Watching Russian Air & Sea Activity

[davidbfpo]

AdamG posted in part:

The 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade, based at the Balbek airbase, had 39 Mig-28 fighters, which were seized by Russia in the early days of their invasion. Three hundred surface-to-air missiles were seized at the Fiolent airbase, as well.

I read somewhere only four were in flying / operational condition.

[davidbfpo]

I thought I'd posted these two news items from hitherto unknown news resource.

The paratroopers from the 98th Paratroopers Division in Ivanovo were dropped over the island of Kotelny on Friday in a show of strength in Arctic conditions.....As previously reported, the Russian Northern Fleet late 2013 took major efforts in the reopening of the Temp airfield at Kotelny....The Island of Kotelny in the period 1933-1993 housed a research station and military base.

Link:http://barentsobserver.com/en/securi...-we-come-17-03

I am sure this is the island AdamG posted on three days ago.

OK, not Russia, but Norway's presence in the Barents Sea continues:http://barentsobserver.com/en/securi...-spyship-17-03

[Dayuhan]

Russia now has more warships than America

[AdamG]

(CNN) -- Just when you thought this divorce couldn't get any messier.

Weeks after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea region, it plans to take custody of dolphins in the nation as well.

Not just any dolphins. These highly trained military mammals detect risks such as sea mines or enemy scuba divers trying to slip through. Sea mines are sophisticated weapons that can sink ships and other watercraft.

"The combat dolphin program in the Crimean city of Sevastopol will be preserved and redirected toward the interests of the Russian navy," state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported Thursday.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/...lphins-defect/

[AdamG]

GADZHIYEVO (Murmansk region), April 16 (RIA Novosti) – The first Borey-class ballistic missile submarine could be put on combat duty this year after taking weaponry on board, a senior Russian Navy commander said Wednesday.

"Upon receiving new weapons on board this year, the Yury Dolgoruky submarine will be ready to perform its duties," said Rear Admiral Alexander Moiseev, commander of the submarine forces of the Northern Fleet.

The Yury Dolgoruky joined the Northern Fleet in January 2013 while the second Borey-class boat, the Alexander Nevsky, was commissioned by the Navy in December last year.

The third boat, the Vladimir Monomakh, is undergoing sea and state trials, and the fourth Borey-class submarine, the Knyaz Vladimir, has been under construction at the Sevmash shipyard in northern Russia since July 2012.

http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140...Patrols--.html


And now for another one of those Chehkovian moments...

The Russian Navy is expected to receive 40 new warships and auxiliary vessels this year, including a variety of surface ships of various classes in addition to the nuclear submarines. The Russian Defense Ministry is currently carrying out a massive rearmament for the navy and air force as part of a series of modernization efforts.

http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140...in-Summer.html

[ganulv]

"The combat dolphin program in the Crimean city of Sevastopol will be preserved and redirected toward the interests of the Russian navy," state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported Thursday.

If you see a dolphin an’ that, don’t go, “Oh, it’s friendly.”

[Stan]

If you see a dolphin an’ that, don’t go, “Oh, it’s friendly.”

Hey Matt,

All jokes aside, our USN marine mammal program at approx. $750,000 for a week is, in addition to being expensive, works.

An oceanographic survey while more precise, may not render the same results.

Have to see a team once to actually believe it.

[ganulv]

Hey Matt,

All jokes aside, our USN marine mammal program at approx. $750,000 for a week is, in addition to being expensive, works.

An oceanographic survey while more precise, may not render the same results.

Have to see a team once to actually believe it.

Oh, I don’t doubt it for a second. I just like the Gervais clip.

There must be something about the word “dolphin” that makes people tune out. I met a marine biologist once who told me he “conducts research on charismatic marine megafauna.” I asked him what that meant, and he said, “I work with dolphins. Usually people don’t want to admit they don’t know what ‘charismatic marine megafauna’ are, and they just shake their heads and look impressed. But if I tell them ‘dolphins’ straight away they don’t take me seriously.”