January 15, 2013: Strategy Page

A year ago Russia announced that its SSBNs (nuclear powered ballistic missile boats) would resume long range "combat patrols" within a year. On schedule the Russian Navy finally accepted its first new Borei class SSBN (Yury Dolgoruky) for service last December 30th. Thus it appears that the newly commissioned Yury Dolgoruky will be the first Russian SSBN in many years to make a long range cruise. The Russians will probably not announce this until it’s all over, lest something go wrong at sea. A second Borei is undergoing sea trials and is expected to enter service next year. A third Borei class boat is just beginning sea trials this month.

In recent years, there have been only about ten nuclear submarine patrols a year, each lasting three months at most and usually a lot less. Most have not gone far from Russian waters and some were by recently built SSNs (nuclear attack subs) or SSGNs (SSNs equipped with cruise missiles) and not by SSBNs.

The problem here was that the Russian Navy has not only shrunk since the end of the Cold War in 1991 but it has also become much less active. Much of the time at sea consisted of short range training missions, which often lasted a few days, or just a few hours. But the true measure of a fleet is the "combat patrol" or "deployment." In the U.S. Navy most of these last from 2-6 months and in the last decade U.S. nuclear subs have carried out ten times as many patrols as their Russian counterparts.

Currently, Russia only has 15 SSBN (nuclear ballistic missile sub) boats in service and not all of them have a full load of missiles. Some lack full crews or have key systems in need of repair. Twelve of the SSBNs are Delta IVs, which are overdue for retirement and rarely go to sea. Russia has only 15 modern, 7,000 ton, Akula SSNs (nuclear attack subs) in service. Actually, three are in reserve, for lack of money and crews, and another has been leased to India. The Akulas began building in the late 1980s and are roughly comparable to the American Los Angeles class. All of the earlier Russian SSNs are trash and most have been decommissioned. There are also seven SSGN (nuclear subs carrying cruise missiles) and 20 diesel electric boats. There is a new class of SSGNs under construction but progress, and promised funding increases, have been slow.

Currently, the U.S. has nine of the new, 7,700 ton, Virginia class SSNs in service, five under construction and 19 more planned. The mainstay of the American submarine force is still the 6,100 ton Los Angeles-class SSN. Sixty-two of these submarines were built, 42 of which remain in front-line service, making it probably the largest class of nuclear submarines that will ever be built. The Seawolf-class of nuclear attack submarines stopped at three from a planned class of twenty-nine. The 8,600 ton Seawolf was designed as a super-submarine, designed to fight the Soviet Navy at its height. Reportedly, it is quieter going 40 kilometers an hour than the Los Angeles-class submarines are at pier side.

The peak year for Russian nuclear sub patrols was 1984, when there were 230. That number rapidly declined until, in 2002, there were none. Since the late 1990s, the Russian navy has been hustling to try and reverse this decline. But the navy budget, despite recent increases, is not large enough to build new ships to replace the current Cold War era fleet that is falling apart. Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, most of the ship building money has gone into new nuclear subs. Six Akulas have been completed in that time, but the first two of a new generation of SSBNs, the Borei class was delayed by technical problems, a new ballistic missile that wouldn't work, and lack of money. The first three Borei class boats, after many delays, are finally ready for service and ended up costing over two billion dollars each. The ballistic missile for the Borei was just approved last year and there won't be enough of them to fill all the Borei silos for a year or more.

The Russian admirals made their big mistake in the early 1990s, when the dismantling of the Soviet Union left the second largest fleet in the world with only a fraction of its Cold War budget. Rather than immediately retire ninety percent of those ships, Russia tried to keep many of them operational. This consumed most of the navy budget and didn't work. There were too many ships, not enough sailors and not enough money for maintenance or training at sea. The mighty Soviet fleet was quickly turned into scrap or rusting hulks tied up at crumbling out-of-the way naval bases.

