Watching Russian Air & Sea Activity

[davidbfpo]

A suitable spot for this. Partly explained:

This reading list is necessarily selective. It includes key texts, classic analysis, and work that illuminates all important background. It is a “live” document, and will be amended and updated as appropriate.There are currently large gaps in the literature, particularly in the study of Russian defence and armed forces and – even more so – the Russian security and intelligence services. Some older work is therefore included that will hopefully be useful for providing essential background. The reading list is intended to be as accessible as possible. Therefore, all the works are in English, the articles are available to download for free (without subscription), and the books are in print and available tobuy online, mostly at a decent price.

Link to PDF 7pgs:https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...t+4+Jan+19.pdf

[AdamG]

Two Russian warships have been fitted with an unusual defensive weapon that reportedly causes its victims to become disorientated, hallucinate and even want to vomit.

The non lethal weapon, called 5P-42 Filin, is described as a “visual optical interference” device and is designed to temporarily incapacitate its targets.

According to RIA Novosti, Russia’s domestic state news agency, the Filin device has been deployed on the Russian naval frigates Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Kasatono.

The weapon fires a beam similar to a strobe light that affects the victim’s eyesight and ability to look at and concentrate on a target, according to local media reports. The non lethal device is said to be able to temporarily blind its target.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/i...735a5d1ad9848c

See also
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...d-war-missions

[AdamG]

SU-24s are a fifty-year old design.

The dramatic simulated attack happend on February 14th, 2018, Director of Norway’s Intelligence Service, Lieutenant General Morten Haga Lunde, told the audience in his annual speech for the Oslo Military Society on Monday.
*

He then showed the map of how a group of 11 Sukhoi-24 (NATO name Fencer) supersonic attack aircraft taking of from Monchegorsk air base on the Kola Peninsula flying out in the Barents Sea before taking a 180 degree turn into an attack formation towards Vardø.

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/se...n-arctic-radar

[AdamG]

Following the sinking of one of the world’s largest dry docks on October 29 in a shipyard in the far northwest part of Russia, officials have finally admitted that they are unable to continue work on Russia’s sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, for the time being. While Russia’s shipbuilding industry is reportedly looking into alternatives, no timely and viable solution to continue retrofitting work on the Russian Navy’s flagship has emerged to date.

“We have alternatives actually for all the ships except for [the aircraft carrier] Admiral Kuznetsov. Our enterprises are in operation, [including] the Nerpa [Ship Repair Factory],” the head of Russia’s United Ship-Building Corporation (USC), Alexei Rakhmanov, is quoted as saying on November 7 by TASS news agency. “After all, we can perform certain docking works in Severodvinsk, not far from Murmansk. We don’t feel any special problems in this regard.”

However, the Russian shipbuilding industry does not possess a large enough facility to accommodate the carrier and it will take at least six to 12 months to recover the sunken floating dry dock. According to open source information, Russia would require international support for any such complex recovery operation as it does not possess the equipment to lift the massive drydock from the seabed on its own.

https://thediplomat.com/2018/11/russ...after-accident

[AdamG]

ISTANBUL – The Russian Improved Kilo-class submarine Krasnodar (B-265) made an unexpected southbound passage through the Bosphorus Strait on Thursday. The submarine assigned to the Black Sea Fleet entered the Mediterranean the next day.

Under the Montreux Convention rules governing warships in the Black Sea, there are specific restrictions around passage in and out of the Black Sea, including by submarines.

While the submarines of non-Black Sea nations are forbidden to pass through the Straits, the submarines of Black Sea riparian states may pass through the Turkish Straits – but only if they are passing through for the purpose of joining a base in the Black Sea for the first time after their construction or purchase, or for the purpose of going to or from repairs in yards outside the Black Sea.

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/18/rus...exit-black-sea

[davidbfpo]

The latest Russian Navy submarine disaster has had some coverage here:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48865332

Once again the local website 'The Barents Observer' based in Norway has a first-hand report and more details - many of which now appear in the BBC story:https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/se...W97K8K.twitter