09 February, 2012, Robert Bridge, RT.com

Without the resolution of specific issues with the United States, Moscow says it could withdraw from the New START Treaty.

­Calling the termination of the ballistic missile reduction treaty “undesirable” and not “on the agenda,” one Russian weapons expert nevertheless says the possibility is real.

"Naturally, it would be very undesirable that circumstances would force us to take this step, but it cannot be excluded,” Mikhail Ulyanov, director of the Security and Disarmament Department at the Foreign Ministry, told a news conference on Thursday. “I will add though that the issue is not on the agenda presently.”

President Dmitry Medvedev has stated in the past that if the balance between strategic offensive weapons and missile defense systems is destroyed, then Russia would be forced to walk away from New START.

The preamble to the New START clearly states that both sides recognize “the existence of the interrelationship between strategic offensive arms and strategic defensive arms… and that current strategic defensive arms do not undermine the viability and effectiveness of the strategic offensive arms of the Parties.”

Presently, Russia and the United States are at loggerheads over US plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, which Moscow says will disrupt the strategic balance, thus effectively destroying the relevance of New START.

Policymakers in both countries have always presumed that any imbalance between strategic offensive and defensive weapons is “fraught with destructive consequences for international security and strategic stability,” Ulyanov said.

Ulyanov reminded that the interrelationship between strategic offensive weapons and missile defense systems was codified in 1972 at the initiative of the United States when the anti-ballistic missile treaty was drawn up and signed. 

Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama signed the ballistic missile reduction treaty on April 8, 2010 in Prague.

Le sous-marin nucléaire Iouri Dolgorouki (classe Boreï)

MOSCOU, 9 février - RIA Novosti

En 2012, le missile balistique intercontinental Boulava et son lanceur, le sous-marin nucléaire lanceur d'engins (SNLE) Iouri Dolgorouki (classe Boreï), seront livrés simultanément à la Marine russe, a annoncé jeudi à RIA Novosti l'amiral Vladimir Vissotski, commandant en chef des forces navales.

"Nous sommes certains que cette année, l'ensemble "missile+sous-marin" équipera la Marine russe", a déclaré l'amiral.

Le missile R30 3M30 Boulava-30 (code OTAN SS-NX-30, dénomination internationale RSM-56) pourrait devenir l'arme principale des forces stratégiques navales russes. Il s'agit d'un missile à trois étages à propergol solide. D'une portée de 8.000 km, le Boulava peut être équipé de dix ogives nucléaires hypersoniques de 100 à 150 kt et à trajectoire indépendante.

MOSCOW, February 9 (RIA Novosti)

The Russian Navy has decided against construction of Lada class submarines (Project 677) and will instead modernize its existing boats, Navy Commander-in-Chief Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

The design of the diesel-electric Lada class was completed at the end of the 1990s, but none of the planned boats have entered service, although the lead ship in the class, the Saint Petersburg, is undergoing trials with the Baltic Fleet, Vysotsky said.

“The Russian Navy does not need the Lada in its current form,” he said.

Vysotsky also said the first the non-nuclear Russian submarine with anaerobic propulsion may begin trials in 2014.

Currently all of Russia’s submarines are either nuclear or diesel-electric powered.

“It is entirely possible we will receive a test version of an air-independent power plant in the next few years. On boats of the Lada class, two of which are already laid down. Trials may begin in 2014. That is absolutely realistic,” he said.

In addition, all of Russia’s active strategic submarines will be armed with Liner ballistic missiles, an advanced version of the Sineva missile, Vysotsky said.

“For now only those on combat patrol in the Pacific Ocean are equipped with them. But in future all our active strategic submarines - Delfin and Kalmar (Delta III and Delta IV) - will be armed with these missiles,” he said.

Construction of a new aircraft carrier will begin before 2020, Vysotsky said.

“Actual construction of the ship will begin before 2020 and will be completed after 2020. The design of the new carrier complex will be determined in the course of two years, by 2014,” he said.

The Admiral Kuznetsov is currently the Russian Navy’s only active aircraft carrier. 

