Russia to Hold Black Sea Antiterror Drills

 A Russian naval force will hold antiterrorism exercises in the Black Sea within the next few days, the Defense Ministry press service said on Monday.
The force, comprising warships from the Black Sea Fleet, the Baltic Fleet and the Northern Fleet, is currently practicing interoperability with Air Force long-range aviation and Air-Defense Forces units in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
“The warships are being currently deployed to target areas: In the next two days drills will be held in counter-raiding defense, as well as operations under the threat of a terrorist attack,” a Defense Ministry spokesman said.
The large amphibious assault ships Kaliningrad and Alexander Shabalin with a subunit of naval infantry and equipment on board will practice landing an amphibious assault force on the Black Sea coast later on Monday, he added.

Russia Starts Third Borey-Class Sub Test

 Russian submarine-builder Sevmash has begun moored tests of the third Borey-class (Project 955) ballistic missile submarine Vladimir Monomakh, the shipyard said on Friday.

"The fourth-generation missile submarine Vladimir Monomakh has been submerged in the water and started moored tests," Sevmash said.

Shipyard sea trials will start in the summer of this year, Sevmash said.

Vladimir Monomakh will be the third and last Project 955 boat, armed with 16 Bulava ballistic missiles. The fourth and subsequent boats will be Project 955A vessels with 20 missiles. The fourth boat, Knyaz Vladimir, is under construction.

Vladimir Monomakh has also been built with the incorporation of the latest acoustic signature reduction techniques, Sevmash said.

Russian Army Says Goodbye to Earflaps

 The Russian Army will drop its traditional fur hat with ear flaps – known as the “ushanka”  – in favor of modern winter headgear, as part of a new military uniform, a senior official at a Russian design company said on Friday.

The Russian Army plans to gradually introduce a new uniform by 2014. The new kit is being designed by St. Petersburg’s BTK Group, which presented the new patterns in December 2012.

The winter hat replacing the ushankas will be more suitable for use with a helmet or modern communications deviсes, BTK Group vice president Temerlan Darsigov said.

“The army combat uniform set consists of 19 items, including three pairs of footwear; it includes eight layers, which will provide soldiers with optimal comfort depending on the weather conditions and tasks,” Darsigov said.

The new gear will include a fleece coat, a windbreaker costume, winter footwear for freezing temperatures and a balaclava helmet.

The uniforms are made of the latest fabrics and materials and can be worn in temperatures from 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) to minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit).

Russia-led military bloc offers cooperation with NATO

Colonel-General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said closer interaction between NATO and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) could produce ‘positive results’ in Afghanistan and the region.

Given that any security lapses due to the coalition forces’ pullout from Afghanistan “will be happening in proximity to the Russian border and the borders of our CSTO allies,” Russia cannot afford to remain indifferent to the situation, Gerasimov told reporters following a session of the Chiefs of the General Staff of the NATO-Russian Council in Brussels.

"Obviously, all forces that are interested in preventing the region from sliding back into chaos should coordinate their efforts,” the Russian military officer emphasized. “That is why we invited NATO to discuss (a joint security proposal) with CSTO in order to devise…a security concept for the region."

The CSTO is an intergovernmental military organization comprised of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

NATO attempted to reassure its Russian colleagues that the transfer of power to the Afghan government does not mean a full withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan.

On January 1, 2015, NATO officials will still be in Afghanistan, NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai said.

Russia Conducts Simulated Missile Launch

The Central Command Post of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) conducted a simulated missile launch on Wednesday in the presence of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Defense Ministry said.
The minister visited the RVSN High Command and oversaw “the fulfillment of a special task, including a simulated missile launch,” the ministry press service said.
He was briefed by RVSN chief Col. Gen. Sergei Karakayev on the SMF’s status and prospects for development, as well as the procedure for the organization of combat alert duty.
The Russian military tracked about 40 launches of foreign and domestic ballistic missiles and space rockets last year. The new radar stations that have been put into operation as part of the Russian missile attack early warning system enable it to track not only ballistic targets and space objects, but also aerodynamic targets.
The system will be even more effective following the creation of the Integrated Space Tracking and Combat Command and Control System. Russia is able to reliably detect ballistic missile launches and monitor and control all probable directions for a missile attack, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Alexei Zolotukhin said.
The ministry also said Russia will start building new radar stations later this year.
Russia announced it will no longer rent the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan. The lease, signed in 2002, expired last December. Russia is replacing the Gabala radar station, which has played a crucial role in its missile defense system, with a new system based at Armavir in Russia’s southern Krasnodar Territory.

