Watching Russian Air & Sea Activity

[jcustis]

Still have your boxed copy of HARPOON, or are you going digital for this OOB?

Wow, you certainly stepped into the wayback machine on that one!

[davidbfpo]

Have the two USN vessels deployed into the Black Sea, ostensibly for contingencies related to the Winter Olympics, actually left?

[AdamG]

Have the two USN vessels deployed into the Black Sea, ostensibly for contingencies related to the Winter Olympics, actually left?

Dunno, that's a Blue Counter. I was only tracking Red Counters in this thread.



For Custis and everyone else digging those GDW boxes out of the closet...
http://www.wargamevault.com/product/...oviet-Cruisers

[AdamG]

Construction on new facilities to accommodate the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet’s incoming Mistral-class helicopter carriers began in Vladivostok recently, according to the Russian publication RIA Novosti.

A Defence Ministry spokesman said that the the Uliss Bay naval base’s quay will be extended to 2,700 metres to accommodate the Mistrals, the ammunition loading area will be modernized, road and rail access to the base will be upgraded, and all electricity and communications systems will be replaced by October 2015, according to the report.

The first French-made Mistral, Vladivostok, is scheduled to be delivered to the Russian Navy in November this year, though the Pacific Fleet will not host the carriers before 2018, after acceptance trials are held.

http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2014/...l-class-ships/

[AdamG]

NOVOOZERNOE, Ukraine (Reuters) - Lashed by the wind as it whips across Crimea's biggest lake, a third of Ukraine's warships have nowhere to go and nothing to do but rise and fall on its choppy waves.

Russian forces have blocked their only exit point to the Black Sea by sinking two ageing vessels there, and Russia's well-armed Moskva missile cruiser can be seen treading water a short distance off the coast, with menace.

With six more of Ukraine's two dozen warships similarly blockaded and Russian forces building up their strength ahead of a referendum that seems likely to result in Crimea becoming part of Russia, Ukraine is facing the humiliating loss of its navy.

http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-facing...173539149.html

[AdamG]

At the same time that Russia was denying having blockaded Ukrainian naval facilities in Crimea, little-noticed reports came out of Moscow saying that Vladimir Putin’s government had ongoing conversations with eight foreign countries with the objective of building overseas military facilities, including in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

“We need bases for refueling near the equator and in other places,” Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, was quoted as saying by news agency ITAR-Tass.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/new...ase-expansion/

Can't criticize Putin. He was invited.

At a time when the Middle East, Afghanistan and China monopolize U.S. foreign-policy, Latin America hasn’t received much attention. Until today, that is, when Secretary of State John Kerry declared the expiration of the nearly 200-year old lodestar of U.S. diplomacy in the Americas.

“The era of the Monroe Doctrine is over,” Mr. Kerry said in a speech at the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C.

That prompted some tepid applause, which Mr. Kerry encouraged: “That’s worth applauding. That’s not a bad thing.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/1...trine-is-over/

[AdamG]

This article is from last September, setting up a base in the New Siberian Islands. I had to look up where those where
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Siberian_Islands

http://www.golos-ameriki.ru/content/...c/1751157.html

Russia to restore the Soviet military base in the Arctic, which was abandoned after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

This was announced by President Vladimir Putin .

This step is part of the transformation of the northern coast of Russia in the global shipping route and secure the vast energy resources of the region.

Base on the New Siberian Islands, has not been used for twenty years, but recently , Russia sent him to a group of four nuclear-powered icebreakers and 10 warships to signal the restoration of a permanent military presence in the Arctic .

Flotilla headed by the Russian nuclear cruiser "Peter the Great " was held on the Northern Sea Route from Europe to Asia through the Russian waters - from the Kara Gate to the Bering Strait .

" Our military is left there in 1993 , and yet it is a very important point in the Arctic Ocean . Mean and a new stage of development of the Northern Sea Route ", - Putin said at a meeting in the Ministry of Defence .

" We agreed that at this point we not only recreate a military base , but let me order airfield , make it possible to participate in teamwork MOE representatives , hydrologists , professionals who deal with climate, to ensure the safety and efficiency of operations in the North sea way , so that Russia could effectively control this part of its territory, " - said the Russian president more .

Russia is making big bets on the development of huge reserves of Arctic energy and busy shipping route is an integral part of this plan .

Climate warming has led to greater melting ice in the Arctic and the lengthening of the navigation period , which gives hope that the Northern Sea Route can be a shorter alternative to the southern routes .

However, experts point out that poor infrastructure , ice floes , narrow straits , shallow waters and harsh winters preclude the safe and profitable shipping in the region.