While Western nuclear subs can last for about thirty years Russian models rarely get past twenty. That means two new SSN or SSGN have to be put into service each year to maintain a force of forty boats. Unless the sub construction budget get billions more dollars a year, that is not going to happen. Right now, the priority is on producing a new class of SSBNs (five more Boreis are planned or under construction). These Boreis are essential because they carry SLBM (Sea Launched Ballistic Missiles) that provide a critical (they are much harder to destroy in a first strike than land based missiles) portion of the nuclear deterrent. The rest of the Russian armed forces, like most of the navy, is in sad shape and unable to resist a major invasion. Only the ICBMs and SLBMs guarantee the safety of the state. So the way things are going now, in a decade or two, Russia will end up with a force consisting of a dozen SSNs and a dozen SSBNs.

The current fleet of nuclear subs is tiny and the Russians would rather keep them tied up at dock most of the time. The crews can do a lot of training at dockside, and only go to sea a few times a year to check on their state of training. Given the number of accidents their subs have had in the past decade, the training the crews are getting now is not sufficient.

January 11, 2013 Andrei Kislyakov, specially for RIR - indrus.in

The decision to introduce the new fighter is long overdue: the United State launched it seven years ago and China is also trying to keep pace.

The Russian Armed Forces will soon put into service the fifth-generation T-50 PAK FA jet fighter (Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation). The decision to introduce the new fighter is long overdue: the United State launched the F-22 Raptor seven years ago. China is also trying to keep pace, as it has started testing its own fifth-generation fighter.

In late December, Viktor Bondarev, Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, said that the trials of the fifth-generation PAK FA fighters would start at the testing facility in Akhtubinsk in March 2013.

“Three machines are being tested at Zhukovsky Airfield in the Moscow region, the fourth fighter is undergoing factory tests, and the fifth one is ready for acceptance. In March, the five machines will fly to Akhtubinsk to begin government testing. The rest of the machines will be delivered there from the factory. By the end of 2013, eight T-50 fighters will have been accepted following trials in Akhtubinsk,” said the general.

According to Bondarev, the tests of advanced fighters will take 2-2.5 years. In 2015-2016, the T-50 will be delivered to active Air Force units.

The T-50 is equipped with an all-new avionics complex and an advanced radar station with a phased antenna. The plane made its maiden flight to Komsomolsk-on-Amur on 29 January 2010; the fighter was officially presented to the public on 17 August 2011 at the MAKS 2011 International Aviation & Space Salon in Zhukovsky near Moscow.

Many of the T-50’s technical features are classified, however based on data received from public sources, specialists insist that the PAK FA is ahead of its foreign peers based on a few important features, including maximum speed (both using afterburners and without them), ferry range, thrust/weight ratio, and maximum g-load.

The T-50 is operated by a single pilot. The machine has a maximum speed of 2,600 kilometres per hour. Its ferry range is 4,300 kilometres at altitudes of up to 20 kilometres. With a maximum takeoff weight of 37 tons, the fighter is capable of carrying up to 10 tons of armaments, including the GSh-30-1 30 mm cannon, guided missiles of various types and ranges, as well as precision guided bombs. Up to eight external and ten internal suspension points can be installed to attach armaments. More than ten innovative types of weapons have been developed for the PAK FA.

Foreign media have also praised the Russian plane as having clear advantages over the American fifth-generation planes. In mid-autumn, Australian military analysts at Air Power Australia issued a report comparing the Sukhoi PAK FA with its American peers F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightening II. Based on their conclusions, the new Russian jet fighter is superior to its existing foreign analogues based on many of its features.

The T-50 uses a new aerodynamic design that minimizes heat and optical signature.

The significant proportion of composite materials used in the fighter, up to 70% in the body skin and 40% of the entire structure, makes the plane virtually invisible to radars. The fighter is equipped with innovative radar systems designed by the Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute, which, coupled with the two onboard computers, ensure target detection at a range of up to 400 kilometres, tracking of up to 60 air targets and shooting at up to 16 targets at a time. Its radio warfare systems and infrared reduction systems effectively protect the plane from air defence weapons, specifically, from the radars currently operated in the United States, the report reads.

