear Submarines and Hypersonic Missiles: China Is Making Game-Changing Weapons Advances

Global Ballistic Missile Threats Beginning to Outpace US Defense Capability

China, Russia, Iran Closing Gap with Smaller, Older U.S. Military

Russia claims to have super weapon that disables western satellites and long range arms

Chinese bought division of IBM that manufactures computing servers for U.S. Navy Aegis cruisers

China Tests ICBM With Multiple Warheads

‘Stolen’ J-31 can beat American jets in dogfight, says US pilot

Pentagon: Military Losing Technological Superiority to China

Photos show second China stealth fighter prototype has test flight

Silent Running

Obama’s Lost in Space

 

 

On March 30, the Russian Navy launched Kazan, the second upgraded Yasen-class project 885M submarine. The Navy will take delivery of the vessel in 2018. A total of seven Yasen class nuclear attack submarines are to be built by 2023. Kazan is an upgraded Project 885M design – an advanced version that is in many ways much more capable than the lead ship of the class, Severodvinsk, the first submarine in the series, entered service in 2016.

The Kazan’s armament includes 3M22 Zircon – a hypersonic cruise capable of speeds of around Mach 5.0-Mach 6.0 (7,400 kilometer per hour (4,600 mile per hour) expected to enter into production in 2018. At a cruising altitude of 30,000 m its kinetic energy at impact is 50 times higher than existing air-ship and ship-to-ship missiles. The projectile can travel covering 155 miles in 2.5 minutes, which is faster than a sniper’s bullet. The enemy will not have enough time to get scared, let alone react.

For comparison, the sea-based Kalibr cruise missile travels at a Mach 0.9 speed, but while approaching the target, its warhead speeds up to Mach 2.9.

US Air Force Flies All Three Bombers in Pacific Op

A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress, B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit fly over Guam after launching from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, for an integrated bomber operation Aug.17, 2016. This mission marks the first time in history that all three of Air Force Global Strike Command’s strategic bomber aircraft are simultaneously conducting integrated operations in the U.S. Pacific Command area of operations. (Photo by Sandra Welch/U.S. Air Force)

 

The U.S. Air Force flew its three strategic bombers — the B-1B Lancer, B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress — in what was billed as the first-ever integrated bomber operation in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

The flight took place Aug. 17 at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, according to a press release and photos from the service. The news quickly circulated on social media.

NATO’s new SACEUR issues Russia warning

NATO’s new military commander warned on 28 July that Russia’s increasing military transformation meant NATO nations need to modernise and invest in defence.

Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, General Mike Scaparrotti, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), described Russia’s military as impressive. He said Moscow had managed to overcome problems and seriously strengthen its military in just a few years.

USAF begins removing nuclear role from some B-52 bombers

America’s continued suicidal disarmament while its enemies continue to arm and modernize:

 

Thirty of the USAF’s 76 operational B-52H bombers are to lose their nuclear role under the terms of the New START treaty with Russia. A further 12 monthballed aircraft will also go through the process, with work set to be complete in early 2017. Source: IHS/Patrick Allen

 

The US Air Force (USAF) has begun converting nearly half of its Boeing B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers to the conventional role only, in line with the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) signed with Russia in April 2010, the service announced on 17 September.

Conversion of the first (serial number 61-1021) of 30 operational aircraft into non-nuclear-capable platforms was completed at Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB) in Louisiana over the previous weeks.

Russian bombers, fighter jets ‘seen over Crimea’

A Russian Il-78 aerial refueling tanker (right) and Tu-160 supersonic strategic bomber (left) fly over the Kremlin cathedral during a rehearsal of the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 7, 2013 (AFP Photo/Andrey Smirnov)

 

Simferopol (Undefined) (AFP) – Several dozen Russian planes including what appeared to be strategic bombers and fighter jets have been spotted in the sky above the Moscow-controlled peninsula of Crimea, witnesses and experts said.

According to Russian media, President Vladimir Putin is poised to visit Crimea on Friday after overseeing the main military parade on Red Square when Russia celebrates its victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

A local aviation expert told AFP on Sunday that he had sighted a number of planes over the peninsula’s main city of Simferopol on Saturday, including supersonic heavy strategic bombers and heavy military transport aircraft.

Japan Scrambles Fighter Jets to Track Russian Bombers

From the state-run Russian propaganda outlet, RIA Novosti:

TOKYO, July 16 (RIA Novosti) – Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force had to scramble fighter jets in response to flights by Russian military aircraft near Japanese airspace and over the disputed Kuril Islands on Monday, local media reported.

Two Tu-95 Bear bombers flew over the Sea of Japan moving from the Korean Peninsula, and proceeded along the Japanese archipelago to the north of Hokkaido. Another plane, the IL-20, flew over the Kuril Islands, NHK television said late Monday citing the Defense Ministry.

Russia to beef up strategic deterrence potential

Russia continues along the path of nuclear weapons buildup/modernization while simultaneously selling New Lies for Old to today’s gullible USA, which has suicidally developed the illusion that total disarmament is a demonstration of moral strength and that the Cold War is over because a wall fell in Berlin. The last nuclear missiles built in the United States were in the early 1990’s and are now falling victim to budget cuts, technical issues and loss of effectiveness due to technology gaps.

Russia will continue to increase its potential in air-space forces and other parts of its nuclear deterrence strategy, Chief of Staff said Tuesday.

“(Russia) will beef up its air-space defense capabilities through modernization of its informational and first-strike parts,” Valery Gerasimov told reporters.

Russia Readies Strategic Bombers in Snap Far East Military Drills

MOSCOW, July 14 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s air base of Tu-95MS Bear-H strategic bombers in the Amur Region is switching to full combat readiness as part of massive snap drills in the Eastern Military District, the Defense Ministry’s press office reported on Sunday.

Ready To Launch

China conducts rare flight test of new submarine-launched missile

China’s military conducted a flight test of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile last week, a launch that came a month after the test of a new multiple-warhead, ground-mobile missile, the Free Beacon has learned.

The flight test of the new JL-2 missile took place Thursday morning from a new Jin-class ballistic missile submarine on patrol in the Bohai Sea, near the coast of northeastern China west of the Korean peninsula, said U.S. officials.

…

One official said the new JL-2 represents a “potential first strike” nuclear missile in China’s growing arsenal.

The submarine missile firing followed the July 24 test launch of China’s new DF-41 road-mobile ICBM that is assessed to carry multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles, or MIRVs.

The July 24 DF-41 test was the first of the new long-range ICBM that until the test had been shrouded in secrecy.

…

In addition to the JL-2, a variant of the DF-31 mobile missile, the new strategic weapons include three types of road-mobile ICBMs—DF-31, DF-31A, and DF-41—along with several intermediate and medium-range missiles and hundreds of short-range missiles that can be armed with both conventional and nuclear warheads. The Chinese also are modernizing their fleet of Russian-design strategic bombers.

By contrast, the Obama administration has been seeking to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. defense strategy.

The administration, according to Republicans in Congress, also appears to be going back on promises made to the Senate in 2010 to spend billions of dollars to upgrade aging U.S. strategic nuclear forces and infrastructure.

The former head of Russia’s strategic rocket forces stated in an article published in May that China’s nuclear arsenal could have as many 3,000 warheads—far more than the 300 to 400 warheads estimated by U.S. intelligence agencies.

Full article: Ready To Launch (Washington Free Beacon)