20.02.12 LEMONDE.FR avec Reuters

Vladimir Poutine a estimé lundi 20 février que la Russie avait besoin de renforcer son armée afin de se protéger contre les tentatives étrangères d'allumer de nouveaux conflits à ses frontières. Le premier ministre russe, qui peaufine son image de dirigeant à poigne à deux semaines de l'élection présidentielle du 4 mars, explique dans un article que la Russie devra dépenser 23 000 milliards de roubles (786 milliards de dollars) pour moderniser sa défense au cours de la décennie à venir.

"De nouveaux conflits régionaux et locaux sont allumés juste sous nos yeux", écrit-il dans un article publié en première page de Rossiskaïa Gazetta, le journal officiel russe. "Il y a des tentatives pour provoquer de tels conflits à la proximité immédiate des frontières de la Russie et de nos alliés."

Vladimir Poutine ne précise pas à quelles menaces il pense en particulier mais souligne que son pays doit développer des armes plus efficaces que celles dont disposent ses ennemis potentiels. Il souhaite en outre que les forces armées russes soient plus professionnelles et plus polyvalentes.

Lundi, le premier ministre sortant a visité une usine de fabrication de nouveaux chasseurs furtifs à Komsomolsk sur Amour, dans l'Extrême-Orient russe. Habillé d'un manteau noir, il a examiné le poste de pilotage d'un chasseur Soukhoï Su-30. Il a également examiné un T-50, présenté par les Russes contre le concurrent de l'avion furtif américain F-22.

Après la disparition de l'Union soviétique en 1991, l'armée russe a connu une décennie de coupes budgétaires avant que Poutine endigue cette tendance pendant ses deux mandats présidentiels de 2000 à 2008. L'ancien maître-espion du KGB, qui pourrait revenir à la tête de l'Etat pour une durée de six ans, se présente lui-même en garant de la stabilité et de solidité du gouvernement.

Cible d'une contestation grandissante depuis les élections législatives du 4 décembre, Vladimir Poutine accuse les puissances étrangères d'aider l'opposition à organiser des manifestations contre son gouvernement. Il estime que la Russie, qui a mis avec la Chine un veto à une résolution du Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU sur la Syrie au début du mois, doit pouvoir compter sur une armée forte pour que sa position soit prise en compte par les autres puissances. "Dans ces conditions, la Russie ne peut pas dépendre uniquement des moyens diplomatiques et économiques pour résoudre un conflit", écrit-il encore

20.02.2012 par P. CHAPLEAU Lignes de Défense

Un réarmement sans précédent attend la Russie ces dix prochaines années, assure Vladimir Poutine dans un article programmatique (c'est le 6e d'une série) publié  ce matin dans le quotidien RossiïskaIa Gazeta.

"Au cours de la prochaine décennie, plus de 400 missiles balistiques intercontinentaux, huit croiseurs sous-marins lance-missiles stratégiques, près de 20 sous-marins polyvalents, plus de 50 navires de surface, une centaine d'appareils spatiaux militaires équiperont l'armée russe", indique le Premier ministre russe  dans son article.

"En outre, précise Poutine, plus de 600 avions modernes, dont des chasseurs de cinquième génération, plus de mille hélicoptères, 28 régiments de systèmes de missiles sol-air S-400, plus de 2 300 chars modernes, près de 2 000 canons automoteurs équiperont l'armée".

19 février 2012 Par Rédacteur en chef. PORTAIL DES SOUS-MARINS

Le chantier naval russe Admiralteyskie Verfi a terminé la fabrication des sections de coque épaisse du 1er sous-marin du projet 636.3 (Kilo modifié). Ce premier sous-marin, baptisé Novorossiysk, est construit pour la flotte de la mer Noire, sa mise en service est attendue en 2014.

La construction du sous-marin se déroule selon le calendrier prévu. A ce jour, le chantier a commencé la mise en forme des sections de coque extérieure. Des ateliers équipent la section arrière du sous-marin. Les essais hydrauliques sous pression sont prévus pour mai 2012. Les sections avant et milieu sont aussi en cours d’équipement qui sera terminé à la fin du mois. Leurs essais hydrauliques sous pression seront effectués en juillet et aout 2012. Les sections seront soudées ensemble en 2013.