Experts also mention the remarkable flight characteristics of the T-50. The machine is powered by two AL-41F-1A turbofans with an integrated digital control system featuring 2D thrust vectoring. The use of high-performance engines resulted in a very high thrust to weight ratio, which stands behind the T-50’s air superiority, higher missile and bomb load, service ceiling and speed characteristics.

Another advantage of the T-50 over its peers is its unusually high fuel capacity, which enables it to carry out longer missions and ensures longer ranges as compared to the F-22 and F-35.

The Russian fifth-generation T-50 PAK FA fighter is therefore capable of becoming the leader among its competitors.

SEVERODVINSK, 10 janvier - RIA Novosti

La Marine russe mènera les plus importants exercices de son histoire en Méditerranée fin janvier, a annoncé jeudi à Severodvinsk (nord de la Russie) le ministre russe de la Défense Sergueï Choïgou.

"Des bâtiments de guerre russes se trouvent en Méditerranée dans le cadre d'une mission. Ils se préparent aux plus importants exercices inter-flottes. Des navires de toutes les flottes de la Marine russe participeront à ces manœuvres", a indiqué le ministre à l'issue d'une rencontre en duplex avec le président russe Vladimir Poutine qui se trouve à Severomorsk (nord), la base navale de la flotte du Nord.

Les exercices en question se dérouleront fin janvier en Méditerranée et dans la mer Noire avec la participation des flottes Baltique, du Nord, de la mer Noire et du Pacifique de la Marine russe.

A Severodvinsk, le ministre russe de la Défense Sergueï Choïgou a assisté à la cérémonie de remise du sous-marin nucléaire russe Iouri Dolgorouki, tête de série du projet 955 Boreï, à la Marine russe. Le président Poutine effectue un déplacement à Severomorsk où il a remis jeudi l'Ordre Nakhimov à l'équipage du croiseur nucléaire Petr Veliki pour ses missions en Antarctique et dans l'océan Atlantique et ses activités anti-piraterie dans le golfe d'Aden, au large de la Somalie.

SEVERODVINSK, 10 janvier - RIA Novosti

Outre le sous-marin nucléaire (SNLE) Iouri Dolgorouki remis jeudi à la Marine russe, 14 autres sous-marins d'attaque de classes Boreï et Iassen viendront compléter les forces navales du pays d'ici 2020, a annoncé jeudi aux journalistes le ministre russe de la Défense, le général Sergueï Choïgou.

"En plus de ce SNLE, la Marine russe recevra sept autres sous-marins stratégiques de cette classe et sept sous-marins nucléaires polyvalents", a déclaré le ministre à l'issue d'une vidéoconférence avec le président Vladimir Poutine.

Selon lui, l'entrée en service du Iouri Dolgorouki permet d'espérer que le programme d'armement pour l'horizon 2020 sera réalisé.

L'un des bâtiments de classe Boreï, le Iouri Dolgorouki, a été officiellement remis jeudi à la Marine lors d'une cérémonie qui s'est déroulée aux chantiers navals Sevmach de Severodvinsk (nord de la Russie) en présence de M. Choïgou.

D'après les militaires, les sous-marins nucléaires de cette classe constitueront l'ossature de la composante navale des forces stratégiques nucléaires russes.

10 January, 2013, RT.com

After years of sea trials and missile test launches, the Borei class nuclear-powered submarine Yury Dolgoruky is officially becoming part of the Russian Navy. The sub and its siblings are to be part of Russia’s nuclear deterrence shield.

­The official ceremony of raising the Russian Navy colors on the submarine is to occur on Thursday. Yury Dolgoruky is the lead vessel of the Borei family, the most modern nuclear-powered strategic submarines made in Russia.

Commenting on the news on Twitter, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who is known for his saber-rattling, tongue-in-the-cheek rhetoric, posted: “Tremble, bourgeoisie! You’re done with!”

The submarine was commissioned in 1996 at a shipyard in Severodvinsk. It endured several years of budget restraints and design changes, after the intercontinental ballistic missile Bark, which was slated to become its prime armament, was scrapped. Its reactor was finally launched in 2008.