Vysotsky confirmed that the Bulava ballistic missile and the strategic nuclear submarine Yury Dolgoruky would enter service simultaneously this year.

MOSCOW, February 7 (RIA Novosti)

Russia’s Almaz-Antey concern will finish the development of the advanced S-500 air defense system by 2017, two years later than the deadline announced earlier, the company’s General Director Vitaly Neskorodov said.

The S-500, a long-range air defense missile system, is expected to become the backbone of a unified aerospace defense system being formed in Russia.

Neskorodov said in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper on Monday that the complexity of technical solutions used in this unique system and some management problems led to the delay in the development.

“We have to step up the work and make up for lost time,” he said. “Nevertheless, we will have prototypes of several components of the system ready for testing by the end of 2012.”

Russian officials provide sketchy details on the technical characteristics of the new system.

The S-500 will reportedly have an extended range of up to 600 kilometers (over 370 miles) and simultaneously engage up to 10 targets.

The Russian military has demanded that the system must be capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and hypersonic cruise missiles and plans to order at least ten S-500 battalions for the future Russian Aerospace Defense.

The S-500 could become a trump card in Russia’s response to the U.S.-backed European missile shield, which Moscow believes may threaten Russia’s nuclear deterrent.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has proposed setting up a government body responsible for consolidating efforts aimed at the creation of an effective aerospace defense network in the country.

MOSCOW, February 8 (RIA Novosti)

The Russian military is introducing new technology for destroying obsolete ammunition, with the straightforwardly-named “Destroyer” set to replace the current dangerous practice of just blowing up old bombs and rockets, Rossiiskaya Gazeta said.

The Destroyer is a metal rod containing an incendiary mixture that is attached to an old military round and burns out the explosives inside it, the governmental daily said on Wednesday. The device is triggered by an electric discharge.

“There’s no detonation or blast wave in the process. Not even much noise, just a pop on ignition,” Yevgeny Meshkov, a spokesman for the Central Military District, was cited as saying.

The Destroyer, developed by an unspecified enterprise in the Urals, passed testing and is being introduced throughout the military district, which houses dozens of arms depots, Meshkov said.

Curiously, the army would be paying for the Destroyers not with money, but with empty shells from ammunition rounds, which amount to tons of metal that can be sold or used for industrial purposes.

Two arms depots in the district blew up in separate incidents in 2011, pelting neighboring villages with tons of old ammunition rounds, which resulted in mass evacuations, massive damages and several deaths. The incidents – not the first, but the most spectacular of their kind in recent years – brought into spotlight the army’s obsolete technologies for destroying old ammo.

The Defense Ministry currently has 6 million tons of obsolete ammunition rounds in store and plans to destroy half of them by 2014. Some 160,000 tons of these would be undone using the Destroyer, Rossiiskaya Gazeta said.

MOSCOU, 7 février - RIA Novosti

Dans le cadre du programme d'armement pour la période 2011-2020, le ministère russe de la Défense achètera dix sous-marins de classe Boreï et dix autres de classe Iassen, rapporte mardi le journal Kommersant.

D'après le quotidien, le Ministère a modifié le programme d'équipement de la Marine russe prévoyant initialement l'acquisition de 20 sous-marins, de 35 corvettes et de 15 frégates, ainsi que la mise en service de huit sous-marins nucléaires de classe Boreï capables de lancer des missiles balistiques Boulava.

Désormais, le département militaire envisage de se procurer dix sous-marins nucléaires de classe Boreï et dix sous-marins nucléaires d'attaque polyvalents de classe Iassen. Les navires seront construits par le chantier naval russe de Sevmach. Quant aux frégates, leur nombre a été revu à 14.

En outre, le Ministère commandera six navires légers d'artillerie de type Bouïan et six grands navires de débarquement construits par le chantier naval Iantar.

AK-74 – photo US Department of Defense

08/02/2012 by Armed Forces International's Defence Correspondent

Russian defence officials are to soon start testing a brand new rifle - one of 12 designs currently being worked on by the dominant Russian weapons production firm, Izhmash.

According to a statement issued by the firm, the Kalashnikov AK-12 assault rifle will act as a platform for 20 new types of handgun and among the other products to be released alongside it in coming months are new snipers, set to become available next year.