La construction du Novorossiysk a commencé en aout 2010. Il fait partie de la version la plus récente des sous-marins classiques du projet 636 (classe Kilo). Cette construction a ouvert la mise en oeuvre du plan à long terme de réhabilitation de la flotte de la mer Noire.

Par rapport aux précédentes versions du Kilo, le nouveau sous-marin est plus efficace. Combinaison optimale de silence et de portée de détection, aide à la navigation inertielle et système tactique font des sous-marins de ce projet les meilleurs au monde.

Référence : RusNavy (Russie)

source nordart.ucoz.ru

February 19, 2012: STRATEGY PAGE

It was recently revealed that a Russian submarine, that caught fire while in a dry dock last December, still had 16 nuclear ballistic missiles, plus four non-nuclear torpedoes stored in launch tubes. Normally, these weapons are removed before entering dry dock. Initially the Russian Defense Ministry said this had been done. But local journalists spoke with shipyard workers who confirmed that the navy commanders and shipyard managers agreed to save time (about two weeks) and not remove the missiles and torpedoes. During the fire, crewmen inside the sub removed the torpedoes from their launch tubes to prevent the fire on the hull from triggering one of the torpedo warheads (each carrying 300 kg/660 pounds of explosives). One torpedo going off could have set the others off, which might have led to a breach in the nuclear reactor containment, and the detonation of the ballistic missile warheads. The explosives in the nuclear warheads would not have caused a nuclear explosion, but would have spread the nuclear material over a wide area. Some of the hypergolic fuel of the ballistic missiles would also ignite, helping to spread vaporized nuclear material even further.

This all began last December 29th, when the wooden scaffolding surrounding the Russian Delta IV class SSBN (ballistic missile armed nuclear submarine) Yekaterinburg caught fire while it was undergoing maintenance. The wood fire spread to the sound-proofing tiles on the hull and the forward compartments (where the hull had been removed), and proved impossible to extinguish. The dry dock the sub was in was then flooded, which partially submerged the sub, and this largely extinguished the fire. It took about twenty hours to get the fires complexly out. There was no damage done to the interior of the boat or to the nuclear reactors on board. Thus there was no release of radiation from the sub's reactors. There were several sailors on board during the incident but none were killed, although a few suffered from carbon monoxide inhalation.

The rubber-like tiles on the hull are a common feature of nuclear subs, as it prevents sounds from inside the sub escaping, which would allow enemy sonar to more easily detect the sub. The Yekaterinburg was in a shipyard outside the northern Russian port of Murmansk. The shipyard director suspected that someone failed to apply fire retardant to the lumber used in the scaffolding. This might have been the result of corruption (someone sold off the fire retardant and pocketed the money). This is the third Russian submarine accident since 2000. The first two killed 138 people. The navy said the damage was repairable and that the Yekaterinburg would return to service. This is essential, as replacement SSBNs have been slow in arriving and the seven remaining Delta IVs will have to remain in service at least another decade.

Entering service in 1986, the 14,000 ton Yekaterinburg was put in dry dock for maintenance in 1996. But money for salaries and materials was short and work dragged on until 1998, when it stopped (as did any funding at all). But in 2001 money was allocated and the work completed. The Yekaterinburg completed sea trials in 2002 and was put back in service for another ten or fifteen years.

MOSCOW, February 20 (RIA Novosti)

Substantial investment in Russia’s defense sector, in particular, the armaments program, will be positive for the country’s economy, Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin said.

“Sometimes they say the revival of the defense industry is a yoke for the economy, an extremely heavy burden that ruined the Soviet Union,” Putin wrote in a new article for the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily.

“I am convinced that is a profound mistake,” he said in the article dedicated to Russia’s national security.