Between 2009 and 2012 the submarine was involved in both sea trial and test-firing of the Bulava missile, which was the replacement for the Bark. It was expected to enter service back in 2011, but the deadline was eventually postponed by a year. In December 2012 the Navy officially accepted the submarine as ready to take combat missions.

Russia has commissioned three submarines of the Borei class. Yury Dolgoruky’s sister boats, Aleksandr Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh have been in construction since 2004 and 2006 respectively. Nevsky has been undergoing sea trials since October 2012 while Monomakh has been put on water in late December 2012.

In May 2012 the Navy has also contracted development of an upgraded version of the Borei class submarine, which will carry 20 ICBMs, compared to the regular version’s 16. It will also have improved characteristics, such as reduced noise, better measurability and more advanced weapon controls. The keel of the lead advanced vessel, Knyaz Vladimir, was laid down in July 2012, with four more submarines expected to be built.

AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 9 (UPI)

Russia and Ukraine, old hands at selling arms in the war-torn Middle East, are reported to be providing weapons, paid for by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to anti-government rebels in Syria and for the regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, courtesy of the Pentagon.

The Eurasia Daily Monitor, published by the Jamestown Foundation think tank of Washington, reported recently that Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, has shipped several consignments of weapons to insurgents fighting the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad "through Saudi proxies."

"Weapons crates found in the Syrian city of Aleppo showed the arms were delivered from the Ukrainian port of Gostomel and exported by Dastan Engineering from LVC (Luhansk Cartridge Works), a major ammunition manufacturing plant in Luhansk," the report noted.

One of LCW's main exports is the 7.62mm cartridge used in AK-47 assault rifles, which are used by both sides in the Syrian civil war, in which a recent U.N. report said some 60,000 people have been killed since March 2011.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both Persian Gulf monarchies, are bitterly opposed to Assad's republican regime, which is a close ally of Iran, Riyadh's archrival for supremacy in the gulf region.

Russia is Assad's paramount ally on the international stage, particularly on the U.N. Security Council. Moscow has long been a key arms supplier of the Damascus regime, going back to the Cold War era.

Ukraine, once a Soviet republic, was deeply integrated into the Soviet economy. Kiev inherited a major arms industry when the Soviet Union collapsed. That included one-third of the Soviet space industry.

The East European country has become notorious for providing weapons to warring countries in Africa and the Middle East, often in defiance of U.N. arms embargoes.

Ukrainian arms have been identified with some of the world's bloodiest conflicts and most notorious governments, including Saddam Hussein's brutal regime in Iraq that was toppled by the Americans in 2003 and more recently the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"The Syrian civil war represents only the latest case of Ukraine being involved in supplying weapons to an ongoing violent conflict," Eurasia Daily Monitor observed.

"For example, the Central African Republic and Chad each purchased Mi-28B combat helicopters and portable air-defense systems from Ukraine that in both cases were used in domestic civil wars and to support guerrilla groups in neighboring states."

Ukraine is also reported to have supplied 200 tanks worth $100 million to Ethiopia since 2010.

Ethiopia is engaged in fighting rebel groups in the Ogaden region and has tense relations with neighboring Eritrea. The two countries, among the poorest in the world, fought a bitter border war in 1998-2000.

In 2011, Ukraine supplied tanks and upgraded armored personnel carriers to Sudan, along with 30 BM-21 Grad armored rocket launchers, 30 122mm 2S1 Hvozdika self-propelled artillery guns and 43 anti-missile systems.

"Some of the weapons used by Sudan against the newly independent South Sudan," which formally broke away from Sudan in July 2012, "included tanks from Ukraine," the newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda reported June 28.

"By their clandestine nature, Ukrainian arms deliveries to the Syrian rebels resemble Ukrainian arms supplied to the Croatian army and Kosovo Albanian separatists in the 1990s as part of covert operations supported at the time by the United States," Eurasia Daily Monitor noted.

Intelligence Online, a Paris website, reported the Americans have procured Russian weapons "from discreet intermediaries" to equip the Iraqi and Afghani armies.

Intelligence Online said the U.S. defense budget approved by Congress last month included an amendment introduced by Republicans and Democrats that imposed sanctions on Russia's defense export arm, Rosoboronexport, for supplying the Syrian army.