The Coming Russian Naval Modernization

Vladimir Isachenkov of the Associated Press is reporting tonight from Russia on the introduction of the Yury Dolgoruky, the first of the Borei class ballistic missile submarines that features 16 of the troubled Bulava submarine launched ballistic missiles. In his report he notes the second Borei class submarine is undergoing sea trials while the third and fourth of the class are under construction.

The modernization of Russia's ballistic missile submarine force and the introduction of the first of this new ballistic missile submarine is obviously not a trivial event, but there is nothing about this modernization of an existing historical capability that impacts strategic balance, so it isn't exactly a big deal either.

What I thought was the big deal today were the comments delivered by President Vladimir Putin during a conference call with the crew while celebrating this milestone. I actually had to spend time searching through the original Russian reports to verify what is reported here by the AP is legit.

President Vladimir Putin congratulated the Yuri Dolgoruky’s crew during a conference call Thursday, hailing the ship as a “powerful weapon that will guarantee our security.”

“Submarines of that class will become an important element of sea-based strategic forces, a guarantor of global balance and security of Russia and its allies,” Putin said.

Commissioning of the new submarines is part of an ambitious arms modernization program that envisages spending more than 20 trillion rubles ($657 billion) on new weapons through 2020.

Putin said Thursday that 4 trillion rubles ($132 billion) of that money will be spent on commissioning the new submarines and other navy ships. “Modernization of the navy is one of the most important priorities in our work to strengthen the armed forces,” he said.

Putin said the navy will commission the total of eight Borei-class ICBM nuclear submarines and eight nuclear submarines of a different Yasen class intended to hunt for enemy ships.

This is the latest affirmation and yet another specifically detailed budget point related to the frequently promised and yet to be delivered Russian Navy buildup expected to take place this decade. Think about the math of this.

If we count fiscal years 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 we can take those eight years and divide them by $132 billion US.

That means Russia will supposedly spend $16.5 billion US on shipbuilding for the rest of the decade through 2020. They plan on building lots of smaller warships, submarines, and all types of auxiliary vessels - and sometimes they suggest they will build capital ships, but I'll believe that when I see it.

Russian MoD plans to procure mine clearance robots

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) is planning to substitute soldiers with robotic systems for munitions disposal and mine clearance operations in the battlefield.

An invitation to tender (ITT) has been recently issued by the MoD requesting industry teams for production of new types of weapons and military hardware, including robots, according to Russia & India Report.

An undisclosed company source Andrei Nosov said it has submitted a proposal for the tender and already started development of a robot that will imitate the operator's hand movements, unlike legacy joystick-operated systems.
" "We first created it for Roscosmos. Now we hope the military will be interested as well."

"We first created it for Roscosmos," Nosov said. "Now we hope the military will be interested as well."

The MoD is currently considering the procurement of civilian robotic equipment, such as snow and swamp-traversing vehicles, Yel-10 and Yel-4 firefighting complexes, and LUF-60 tracked firefighting support units.

Options for the deployment of robotic systems to conduct critical mine clearance missions in Chechnya is also under consideration by the ministry, the publication reported citing Russian chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov.

Robotisation of critical military missions is not only expected to protect soldiers, but also results in RUR75bn ($2.4bn) as cost savings to the ministry between 2012 and 2014.

The Russian Army has previously expressed an interest in using robots for combat missions, although the systems are mostly used by the navy for mine warfare operations.

A track-mounted robot, MRK-27 BT, similar to the US special weapons observation remote direct-action system (SWORDS) was developed by the robotics lab of Moscow State Technical University (MSTU) in 2009, for use in actual combat operations.

Russian Expo Arms Eurosatory and share their experience

The experience of the organization of the International Exhibition of armament and military equipment used Eurosatory in Paris to prepare to Russian Expo Arms Nijnyi Tagil. This agreement was reached at the meeting between the Director General of the French salon, General Patrick Colas des Francs, and the governor of the Sverdlovsk region Yevgeny Kouïvachev.

As the regional government told " RusBusinessNews "currently Nijnyi Tagil, with the support of the President of the Federation, is being created an exhibition center for the presentation of federal land equipment of the army earth. In polygon "Staratel", which is the traditional place where fairs military will be created business center with a conference room with a capacity of 500 seats, as well as new buildings and information center unique. An airfield for three helicopters Mi-8 helicopters capable of accommodating even at night will also be built.

Russian Expo Arms is traditionally held in the Sverdlovsk region once every two years. The participant is living under the tank T-90C SA of open type "Corporation Research and Development" Ouralvagonzavod. "42 The region also companies military-industrial complex, the production is near half of the gross domestic product of the region.

Russia's fourth T-50 stealth fighter flies

Russia's fourth prototype Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter jet took to the skies for the first time Wednesday in a 40-minute flight at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur factory in Siberia, Sukhoi said.

