MOSCOW, January 16 (RIA Novosti)

The cost to repair and modernize the Yekaterinburg, a Russian nuclear submarine damaged by fire late last December, could total 900 million rubles ($30 million), a representative of United Shipbuilding Corporation said on Monday.

“Preliminary costs of repairs and modernization of the Yekaterinburg nuclear powered submarine are estimated between 600 million and 900 million rubles, depending on the price of the instruments and mechanisms that will be installed in the new hydro acoustic complex,” the USC representative said.

Some media reports previously said the costs would exceed 1 billion rubles but Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin denied the reports.

Rogozin said the submarine would be repaired and re-enter service in summer 2014.

On December 29, the outer hull of the Yekaterinburg, a Delta-class nuclear submarine, caught fire during repairs at a shipyard in northwest Russia's Murmansk Region. Seven crewmembers and two responders were injured as they battled the fire, which was put out the following day.

There was no radiation leak because the reactors had been shut down before repairs began.

The submarine’s hydro acoustic system was disabled by the fire and will need to be replaced before it is brought back into service.

Delta-class submarines have an outer skin of anechoic rubber, designed to absorb sound from sonars to make the boat harder to detect, that can burn in a dry environment. The boat has a double hull of thick steel, however, which would protect its interior from external fire.

The repairs are scheduled to start this summer.

16 jan 2012 par Rachad Suleymanov – APA

Bakou.-. Fabriqués par le Ministère de l’Industrie de Défense (MSN) de l’Azerbaïdjan, sous la licence de la compagnie turque TISAS, 3 modèles de pistolet ont été pris pour l’armement en Azerbaïdjan.

L’autorisation de production des modèles « Zigana K » et « Zigana F » a été délivrée know how en Azerbaïdjan, a confié pour l’APA, le représentant de TISAS dans une conférence de presse. 17 pièces des pistolets sont fabriquées en Azerbaïdjan, 41 en Turquie. Les pistolets sont fabriqués en Azerbaïdjan sous les noms « Zefer », « Zefer-K » et « Inam ».

La longévité des pistolets fabriqués en Azerbaïdjan est fixée 25 000 tirs au minimum.

Le TISAS a exporté 12 864 pistolets en 2010 et partage 20% du marché turc. Les produits de TISAS sont exportés vers 30 pays, y compris les Etats-Unis, l’Azerbaïdjan, le Burkina Faso, l’Egypte, l’Iran, l’Italie etc.

Russian surveillance UAV

12/1/2012 Arie Egozi - israeldefense.com

Israel is examining the sale of defense systems such as large UAVs to Russia. The move comes after the softening of the US position regarding defense exports to Moscow

Russia has presented Israel with a long list of military systems it is interested in procuring, primarily from the Israel Aerospace Industry (IAI). A discussion regarding the list is currently being held, and it seems that there is a possibility that some of the systems will be approved for sale to Russia.

Russia has thus far mainly procured small surveillance UAVs of IAI production. The Russians wanted more, but faced a refusal stemming from Israel-US relations, among other things. The Russians said that they wish to establish a plant for assembly and production of Israeli UAVs in Russia.

Recently, following several high-level strategic agreements with Russia regarding numerous subjects, Russia updated its list. This brought about a renewed discussion concerning the export of several items, which were on previous and additional lists. Israel is working with the US regarding the Russian requests.

Sources explained that the US presently views China as its primary threat, due to its unprecedented military and technological strengthening along with various statements from the leadership in Beijing. As such, Russia is perceived as less threatening, which according to the sources, also contributed to Washington’s softened position regarding the export of advanced Israeli weapon systems to Russia.

Russia already expressed an interest in procuring large Israeli-produced UAVs and systems more than a year ago to improve its air fleet.

MOSCOW, January 13 (RIA Novosti)

About 70 new rocket and missile systems will be tested at Russia’s Kapustin Yar test range in 2012, an increase of 150 percent from last year, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Friday.

The systems are part of more than 160 ongoing projects, said Col. Vadim Koval, without providing any details.

Last year, more than 500 missile test launches were made at the Kapustin Yar rocket launch and development site, he added.

Almost all the missile and rocket related branches and services of the Russian Armed Forces, including the Strategic Missile Forces, the Air Defense Forces, and the Missile Forces and Artillery conduct their tests at Kapustin Yar, located in the Astrakhan region, between the cities of Volgograd and Astrakhan.