The move has caused some embarrassment at the Pentagon since it, too, has received supplies from the Russian armaments group," Intelligence Online added.

"In June 2011, Washington shelled out $375 million for 21 Mil Mi-17 V5 Russian helicopters for the Afghan air force and in February this year, it paid Rosoboronexport another $5 million for light arms to Afghanistan."

The deals were reportedly negotiated by a small Tampa, Fla., distributor, Bulova Technologies, "which specializes in 'non-conventional' arms and represents Rosoboronexport in the U.S.

"Bulova has also supplied U.S.-financed tanks and light arms to the Iraqi army."

January 1, 2013: strategypage.com

Russia has decided to shut down its Daryal type long range missile detection radar in Azerbaijan after the Azerbaijanis demanded that a new lease increase annual rent from $7 million to $300 million. Russia refused to pay and will shut down the Azerbaijan radar and dismantle it. The ten year lease ended on December 24, 2012. This radar went operational in 1983, and was supposed to be one of seven. But the end of the Cold War halted that project and only one other Daryal radar was built (on the north coast of Russia). That one detected missiles coming in over the North Pole from North America. The radar in Azerbaijan covered all of the Middle East and India. Its role will be assumed by a more recent radar design that recently went into service on the Black Sea coast. Russia had offered to upgrade the Azerbaijan radar and pay more rent but not $293 million more a year. In addition, Russia has always paid Azerbaijan $5 million a year for electricity and $10 million a year for other services. About 500 Azerbaijanis were employed at the radar station, in addition to 1,100 Russians.

Meanwhile, Russia has developed the Voronezh radar to replace the Daryal design and the older ones Daryal was replacing. Last June, Russia activated its fourth Voronezh early warning radar in Irkutsk, Siberia. This was the first of three to be built in eastern Russia. The other two will be in action by 2017. The Voronezh radars in Western Russia cost between $85 million and $128 million each, while those in eastern Russia (VP models) cost over 50 percent more because they cover a wider area. The Voronezh radar can detect incoming missiles up to 6,000 kilometers away, as can the Daryals.

Three Voronezh M/DM radars were installed in Western Russia between 2005 and 2011. One is in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. Another is on the east coast of the Black Sea (Armavir), while the third is at the eastern end of the Baltic Sea outside St Petersburg.

All this recent radar building activity was caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the destruction of the Russian ballistic missile early warning system. This came about because each of the fourteen new nations, carved out of the Soviet Union, got to keep whatever government property that was within the new borders. That meant many of the radar stations that formed the Soviet ICBM early warning system were now owned by foreign countries. A combination of disputes over money, and aging electronics, eventually put many of those early warning radars out of action. The two in Ukraine went off line three years ago. Russia was hoping to keep the Azerbaijan radar going but that was not to be.

The rising price of oil over the last decade provided Russia with the cash to rebuild its ballistic missile early warning radar system. The first one, outside St Petersburg, was built in 18 months (versus over ten years for the ones it replaced). The new design uses much less electricity, has a smaller staff, and is more reliable. Russia has adopted a lot of Western technology, and work practices, since the collapse of the Soviet Union and it all showed in this radar station. The St. Petersburg facility replaced one that was in Latvia and was dismantled in 2003, after going off line in 1998. The one new radar in Armavir (on the Black Sea coast) was built to replace defunct Soviet era radars in Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

28/12/2012 Par Konstantin Bodganov, RIA Novosti

Un fonctionnaire haut placé du complexe militaro-industriel russe a déclaré à RIA Novosti que d'ici 2020, la Russie se doterait d'un nouveau système ferroviaire porte-missiles (BJRK). De quoi s'agit-il ?

Pourquoi rendre publique la décision de développer les BJRK ?

La Russie montre ainsi qu’elle riposte à l'expansion du système ABM américain en développant une arme de représailles. Cette démarche ne dépend pas de la volonté des militaires russes de se doter d'un nouveau BJRK ou de la capacité de l'industrie à le livrer.