Putin said he believes that the renewal of the defense industry will become “a locomotive that will pull the development of various industries: metallurgy, mechanical engineering, the chemical and radio-electronic industries, the entire IT and telecommunications range.”

The premier said active investment in defense will provide enterprises of these branches with “resources for technological base renewal,” adding that the task is to multiply Russia’s economic power, increasing its defense capability in order to ensure the country’s sovereignty, respect from other countries and peace.

This is Putin’s sixth article outlining the points of his election program in Russian media. The previous articles focused on general and economic issues, ethnic problems, democratic development and social policy.

Putin, the frontrunner in this year's election campaign, served two terms as Russia’s president between 2000 and 2008, but the Constitution barred him from standing for a third consecutive term. He became prime minister after his handpicked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, was elected president.

Russia will hold presidential elections on March 4

Bulava launch - Photo Northern Fleet press service

MOSCOW, February 18 (RIA Novosti)

Unsuccessful launches of Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile happened due to human factor and were the result of unprofessional work of certain people, Chief of the Russian General Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov said on Saturday.

Trials of Bulava began in 2004, six of the 18 full-scale Bulava trials failed. A series of successful launches began in October 2010.

"You know that there were several unsuccessful launches of Bulava. We stopped the trials, we carefully worked through the reasons of failures and to a greater extent it was a human factor, where a person did his work unprofessionally. You know, as there was no special control he did it "somehow" this was the main factor,” Makarov said in an interview with radio station Echo of Moscow.

At the same time Chief of the Russian General Staff said that the military men initially did not understand what the problem was, as in different four launches there were discovered four unrelated problems.

"We realized that the technical solution itself was correct and we appointed a military officer who oversaw every process and after that all the launches were successful," general said.

On December 23, the strategic submarine Yury Dolgoruky launched two Bulava missiles. The Defense Ministry said that the launch was successful and it will now be adopted for service with the Russian Navy.

MOSCOW, February 17 (RIA Novosti)

Russia will complete the first prototype of the new Armata main battle tank by 2013 and begin production and deliveries to the Russian Armed Forces in 2015, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and the CEO of tank manufacturer Uralvagonzavod Oleg Sienko told Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the Lenta.ru news portal reported.

Uralvagonzavod and the military are testing the main components of the new tank. No other details were reported. Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry has signed a contract worth six billion rubles with Uralvagonzavod to upgrade 170 T-72 main battle tanks, to be carried out at a specially prepared facility in Omsk, Lenta.ru said.

“The Russian armed forces will have a new main tank with fundamentally new characteristics, fully automated loading and separate crew compartment by 2015,” Lieutenant-General Yuri Kovalenko, former First Deputy Head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Automotive Armor Directorate said last April.

Kovalenko said work from other projects, including Object 195 and Black Eagle, will be incorporated in Armata's design.

MOSCOU, 16 février - RIA Novosti

Les bâtiments de projection et de commandement (BPC) de type Mistral que la France construit pour la Russie seraient dotés d'"ogives spéciales" de conception russe, a annoncé jeudi à Moscou le commandant en chef de la Marine russe Vladimir Vyssotski.

"Nous avons l'intention d'installer des systèmes de missiles pour mieux protéger le navire et d'augmenter le nombre d'hélicoptères de lutte anti-sous-marine. Les Mistral qu'on construit pour la Marine russe seront probablement équipés d'armes dotées d'ogives spéciales de conception russe", a indiqué l'amiral Vyssotski.

"La plupart des armes seront fabriquées en Russie. Nous ne tenons pas à l'installation des lance-torpilles", a-t-il ajouté.

D'une longueur de 199 mètres, d'un déplacement de 22.000 tonnes et d'une vitesse supérieure à 18 nœuds, le BPC Mistral est capable de porter six hélicoptères, quatre vedettes de débarquement ou deux navires sur coussin d'air de faible tonnage. La Russie envisage d'y déployer huit hélicoptères Ka-52K et huit Ka-29. Le navire peut embarquer, outre ses 160 membres d'équipage, un commando de 450 hommes.