MOSCOW, January 12 (RIA Novosti)

The Yekaterinburg, a Russian nuclear submarine damaged by fire while in dry dock in late December, will be repaired and re-enter service in summer 2014, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin wrote in his twitter account.

“We plan to return the submarine to duty earlier, in summer 2014,” Rogozin wrote in his twitter account in response to a question from a blogger who suggested that the repairs would take three or four years.

On December 29, the outer hull of the Yekaterinburg, a Delta-class nuclear submarine, caught fire during repairs at a shipyard in northwest Russia's Murmansk Region. Seven crewmembers and two responders were injured as they battled the fire, which was put out the following day.

The repairs are scheduled to start this summer.

11 janvier 2012 Par Rédacteur en chef. PORTAIL DES SOUS-MARINS

Les réparations des dégâts provoqués par l’incendie du sous-marin nucléaire lanceur d’engins russe Yekaterinburg dépassent le milliard de roubles (24,7 millions €), a conclu la commission gouvernementale qui enquête sur l’accident.

Selon une source industrielle, l’incendie a détruit le sonar du sous-marin et sérieusement endommagé le revêtement en caoutchouc de la coque extérieure. Concernant la cause de l’incendie, la source a indiqué qu’il s’agissait de « violations graves des mesures de sécurité lorsqu’on effectue des soudures à bord du sous-marin ».

Selon la source, les réparations du sous-marin prendront plusieurs mois (jusqu’à présent, on parlait d’environ un an), et seront effectuées au chantier Sevmash de Severodvinsk. Le Yekaterinburg n’y arrivera qu’à la fin mai ou début juin 2012 en raison de la glace qui recouvre la mer Blanche. En attendant, le sous-marin restera à sa base près de Severomorsk.

Référence : RusNavy (Russie)

frégate russe Ladnyy photo JL Vienne

MOSCOU, 10 janvier - RIA Novosti

Le patrouilleur russe Ladny a achevé mardi sa mission en Méditerranée avant de prendre le chemin de retour vers sa base à Sébastopol, a annoncé mardi le porte-parole de la Flotte russe de la mer Noire Nikolaï Voskressenski.

"Le patrouilleur de la flotte de la mer Noire "Ladny" a achevé sa mission au sein d'un groupe de navires russes. Il a mis le cap sur les détroits de la mer Noire. Le navire arrivera à Sébastopol le 13 janvier", a indiqué le porte-parole.

Le patrouilleur a quitté sa base le 4 décembre dernier. Il a fait escale à Malte, en France et en Espagne pour se ravitailler. Son équipage a rencontré les représentants des autorités locales.

Le patrouilleur Ladny, ainsi que deux autres navires de la flotte de la mer Noire - le patrouilleur Iaroslav Moudry et le pétrolier Lena - ont accompli leur mission en Méditerranée avec un groupe de navires de la flotte russe du Nord - le porte-avions Admiral Kouznetsov, la frégate anti-sous-marine Admiral Tchabanenko, le navire de sauvetage Nikolaï Tchiker et les pétroliers Sergueï Ossipov, Viazma et Kama - qui étaient arrivés en Méditerranée de Severomorsk (région de Mourmansk).

10.01.2012, La Voix de la Russie

Le Ministère de la Défense explique cette décision par le fait que ces armes ne sont plus modernisées depuis longtemps et ont besoin de remplacement par des armes plus modernes qui peuvent servir plus longtemps. Désormais, l’usine «Ijmach», spécialisée dans la fabrication des armes légères, sera obligée d’élaborer un nouveau modèle de fusils pour pouvoir continuer à vendre des armes à l’armée russe.

Selon «Ijmach», ces nouvelles armes devaient être montrées aux responsables militaires avant la fin de 2011, et le développement de nouveaux modèles serait déjà en cours. En attendant qu’une alternative moderne aux kalachnikovs soit fabriquée, l’usine compte se concentrer sur l’exportation et la production d'armes sportives. Certains experts estimaient depuis quelques années déjà que les militaires devraient arrêter l’acquisition de certains modèles de fusils d'assaut Kalachnikov, car l’armée russe a réussi à constituer un stock suffisant de ce type d’armes. Ces réserves seront suffisantes pour les 15 à 20 années à venir.

Bientôt une alternative au kalachnikov

«Ijmach» fabrique actuellement des AK-74M, qui diffère du modèle de base par des fixations pour les viseurs optiques et électro-optiques. Cet équipement permet de frapper des cibles à une distance de 600 mètres, tandis que sans lui, la portée de tir représente seulement 300 à 400 mètres. Les AK-74 peuvent être modernisés jusqu’au niveau de la version AK-74M, mais le ministère russe de la Défense n'a pas l'intention de le faire.