"The fourth prototype PAK-FA made its first flight today from the Gagarin factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur," Sukhoi said, referring to the aircraft by its project name, an acronym for future fifth-generation tactical fighter.

"The flight tested the aircraft's overall integrity and its main engines. The aircraft is making a good impression in all phases of the flying programme," Sukhoi said.

The T-50, which will be the core of Russia's future fighter fleet, is a fifth-generation multi-role fighter aircraft featuring low-observable technology (stealth), super-manoeuverability, supercruise capability (supersonic flight without use of afterburner), and an advanced avionics suite including an X-band active phased-array radar.

The first prototype first flew Jan 29, 2010.

The Russian defence ministry plans to purchase a first batch of 10 evaluation aircraft and then 60 production-standard aircraft after 2015.

Meanwhile, the Novosibirsk aircraft factory (NAPO) plans to deliver 10 more Sukhoi Su-34 strike aircraft to the Russian Air Force in the near future, the Air Force's Col. Andrei Bobrun said.

"The Novosibirsk factory will send another 10 aircraft to the Voronezh air base in the near future," he said. The air force set up its first Su-34 squadron at the end of 2011.


A two-seat strike-dedicated derivative of the Su-27 fighter, the Su-34 can carry a payload of up to eight tonnes of guided weapons over 4,000 km.

New Putin limo unveiled

After six full years of development, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin finally has a car more beautiful than U.S. President Barack Obama's, the ZiL auto company announced.

A ZIL-4112P prototype, with a 7.7 litre engine and six-speed automatic transmission, was unveiled to federal television channels on Sunday just months after Putin ordered government departments to seek appropriately patriotic, domestic alternatives to the mostly German foreign brands he and other top government officials have become accustomed to being driven around in.
“We tried to preserve the generic feature of the ZiL: the recognizable style, the lighting, the mirrors. We wanted it to be clear that this is a ZiL, not a soapbox, not a Mercedes. If you look, its dark blue. If you look at what Obama drives around in its a scary submarine, no kind of aesthetic, it's awful to look at,” ZiL's Director of Limousine Production Mikhail Sattarov told Channel 1.

Soviet nostalgia has not sacrificed modern comforts, however. The interior features leather seats, worktables, and the pride of the ZiL: a big screen hooked up to an external video camera that allows passengers to see where they are going even with the curtains drawn. It also boasts specialist security features — “know-how that no-one else has,” according to Sattarov — to guarantee the safety of both driver and passenger.

Fuel consumption has also been improved to 25 litres per 100 kilometres. The late Communist Party chief Leonid Brezhnev's limo was said to guzzle a fearsome 65 litres.

The launch of the vehicle marks a new dawn not only for the driving comfort of Kremlin officials, but also for ZiL itself.


The company has signed a deal with Korean automaker Hyundai to begin production at its Moscow plant.

Bolt-together assembly is slated to start in the first quarter of 2013, while full-cycle production will commence by 2015, Vedomosti reported, citing a "highly placed" source in the Moscow city government, which controls the plant.

Since losing its role as carmaker to the Soviet elite, ZiL has concentrated on light trucks and other working vehicles, most of which are built at its factory in the Saratov region. It has not been announced which Hyundai models will be produced at the plant.

Russia’s Pantsir-S System Downs Cruise Missile in Test

Two missiles fired from a Pantsir-S short-range air defense system shot down a cruise missile during tests at a practice range in northern Russia on Friday, the Defense Ministry said.

A real cruise missile was launched from a Tu-95MS Bear strategic bomber targeting a building 800 kilometers (500 miles) away.

“The Pantsir-S hit the target with two missiles and prevented the destruction of the defended building,” the Ministry said in a statement.

“The live firing practice at the Pemboy range has confirmed high performance characteristics of the new air defense system,” the statement said.

The system has previously only been tested against practice targets imitating cruise missiles.

Cruise missiles represent a difficult target as they are small, fast-moving, can fly at very low levels and often have a low infrared and radar signature.

The Pantsir-S, produced by Russia's KBP, is a gun-missile system combining a wheeled vehicle mounting a fire-control radar and electro-optical sensor, two 30-mm cannons and up to 12 57E6 radio-command guided short-range missiles, and is designed to take on a variety of targets flying at low altitudes.

The Pantsir can engage targets up to 20 km (12 miles) by missiles and 4 km (2.5 miles) using cannons, KBP claims.

The Defense Ministry has so far ordered 100 Pantsir-S units for Russia’s Aerospace Defense Forces, which are expected to be delivered in the next few years.

The export version of the system, Pantsir-S1, has been sold to the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Algeria.

Under a recent $4.2-bln arms contract with Iraq, Moscow will supply Baghdad with 50 Pansir-S1 systems.