Les origines de l'idée

Les missiles stratégiques mobiles installés sur des plates-formes ferroviaires datent des années 1980. A l'époque, l'Union soviétique développait une riposte au Gardien de la paix américain (missile Peacekeeper, ou MX), arme à dix ogives dotée d’un propulseur à propergol solide, conçu initialement pour être lancée depuis des silos et des rampes mobiles. Les Etats-Unis ont finalement renoncé à cette double vocation et ont déployé ces missiles uniquement dans des silos. L'URSS, quant à elle, a mené son projet à bien et riposté aux "manigances de Reagan" par des BJRK, équipés de missiles RT-23 (code OTAN SS-24 Scalpel).

Qu'est-ce qu'un BJRK ?

Il s'agit d'un train dont les wagons ont la même apparence que les wagons réfrigérés, de transport de bagages et de passagers. Un train abritait trois containers de lancement de missiles et avait le statut de régiment de missiles.

Chaque division se composait de quatre trains et l'armée disposait de trois divisions dotées de BJRK : les NN 10, 36 et 52, déployées respectivement près de Kostroma, de Krasnoïarsk et de Perm, soit 36 rampes de lancement au total.

En développant les BJRK, les concepteurs ont intégré une multitude de solutions techniques extrêmement intéressantes, allant du système de délestage du wagon lance-missiles - permettant de transférer le poids du missile sur les wagons voisins - au système inédit d'écartement de caténaires empêchant le lancement de l'engin.

A partir de 1991, dans le cadre de la politique de désarmement, les 12 trains ont cessé de circuler sur le réseau ferroviaire russe et n'ont plus quitté leurs lieux de stationnement - selon certaines informations, des exercices étaient quand même organisés mais très rarement. En 2005, le dernier BJKR a été détruit.

Quels sont les avantages des BJRK ?

Dans les années 1980, les estimations et l'expérience pratique ont montré que les BJRK figuraient parmi les armes stratégiques les plus furtives : les Américains ne parvenaient pas à détecter avec certitude les "trains porte-missiles" et les exercices conduits en Russie ont également démontré leur haut degré de furtivité. Ainsi, les BJRK sont très résistants à une attaque "neutralisante" de l'ennemi et sont capables de faire preuve d'une grande capacité de survie au cours de la riposte.

Par ailleurs, les BJRK étaient capables d'embarquer des missiles plus lourds que les systèmes mobiles routiers (PGRK) fabriqués à la même époque. Rappelons que la capacité des RT-23 (code OTAN : SS-24 Scalpel) était quatre fois supérieure à celle des missiles Topol (code OTAN : SS-25 Sickle) datant de la même époque - et 3,4 fois supérieures à celles des Topol-M2 développés plus tard.

Quels sont les défauts des BJRK ?

Selon l'opinion souvent exprimée par Iouri Solomonov, directeur de l'Institut moscovite de technologie thermique, les BJRK ne bénéficient plus aujourd'hui d'avantages décisifs en termes de furtivité et de capacité de survie par rapport aux missiles mobiles routiers (PGRK), qui ont été largement améliorés. Par ailleurs, la reconstruction de l'infrastructure des BJRK reviendrait nettement plus cher que la fabrication de rampes de lancement mobiles supplémentaires pour les missiles déjà existants.

Qui plus est, les BJRK provoquent une usure accélérée des lignes ferroviaires : cela s'est souvent produit en URSS avec les rails légers, ce qui nécessitait une modernisation des voies ferrées plus fréquente là où la circulation des "trains lance-missiles" était prévue.

Pourquoi les missiles ont été mis hors service ?

On imagine souvent que l'Occident éprouvait une peur bleue face aux BJRK russes et qu'il a fait tout son possible pour que la Russie les mette hors service. Ce n'est vrai qu'en partie. Le problème ne se réduisait pas aux obligations internationales de Russie. Le fait est que les missiles RT-23 avaient été conçus par l'entreprise ukrainienne Ioujmach et étaient fabriqués à Pavlograd, également en Ukraine.

