Watching Russian Air & Sea Activity

[AdamG]

MOSCOW, January12 (Sputnik) — Browsing through military internet forums many were surprised to see in the Russian edition of Top Gear automobile magazine a snapshot of a super-secret Russian deep-diving sub.

The photo, covering a test run of a Mercedes-Benz GL 450 to Arkhangelsk, shows a deep-water nuclear-powered AS-12 Project 10830 submarine, better known as Losharik. The photo was taken from the White Sea shore where the car was undergoing an off-road test.

Experts say this is the first good quality image of Losharik, one of this country’s top secret subs.

http://sputniknews.com/military/2015...016805883.html

[AdamG]

A detachment of about 800 servicemen from Russia’s Northern Fleet has been stationed in the Russian town of Alakurtti, Murmansk region, just 50km from the Finnish border, part of a large-scale expansion of Russian military facilities in the country’s northwest according to a press statement issued by the unit’s commanding admiral Vladimir Korolev on Tuesday.

The rest of the fleet are expected to be stationed there “soon” according to Korolev. The base will be one of the key strongholds in Russia’s northernmost territories, designed to strengthen the country’s defence capabilities from the west, and improve their territorial claims over areas in the Arctic.

At full force, Russia’s Northern Fleet consists of about 3,000 ground troops trained for combat in Arctic conditions, along with 39 ships and 45 submarines. Its arrival in Murmansk follows Russia’s decision last year to create a united command for all of its units designated with protecting Russia’s interests in the country’s northern regions.

http://www.newsweek.com/3000-russian...-arctic-299129

[davidbfpo]

Earlier today the MoD issued a statement about two TU-95 Bear long-range recce / bombers being intercepted off Cornwall and that they were escorted away by the RAF.

BBC:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31530840
The Guardian's first report:http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...cornwall-coast

Later The Guardian reported two witnesses familiar with aircraft spotted two aircraft spotted over North Cornwall, near an old RAF / USN base:http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...space-witness?

This could become interesting! Needless to say officially there were no Bears over Cornwall.

[AdamG]

How to spot a Russian bomber
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-31537705



Five Points to the BBC. Meanwhile,

Sue Bamford, from Bodmin, said she witnessed at least one of the bombers flying inland, over Cornwall, while she was having a driving lesson on Wednesday afternoon.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...rspace-witness
nb: Per reports, I can only imagine the female witness looked something like this -

[AdamG]

MOSCOW (Reuters) - More than 45,000 Russian troops as well as war planes and submarines started military exercises across much of the country on Monday in one of the Kremlin's biggest shows of force since its ties with the West plunged to Cold War-lows.

President Vladimir Putin called the Navy's Northern Fleet to full combat readiness in exercises in Russia's Arctic North apparently aimed at dwarfing military drills in neighboring Norway, a NATO member.

"New challenges and threats to military security require the armed forces to further boost their military capabilities. Special attention must be paid to newly created strategic formations in the north," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said, quoted by RIA news agency.

Shoigu said the order came from Putin, who has promised to spend more than 21 trillion rubles ($340 billion) by the end of the decade to overhaul Russia's fighting forces.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/putin-orde...073059816.html