Les deux premiers navires de cette classe destinés à la Marine russe seront construits en France pour 1,2 milliard d'euros. Aux termes d'un contrat signé en juin 2011 avec le groupe français DCNS, le premier navire sera livré en 2014 et le deuxième en 2015.  Les coques des troisième et quatrième navires de type Mistral achetés par Moscou seront construites par l'usine russe Sevmach de Severodvinsk, dans le nord de la Russie.

MOSCOW, February 16 (RIA Novosti)

A second regiment of the Teikovo Missile Division in central Russia will be fully equipped with Yars mobile ballistic missile systems in 2012, Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) spokesman Col. Vadim Koval said on Thursday.

Russia fully deployed the first Yars regiment consisting of three battalions in August 2011, and put two battalions of the second regiment on combat duty on December 27 last year.

“The deployment of the third battalion of the second regiment will complete the rearming of the Teikovo division with Yars systems,” Koval said.

Two regiments will consist of a total of 18 missile systems and several mobile command posts.

Two more missile divisions will start receiving the Yars systems in 2012. The Novosibirsk division (in Siberia) will receive mobile Yars systems, while the Kozelsk division (in central Russia) will be armed with the silo-based version of the system.

The Yars missile system is armed with the RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile that has considerably better combat and operational capabilities than the Topol-M (SS-27 Stalin).

The SMF said last year that the Topol-M and RS-24 ballistic missiles would be the mainstay of the ground-based component of Russia's nuclear triad and would account for no less than 80% of the SMF's arsenal by 2016.

MOSCOU, 15 février - RIA Novosti

La Russie utilisera ses armes nucléaires si son intégrité est menacée, a déclaré mercredi le chef d'Etat-major général des forces armées russes Nikolaï Makarov à la radio Echo de Moscou.

"Nous n'avons pas l'intention de mener une guerre contre l'OTAN, cela ne fait pas partie de nos missions. Mais notre doctrine militaire indique clairement les conditions selon lesquelles nous avons le droit d'utiliser les armes nucléaires. Si l'intégrité de la Russie s'avère menacée, nous pouvons avoir recours aux armes nucléaires et nous le ferons", a indiqué le général Makarov.

La Russie a des pays voisins "instables, si l'on peut s'exprimer ainsi, et (en cas de conflit) elle n'aura pas besoin d'armes nucléaires. Elle doit avoir des forces armées puissantes, mobiles et bien formées, qui pourront régler n'importe quel conflit en Russie. Et nous devons y être prêts", a ajouté le général.

Les forces nucléaires constituent la base de l'équilibre stratégique. "Nous menons un travail sérieux en vue de moderniser notre potentiel nucléaire", a indiqué le responsable.

La Russie acquiert notamment de nouveaux sous-marins, et stratégiques (nucléaires) et polyvalents. Le ministère russe de la Défense a l'intention de renouveler et de moderniser son parc aéronautique stratégique, notamment les avions Tupolev Tu-160 et Tu-95. Les Troupes balistiques stratégiques mettent en service de nouveaux missiles Iars, dont les performances dépassent largement celles de leurs prédécesseurs, a conclu le général Makarov.

MOSCOW, February 15 (RIA Novosti)

Russia would use nuclear weapons in response to any imminent threat to its national security, Chief of the Russian General Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov said on Wednesday.

“We are certainly not planning to fight against the whole of NATO,” Makarov said in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio, “but if there is a threat to the integrity of the Russian Federation, we have the right to use nuclear weapons, and we will.”

The general said Russia’s nuclear deterrent is the cornerstone of strategic stability and serious efforts are being taken by the Russian government to modernize the country’s nuclear triad.

The Russian Defense ministry is planning to acquire at least 10 Borey class strategic nuclear submarines, thoroughly modernize its fleet of Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers, and equip its Strategic Missile Forces with formidable Yars mobile ballistic missile systems.

Makarov also stressed the importance of maintaining highly-efficient, mobile conventional forces.

“Unfortunately, we are facing threats from a number of unstable states, where no nuclear weapons but well-trained, strong and mobile Armed Forces are required to resolve any conflict situation," Makarov said.

