St. Petersburg's Severnaya Verf shipyard floated out a new stealth corvette for the Russian Navy at an official ceremony on Wednesday.
The Stoyky is the fourth Project 20380 or Steregushchy class corvette designed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau. The ship is expected to join Russia’s Baltic Fleet in November 2013 after a series of sea trials.
The first Project 20380 corvette, the Steregushchy, was put into service with the Baltic Fleet in October 2008 and the second, the Soobrazitelny, joined the Russian Navy in October 2011.
The third ship of the same series, the Boyky, is undergoing sea trials to be commissioned in November 2012.
The Steregushchy class corvette is capable of engaging enemy surface ships, submarines and aircraft, and providing naval gunfire support for beach landings. Advanced stealth technology is used to reduce the ship's radar, acoustic, infrared, magnetic and visual signatures.
Russia plans to have up to 30 vessels of this class to ensure the protection of its coastal waters, as well as its oil and gas transportation routes, especially in the Black and the Baltic seas.
Each corvette has a displacement of 2,000 metric tons, maximum speed of 27 knots, and a crew of 100.
The ship's armament includes Kh-35 (SS-N-25 Switchblade) anti-ship cruise missiles, a 100-mm gun, a variety of air-defense and anti-submarine systems, and a Ka-27 Helix ASW helicopter.
Russia must make defense spending more efficient by streamlining its arms purchases process rather than by cuts in defense orders, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Wednesday.
The Russian government has allocated 22 trillion rubles ($730 billion) for the state arms procurement program until 2020. Many politicians and experts believe that defense spending should be cut in order to avoid a potential state budget deficit.
“We must save by putting the [arms procurement] process in order rather than by limiting the purchases of necessary equipment,” Rogozin, who oversees the Russian defense industry, said in his Twitter blog.
Rogozin has previously said Russia would draft a new concept for the development of its defense industry by the end of 2012 which reflects existing and potential threats to its national security.
He has also proposed setting up a group of independent experts within the State Military-Industrial Commission, which would make realistic assessments of new weaponry and military technologies.
In April 2012, the commission was given authority to mediate potential conflicts between the Defense Ministry and arms manufacturers over purchases of military equipment, including disputes over pricing.
“Price wars” between the military and the defense industry seriously hampered the implementation of the state arms procurement program in 2011-2012.
Selected air units of Russia’s Western military district will start this year preparations to return to abandoned Arctic airfields, the commander of the district’s aviation Maj. Gen. Igor Makushev said on Wednesday.
Military airfields in the Arctic were used extensively in the Soviet era, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 they have been generally mothballed.
“We will start reopening airfields on Novaya Zemlya and in Naryan-Mar as early as this summer,” Makushev told a news conference in St. Petersburg.
Plans for next year include the reopening of a military airfield on Graham Bell Island, which is part of Franz Josef Land.
Russia has announced plans to deploy a combined-arms force to protect its political and economic interests in the Arctic region by 2020, including military, border and coastal guard units to guarantee Russia's military security in diverse military and political circumstances.
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in July 2011 that two arctic brigades would be stationed in “Murmansk or Arkhangelsk or some other place.”
Russia's Military Transport Aviation (VTA) is to receive 60 Antonov An-70 propfan tactical transport aircraft by 2020, the service's commander Lt. Gen. Viktor Kachalkin said on Thursday.
"From 2014, we will start to get the Ilyushin Il-76-MD90A (Il-476) and also the modernized Il-76MD. We are also counting on getting the new An-70," he said.
The VTA will also take delivery of 25 Antonov An-124 super-heavy transport aircraft of various modifications by 2020, he said.
Russian military transport aviation does not intend to buy any foreign made aircraft, he added.
"Purchases of foreign equipment do not interest us, as Russian equipment meets our requirements," he said.
The Ukrainian-designed An-70, which is being built together with Russia, has had a long-running and troubled gestation, with one prototype crashing in the 1990's in a collision and a second crashing in 2001 in a take-off accident in Omsk. The aircraft also had a history of snags with its propfan engines.
Russia pulled out of the project in 2006, with Russia Air Force commander Vladimir Mikhailov stating it did not need the aircraft and would prefer the modernized Il-76, but it later rejoined the program.
Russia wants to set up a military innovation hub in Moscow Region similar to the country’s ambitious hi-tech development project at Skolkovo, Izvestia daily reported on Thursday.
The idea of creating a military scientific research center was voiced by the League for Assistance to the Defense Industry, comprising the heads of Russia’s leading military corporations which lobbies in government for the sector, Izvestia said.
In an interview with the daily, the League’s head and lawmaker Vladimir Gutenev said the center will boast leading specialists in defense technology and could be just the first of many.
“If this project [military innovation hub] is implemented and bears fruits, similar centers will be created in Russian regions,” Gutenev told the paper.
The site could be located at Ramenskoye to the south-east of the capital, which is home to the Gromov Flight Research Center and the longest runway in Europe, said the League's deputy head, Zinovy Pak
Gutenev said Russia would first set up a defense research agency similar to the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and only then set up the new high-tech hub.
In late 2011, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and then NATO envoy, Dmitry Rogozin called for the creation of a defense research agency with its own budget that would oversee development of new military technology. Rogozin criticized Russia's lack of progress in hypersonic flight research last month and called for urgent funding for it.