A leur "date de péremption" – 15 ans à l’époque – les missiles devaient être retirés du service et la Russie n'a pas été en mesure d'organiser leur fabrication sur son territoire, notamment pour des raisons financières.

Les délais annoncés sont-ils réalistes ?

On ignore quand l'industrie russe des missiles sera capable de réaliser ce projet et de mettre en service les systèmes, en coordination étroite avec la compagnie nationale des chemins de fer. D'autant plus que d'après les plans, les bureaux de conception seront déjà fortement sollicités dans les années 2010.

Dans ce contexte, la déclaration initiale selon laquelle les BJRK entreraient en dotation d'ici 2020 semble assez optimiste, même si on intégrait dans le nouveau projet des missiles déjà existants (faisant partie des systèmes Iars ou Boulava, par exemple). Toutefois, l'utilisation de missiles légers pourrait réduire à néant toute une série d'avantages importants dont bénéficiaient initialement les BJRK, dotés du missile lourd RT-23.

L’opinion de l’auteur ne coïncide pas forcément avec la position de la rédaction

07/01/2013 Mer et Marine

Alors que l’admission au service actif de la tête de série des nouveaux sous-marins nucléaires lanceurs d’engins russes a de nouveau été reportée, le troisième SNLE du type Borei est désormais à flot. Le Vladimir Monomakh a été lancé le 30 décembre au chantier Sevmach de Severodvinsk, soit deux ans après le lancement de son aîné, l’Aleksandr Nevskiy et près de cinq ans après la tête de série, le Yuriy Dolgorukiy (février 2008).  Un quatrième bâtiment de ce type, le Knyaz Vladimir, a été mis sur cale en juillet dernier.

Longs de 170 mètres et présentant un déplacement de 19.400 tonnes en plongée, les nouveaux SNLE russes, issus du projet 955, doivent pouvoir mettre en œuvre 16 missiles balistiques Bulava. Alors que 8 à 10 SNLE de ce type sont prévus pour remplacer les sous-marins stratégiques des types Delta III et Typhoon, les Borei devraient embarquer, à compter du quatrième de la série, 20 missiles balistiques.

La livraison à la marine russe du Yuriy Dolgorukiy, qui devait intervenir fin décembre (après déjà plusieurs glissements), devrait finalement intervenir ce mois-ci, a indiqué l’agence de presse RIA Novosti, citant des sources au sein de Sevmach.

MOSCOU, 6 janvier - RIA Novosti

Le ministère russe de la Défense lancera en 2013 le chantier de nouveaux radars d'alerte précoce de type Voronej dans trois régions russes, a indiqué dimanche le porte-parole du ministère Alexeï Zolotoukhine.

"La construction de trois nouveaux radars de type Voronej débutera dans le territoire de Krasnoïarsk, dans le territoire de l'Altaï et dans l'oblast d'Orenbourg", a indiqué M. Zolotoukhine.

Les nouveaux radars Voronej diffèrent sensiblement des modèles précédents, Dniepr et Darial. Ainsi, le radar de Kaliningrad, mis en service fin 2011, possède un rayon d'action de 6.000 km. Il est en mesure de surveiller jusqu'à 500 cibles simultanément.

Le ministère de la Défense envisage de remplacer d'ici 2020 tous les radars de l'époque soviétique utilisés pour une détection précoce des tirs de missiles.

7 Janvier 2013 Rachad Suleymanov – APA

Bakou.. Les forces de Défense azerbaïdjanais contrôle tout espace aérien du pays, y compris les régions occupées.

Selon la source proche du document, tout ce qui se passe dans l'espace aérien du pays est contrôlé par les systèmes radar. Dans une direction donnée, l'armée azerbaïdjanaise est en état d'alerte pour prévenir toute tentative de l'ennemi: « L'inscription se lança même des drones des arméniens dans le ciel du Karabakh. Les tentatives des arméniens pour mener à bien les vols illégaux dans cette zone seront évitées en tout cas. Nous contrôlons tous les processus et sommes prêts à des actions de prévention à chaque instant. Cela peut être fait par n'importe quel moyen, comme cela est bien connaître l'ennemi ».