The Russian government has allocated 22 trillion rubles ($730 billion) on the state arms procurement program until 2020.

source Ria Novisti

February 13, 2012 by Dmitry Gorenburg - Russian Military Reform

In the last week, there have been two very interesting reports with additional information on the fire that seriously damaged the Ekaterinburg strategic nuclear submarine back in December. All the reports seem to agree that the submarine’s nuclear missiles and torpedoes had not been offloaded prior to the start of the repair, which meant that there had been a serious risk of a torpedo explosion while the fire burned.

But let’s start at the beginning. The reports indicate that the submarine came to Rosliakovo for a routine inspection, during which it was decided that damage to a cowling that covers the submarine’s sonar. This covering had been damaged either when the submarine was docking, or earlier in the summer or fall, depending on the report. In order to fix the cowling, an opening was made in the outer hull. The fire began during the repair (at 3:45pm Moscow time on December 29) as the result of sparks igniting wooden scaffolding. From the scaffolding, the fire spread to the rubber soundproofing covering that is located between the outer and inner hull. This covering supposedly becomes flammable only at very high temperatures, but once on fire it is very difficult to extinguish. The fire spread in the space between the two hulls, a location that is narrow and filled with various equipment, factors that increased the difficulty of fighting the fire. Three hours after the fire began, flames continued to shoot up to a height of 15-20 meters.

Those in charge at the site early on had the idea to submerge the floating dock in which the submarine was located, but the process was complicated by the presence of the Admiral Kulakov destroyer in the same dock. If the dock was submerged too far, the interior of the ship would be flooded. The Kommersant article that discusses this issue does not really address the question of how this was resolved, though it implies that the dock was partially submerged so that seawater could reach the submarine and extinguish the fire without rising so high as to flood the Kulakov. Afterwards, the fire was mostly brought under control, though it was not fully extinguished until 6:20pm on December 30, almost 27 hours after it began.

Numerous sources agree that both the submarine’s nuclear missiles and its torpedoes had not been offloaded prior to the inspection. The reports indicate that regulations do not require that the missiles be offloaded in this circumstance, but that the torpedoes should be. According to Novaia Gazeta, the base commander allowed the Ekaterinburg to enter the dock without offloading the torpedoes. Kommersant notes that this happens fairly frequently in order to avoid delays.

The torpedoes were located in the first compartment, only 40 meters from the fire. Here’s a picture of the front of the submarine:

The crew quickly realized the danger that extreme heat just on the other side of the inner hull might cause the torpedoes to explode. Since the hydraulic systems for torpedo removal were not functioning, they risked their lives to manually remove the torpedoes from the first compartment. According to Novaia Gazeta, three torpedoes were removed in this way. Had the torpedoes exploded, dozens of crew and firefighters would have been killed. Depending on the number of torpedoes affected, the authors of the Kommersant article raise the possibility that the explosion could have destroyed the floating dock and the Admiral Kulakov and might have led to radioactive contamination from the nuclear missiles or the two nuclear reactors onboard. I have no way of judging how serious that threat was, but whether or not it was real, a torpedo explosion would have certainly led to panic not just in Roslyakovo but also in the nearby cities of Severomorsk and Murmansk, which have a total population of almost 400,000 people. You can see the locations on the map below, from the Kommersant article.

Finally, let me turn to the consequences for the future of the submarine. This topic is addressed extensively in the Novaia Gazeta article. The good news is that according to Dmitry Rogozin the repairs will cost only 500 million rubles — half of the initially announced estimate. The article goes on to argue, however, that it is unlikely that the submarine will be able to submerge to significant depths in the future because the high temperatures sustained by the inner hull in the front section of the submarine may have compromised its strength. The author says that unless the entire front compartment is replaced, the submarine will only be able to submerge to limited depths without risking the lives of its crew.

I am sure that the Ekaterinburg’s first cruise after the repairs are completed will receive a great deal of attention. Given the potential consequences of a problem, hopefully no one will be cutting any corners.