Putin's wargame: behind the smoke
Professor Paul Rogers has a short commentary on the current, hyped joint Vostok 2018 exercise. Here is a passage:
Quote:
Russia has strong assets. It has maintained substantial nuclear forces, undertaken military adventures in Crimea (2014) and Syria (2015), prioritised special forces, and developed the practice of "hybrid warfare". In its own terms this is a considerable record, but it does not equate to a transformation that brings Russia's capabilities to parity with the west's. The funds have simply not been available. A prime example is the decline of the Pacific fleet, once powerful but now also ageing and with a tempo of activity to match.
He concludes:
Quote:
But the evidence also suggests that the western branch of the worldwide military-industrial complex tends to exaggerate the Russian threat in the interest of new orders and big profits. When alarmism about Russia is routine, that must be kept in mind. But so too is the certainty that the Russian branch of this complex, if perhaps on a smaller scale and over a longer period, will be playing the same game.
Link:https://www.opendemocracy.net/paul-r...-behind-smoke?
Swopping an Arctic AFB for somewhere warmer
For some a change of scenery, climate and perhaps some food:
Quote:
Two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers, an Antonov An-124 Russian heavy military transport plane and an Ilyushin Il-62 plane arrived in Venezuela, the Russian defense ministry said on Monday.
The maps suggests in-flight refueling in mid-Atlantic.
Link:https://defence-blog.com/news/russia...venezuela.html
I recall a similar expedition to Indonesia awhile ago. Neither nation I expect is in the market to buy such aircraft. Perhaps a return via Cuba?
Via a UK newspaper:
Quote:
the planes can fly over 7,500 miles without re-fuelling and have landed in Venezuela twice before in the last decade.
Link:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...ssian-bombers/
Norway tired of Russia's electronic warfare
From the reliable Barents Observer website; the full title being: 'Norway tired of Russia's electronic warfare troubling civilian navigation: “Unacceptable and risky”and sub-titled 'Military forces on the heavily militarized Kola Peninsula have blinded GPS signals in Norwegian air space five times over the last 17 months.'
Link:https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/se...able-and-risky