Selon l'officier, les conventions internationales auxquelles conjoint l'Azerbaïdjan aussi lui permettent de prendre des mesures contre les tentatives de violation de l'espace aérien internationalement reconnu: « Pour justifier les mesures de l'Azerbaïdjan il y a une base légale en fait ».

Notons que les arméniens ont retrouvé l'aéroport de Khojali dans le Haut-Karabakh de l'Azerbaïdjan. Il y a quelques jours, « Premier ministre » du régime séparatiste du Haut-Karabakh, a déclaré que dans un avenir proche à l'aéroport seront les missions techniques.

Il est également signalé que l'avion a été acheté pour l'organisation de vols de Erevan à Khankendi déjà en Arménie.

La partie azerbaïdjanaise a officiellement déclaré que les vols illégaux dans l'aéroport de Khojali seront empêchés.

Une nouvelle jeunesse pour l’IL-20M, avion espion russe ?

27 décembre Aerobuzz.fr

Quand on aime, on a toujours… 40 ans ! Tel doit être le crédo des forces aériennes russes qui testent actuellement un avion espion rénové IL-20M. Cet appareil, basé sur une cellule d’avion de transport Iliouchine 18 est bardé de capteurs en tous genres pour détecter, enregistrer et analyser les signaux radar et les communications des pays longés.

Les ingénieurs russes ont doté ce vétéran, comparable au EP3 E américain d’un nouveau système d’écoute électronique plus performant adapté aux défis du XXIème siècle. Ce choix de moderniser un tel vétéran s’explique par la rusticité du porteur qui malgré ses quarante ans ne requiert qu’un entretien majeur tous les dix ans et par son endurance de 12 heures particulièrement utile pour les missions de renseignement ROEM (renseignement d’origine électromagnétique).

Ainsi modernisé, et si tout va bien, l’IL-20M pourrait servir pendant encore une bonne dizaine d’années le temps de trouver un successeur valable. Les militaires russes ont envisagé plusieurs alternatives au cours des dernières années pour assurer la relève de ce brave soldat. Il y eut d’abord le biréacteur TU-204 … à l’endurance trop faible, vint alors le petit AN-140…trop frêle. Le choix se portera probablement sur le biréacteur TU-214… un avion comparable au Boeing 757 dont la carrière commerciale ne fut pas une réussite.

Dec 26, 2012 by Grigory Milenin (Voice of Russia)

Moscow - In 2012, Russia concluded contracts on selling weapons for the total sum of $ 15 bln. Russian weapons are still popular in the world, much to the envy of some Western weapon producers.

Today, the position of a country on the world market of weapons is evidence of the development of science and technology in this country.

From this point of view, Russia's position today is much better than it was in the 1990s, when the military industry in Russia was experiencing a crisis after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"Now, Russia can again compete with the world's most important weapon-producing and weapon-selling countries," military observer of Russian newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" Victor Baranets says.

"Today, Russia is the world's second largest seller of weapons, after the US," Mr. Baranets says.

"This is a very good result, because in the 1990s, Russia was at the very bottom of the world's top 10 list of weapon sellers. Rumors that the military industry is dead in Russia turned out to be very exaggerated.

"Russia can still boast of producing many weapon items that are by no means worse, if not better, than their Western analogues. The very fact that many countries are buying our weapons is evidence that our weapons are quite good."

Russia is broadening its market of selling weapons. At present, it is selling them not only to its old customers, but also to a number of new ones.

Russian military expert Ilya Kraminik says:

"At present, Russia's military cooperation with, say, Vietnam is based on other principles than it was in the time of the Soviet Union. At that time, the Soviet Union often helped countries with Communist regimes free of charge or for a symbolic pay. Now, Russia is selling weapons to Vietnam exclusively on a commercial basis."

"Speaking about other countries, Latin America is a region where Russia has never sold weapons before," Mr. Kramnik continues.

"Now, we are actively involved this new market. Quite a few Latin American countries are now showing interest in purchasing Russian weapons, including Brazil, which itself is now rapidly developing the production of weapons."

Source: Voice of Russia