2011 saw Izhmash upgrade no less than 70 existing rifles - including combat versions - and, in addition, it signed a lucrative contract with the US for the supply of Saiga 12 gauge combat shotguns.

Kalashnikov AK-12

Details of the new Kalashnikov AK-12 emerged at the very start of this month.

Adaptability is a key element of its performance and, as per data published by Russian news agency RIA Novosti, it'll be compatible with a range of cartridges, from 5.45x39mm up to the 7.62x51 NATO.

These can be fired in three different ways - as a single shot, in a three-shot burst or completely automatically - 850 rounds a minute at maximum velocity - and other features include Picatinny rails - permitting the fit of night sights, optical sights and grenade launchers.

AK-12 Assault Rifle

According to its designers, the AK-12 assault rifle, which has a 625 metre range, bears all the classic Kalashnikov hallmarks but brings them up to date.  The weapon – Izhmash said, in a statement – has been modified ‘to modern combat requirements, having preserved Kalashnikov's unique qualities - simplicity, reliability and relatively low production cost.’

While the NATO cartridge is a US design, the 5.45x39mm cartridge was developed in the former Soviet Union and pressed into service in 1974. It was designed to be fired from Izhmash's AK-74 assault rifles, which remain in widespread Russian Army use.

The AK-12 is intended to replace the AK-74 but, so far, there's not been a huge amount of interest expressed, especially given the massive number of spare AK-74s (estimated at 17 million) in the Russian armed forces' reserves. Still, Izhmash intends to carry on testing the design and supply it to foreign armed forces and other Russian organisations, if the demand's there.

Armed Forces International will catch up with the AK-12 rifle project in future News Coverage.

07 fév 2012 APA

Bakou – APA. Le chef d’état major turc, le général Nejdet Özer a rencontré le 7 février, le ministre azerbaïdjanais de la Défense, le général Safar Abiyev.

La garde d’honneur a salué le général turc, selon un communiqué du Ministère de la défense, posté à l’APA.

M. Abiyev a informé la délégation sur la situation militaro-politique dans la région et les problèmes liés au conflit arméno-azerbaïdjanais de Haut-Karabagh. Le général a indiqué que les efforts du groupe de Minsk de l’OSCE n’avaient rien abouti et l’Azerbaïdjan est obligé de recourir aux autres moyens et renforce son armée.

Les parties ont fait un échange d’opinion sur la coopération militaire Azerbaïdjan-Turquie et souligné l’importance de l’élargissement des liens.

MOSCOU, 6 février - RIA Novosti

Les nouveaux sous-marins russes qu'il est prévu de déployer en mer Noire seront basés à Sébastopol (Crimée, Ukraine) et à Novorossiisk, a annoncé lundi à RIA Novosti le commandant de la Flotte russe de la mer Noire, le contre-amiral Alexandre Fedotenkov.

"Nous envisageons de les déployer aussi bien dans la base navale de Novorossiisk que dans celle de Sébastopol", a déclaré M. Fedotenkov. Selon lui, un quai d'amarrage sera spécialement aménagé à cet effet à Novorossiisk.

D'ici 2017, la Flotte russe de la mer Noire sera doté de six nouveaux sous-marins diesel-électriques de type 636 Paltus. Ces bâtiments de guerre viendront compléter l'unique sous-marin actuellement exploité par la Flotte: l'Alrossa (projet 877).

M. Fedotenkov a également fait savoir que pour déployer ses nouveaux sous-marins, la Russie devrait signer un accord approprié avec l'Ukraine. Ce document reprendra les dispositions fondamentales du Traité de 1997 prévoyant le stationnement de la Flotte russe sur le territoire ukrainien.

Le commandant en chef des forces navales russes, l'amiral Vladimir Vyssotski, avait antérieurement fait état de 15 bâtiments de surface et sous-marins diesel-électriques qui seraient mis à la disposition de la Flotte russe de la mer Noire d'ici 2020.

Alrosa, a Kilo class vessel

Photo Press office of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet

MOSCOW, February 6 (RIA Novosti)

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet will have seven diesel-electric submarines by 2017, the fleet’s commander, Rear Admiral Alexander Fedotenkov, said on Monday.