Russian lawmaker Andrei Krasov, a member of the State Duma Defense Committee, welcomed the idea, saying “Russia urgently needs breakthrough weaponry” since the lack of technological progress is creating a threat to Russia’s security.
The Skolkovo high-tech development park is a key part of the Russian government’s drive to modernize Russia's commodity-dependent economy. The center is intended to be an ultra-modern science community for the development and commercialization of new technologies including energy, information technology, communications, bio-medical research and nuclear technology.
The first joint anti-terror exercise, involving Russian and U.S. forces in Colorado, ended with the “neutralization” of a terrorist group, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.
The entire operation took not more than seven minutes, according to Col Alexander Kucherenko.
“The main trophy included important documents and a large sum of money designed to pay for terrorist activities, which were removed from the chief of the terrorist gang,” he said.
The first ever joint Russia-U.S. anti-terror military exercises on American soil, were held at Ft. Carson in Colorado, from Tuesday through Thursday. A special unit of Russian paratroopers worked alongside American land forces as part of the exercise.
The Russian and U.S. special units engaged in joint gun practice as well as mountain training, parachute exercises, and demolition techniques training.
Russian Ballistic Missiles to Cover Tracks
Yars (RS-24) intercontinental ballistic missile systems
Topol-M (SS-27 Sickle B) intercontinental ballistic missile system
Russia's mobile ballistic missile launchers are to be fitted with a new camouflage system that will cover their tracks on the ground, making it harder to detect them, Defense Ministry spokesman Vadim Koval said on Friday.
The new equipment not only effectively camouflages missile launchers when deployed, but can also promptly erase tracks on the ground to cover the movements of missile vehicles, as well as creating false trails to mislead enemy surveillance, Koval said.
The new equipment will cut the time required to camouflage the launchers many times over, he added.
The Teikovo ballistic missile site in Russia’s Ivanovo Region will become the first missile unit to be equipped with new advanced camouflage at the end of the year, Koval said.
The unit, based 280 kilometers from Moscow, consists of Topol-M (SS-27 Sickle B) and Yars (RS-24) intercontinental ballistic missile systems.
Other Strategic Missile Forces detachments, including the Irkutsk and Novosibirsk units in Siberia, will also get similar equipment in the future.
Russian Warship Sails to Baltic Sea for NATO Naval Drills
BALTOPS is an annual military exercise held in the Baltic Sea. BALTOPS-2010
The Kaliningrad amphibious assault landing ship from Russia’s Baltic Fleet has set sail for the Baltic Sea to take part in the BALTOPS 2012 naval drills on June 1-16, the press service of the Western military district said.
The Kaliningrad left its home base in Baltiisk in Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad on Thursday to join over 20 surface ships and some 20 aircraft from NATO countries in a variety of training missions, including anti-submarine warfare, sea rescue and counter-terrorism.
BALTOPS is an annual military exercise held in the Baltic Sea and surrounding regions since 1971. Since 1993 it has been a major contributor to the NATO program Partnership for Peace.
Warships from Russia’s Baltic Fleet previously took part in BALTOPS exercises 19 times.
The Kaliningrad vessel entered service in December 1984 and has carried out a number of training missions in the Baltic, North and Mediterranean seas, as well as in the Atlantic Ocean.
Kaliningrad class ships are capable of carrying up to 500 tons of cargo, 13 tanks and more than 200 naval infantry.
Russian Military to Hold Over 1,000 Drills in June-October
INDRA-2010 Military Drills
The Russian Armed Forces will conduct over 1,000 command-and-staff and tactical exercises during the summer training period from June to November this year, the Defense Ministry said.
The summer training will focus on improving interoperability of all branches of the Armed Forces and efficient use of automated battlefield management systems, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The training will be carried out on average 2-3 times a week with the emphasis on weapons proficiency and driving skills.
The training period will culminate with the Kavkaz-2012 large-scale strategic exercises in southern Russia and North Caucasus, which would also involve Abkhaz and South Ossetian military units.
In addition, Russia will hold about 50 joint military exercises with foreign countries, including the Slavic Commonwealth – 2012 with Ukraine and Belarus, the INDRA-2012 with India and the Selenga with Mongolia.
The Russian Navy will traditionally take part in RIMPAC, FRUKUS, Northern Eagle and Blackseafor international naval drills.
L’avion de transport stratégique lourd An-124 Ruslan (Condor pour l’OTAN) effectua son premier vol le 26 décembre 1982 et fut officiellement présenté au salon aéronautique du Bourget en 1985 avant d’entrer en service en 1987 dans les forces aériennes soviétiques comme successeur de l’An-22.
La production de l’An-124 a cessé en 1995 après 55 exemplaires sortis des usines Antonov de Kiev et Aviastar d’Ulyanovsk. 22 d’entre eux ont été livrés aux forces aériennes russes dont 11 seraient encore en service.
Les futurs An-124-150M militaires russes seront produits à l’usine Aviastar d’Ulyanovsk. Un partenariat avec l’industrie américaine a également été évoqué en 2010 pour le civil, voire les besoins militaires américains.
Selon des informations non confirmées, le russe ZIL aurait lancé un nouveau 4x4 blindé léger, le "Punisher", dont le prototype (photo ci-contre) viendrait d’entamer ses essais, vraisemblablement au sein du FSB. Outre les services secrets russes, le FSB regroupe également les garde-frontières pour qui un véhicule de patrouille de ce type présenterait un intérêt évident.
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