There is only one submarine, the Alrosa, a Kilo class vessel, currently in service with the Black Sea Fleet. The Alrosa joined the Russian Navy in 1990.

Russia is planning to add six Varshavyanka class (Project 636.3) submarines to the fleet. All six are in different stages of construction at the Admiralty Shipyard in St. Petersburg.

“We will receive the first three subs in 2014, one more – in 2015, and the last two – in 2016 to form a full-size submarine brigade in the Black Sea Fleet,” Fedotenkov said.

The vessels, crewed by 52 submariners, have an underwater speed of 20 knots, a cruising range of 400 miles (electric propulsion) with the ability to patrol for 45 days. They are armed with 18 torpedoes and eight surface-to-air missiles.

The improved Varshavyanka class submarines feature advanced “stealth” technology, extended combat range and ability to strike land, surface and underwater targets.

Fedotenkov also said that the Black Sea Fleet would receive Krivak IV class frigates during the same period.

Nuclear-powered submarine Yury Dolgoruky Photo Sevmash

MOSCOW, February 6 (RIA Novosti)

Russia will develop a detailed 30-year plan of strengthening its naval forces by June 2012, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin wrote in his twitter account.

“A detailed 30-year plan of strengthening its naval forces will be developed by June 2012. The decision has already been made,” Rogozin wrote on Sunday.

The state military program for 2012-2020 has allocated 4.7 trillion rubles ($155 billion). Last year, 85 billion rubles ($2.8 billion) was allocated on the construction of nuclear submarines, frigates, ship repair and maintenance. This year it expected to spend more than 93 billion rubles ($3 billion).

It is planned that in the future the submarine fleet will become the basis of Russia's naval force. Over the next few years it will receive two types of nuclear submarines and two types of diesel-electric submarines. This is primarily a Borey-class nuclear submarine, the carrier of the new Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles. Eight of these submarines are planned to be built. Russia’s newest nuclear-powered submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky, is already undergoing sea trials; three more are in various stages of their completion.

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

Le vice-Premier Ministre russe Dmitri Rogozine a évoqué, lors d’un déplacement jeudi à Severodvinsk, les perspectives de développement pour la Marine russe. Il a à cette occasion annoncé un certain nombre de mesures concernant la flotte sous-marine.

Référence : RusNavy Intelligence

MOSCOU, 5 février - RIA Novosti

Le système de défense aérienne et spatiale, en train d'être créé en Russie, assurera une protection solide contre toute menace de la part de l'Otan, a déclaré le vice-premier ministre russe Dmitri Rogozine.

Aucun compromis sur la défense antimissile européenne n'a été atteint lors de la Conférence de Munich, a indiqué M.Rogozine sur son compte Twitter. Le secrétaire général de l'Otan, Anders Fogh Rasmussen a notamment annoncé que l'Alliance poursuivrait le déploiement de l'ABM "car elle ressentait une énorme responsabilité pour la défense de la population".

"Nous ressentons également une responsabilité pour la défense de notre peuple contre vos missiles. Nous allons créer alors une bonne défense aérienne et spatiale", a écrit M.Rogozine.

Les Etats-Unis envisagent de déployer de 2015 à 2020 une troisième zone de positionnement de leur système de défense antimissile en Europe. Moscou s'oppose à ce projet, considérant que la mise en place d'un bouclier antimissile à proximité de ses frontières menace le potentiel stratégique russe.

L'idée d'engager la coopération en vue de créer un bouclier antimissile européen a été formulée en novembre 2010 lors du sommet Russie-Otan à Lisbonne. L'Alliance atlantique insiste sur la mise en place de deux systèmes de défense antimissile indépendants mais coordonnés: l'un russe, l'autre otanien. Moscou propose pour sa part de créer un système indivisible intégrant les dispositifs des deux parties. Les négociations sont alors dans l'impasse.

Fin novembre 2011, le président russe Dmitri Medvedev a annoncé des mesures de riposte contre le déploiement du système de défense antimissile américain en Europe.