Selon plusieurs sources, en juillet 2011, «Ijmach» serait déjà en train de créer une gamme d’armes de nouvelle génération, qui serait différente du système de Kalachnikov. Comme le précise le PDG de l’usine Maxime Kouzyuk, le nouveau fusil serait «capable de rivaliser avec des armes légères modernes semblables du monde entier». On n’a pour l’instant aucun détail technique sur cette nouvelle arme qui sera bientôt fabriquée à «Ijmach».

Le fusil d’assaut AK-47 de Kalachnikov du calibre de 7,62 millimètres a été développé Mikhaïl Kalachnikov en 1947 et était utilisé par l'armée soviétique à partir de 1949. Ce modèle a servi de modèle de base pour une série d’armes à feu militaires et civiles de calibres divers, notamment des fusils AKM et AK74, la mitrailleuse RPK, et des carabines et ainsi que des fusils du type «Saïga».

AK et ses modifications sont les armes les plus répandues dans le monde. Selon les estimations des experts, près d’un cinquième de tous les armes à feu dans le monde sont des kalachnikovs.

January 9, 2012 defpro.com (APA/Rashad Suleymanov/nvk)

Baku | The Belarusian Tetraedr company has established a joint venture with Azerbaijan. Azairtechservice LLC performs as representative on the Azerbaijani side.

The Tetraedr Techservice company was registered on December 28, 2011. The enterprise is located in Sumgayit city. The company has modernized two S-125 Pechora surface to air missile batteries (eight battle vehicle). Testing of the modernized systems showed high results.

The head of the company, Andrey Vokhovsky, told APA in an interview in 2011 that, as a result of the modernization, the life cycle of the Pechora system has been extended by 15 years.

Azerbaijan also expressed interest in the T-38 Stilet short range self propelled air defence system, manufactured by Tetraedr.

MOSCOW, January 8 (RIA Novosti)

A new radar of the fourth Voronezh class will be put into operation near the Siberian city of Irkutsk by the end of this year as part of Russia’s early warning system, a missile defense spokesman said on Sunday.

The current overhaul of Russia’s missile defenses is also due to the new strategic challenges presented by the U.S.-led missile shield plans in Europe.

“This year a new generation radar will be put on combat duty. It is not complete but it is already working in the test regime,” said Colonel Alexei Zolotukhin, spokesman for the missile defense troops in the Russian Defense Ministry.

Three other Voronezh class radars are already operating in Lekhtusi near St. Petersburg, in Armavir in the Black Sea area and in Pionersky near Kaliningrad.

The Voronezh class radars are a serious breakthrough compared to the previous generation radars of the Dnepr and Daryal class. The radar in Pionersky has a range of 6,000 km and can simultaneously track about 500 objects.

Under the national defense program until 2020, the Defense Ministry is to replace all Soviet long-range radars and close all gaps in radar coverage on Russia's borders.

January 7, 2012: STRATEGY PAGE

There's a growing debate in Russia over what to buy with the growing amount of cash available to rebuild the armed forces. So far, the government has directed most of the money at nuclear weapons (especially land and sea based ballistic missiles), nuclear submarines (with and without ballistic missiles), military satellites, air defense and strategic communications. But critics point out that most of the Russian military activity in the past two decades has been fighting Islamic terrorists in the Caucasus. Backers of the current spending patterns point out that it's only nuclear weapons that can really defend a nation as large as Russia. This is especially true since the Russian armed forces are a fifth the size of the 1991 Soviet Union military. The military satellites and communications systems are needed to ensure that the government can keep in touch with all parts of the nation during an emergency, and be sure when, and if, there is a need to go nuclear.

It's not that the ground forces have been completely ignored. Six years ago, for the first time in fifteen years, the Russian army began receiving significant quantities of new and refurbished equipment. The Russian army had been falling apart since the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991. That was fifteen years of practically no new equipment, and a vast downsizing. The Cold War force of 175 divisions dwindled to 25, plus 21 independent brigades (equivalent to another five divisions.) These divisions were, for the most part, very under strength. The Russian army was, at that point, smaller than the American army, and much less capable.

Most of the 1991 era equipment had been scrapped or cannibalized to keep the new, now quite miniscule (320,000 troops) army going at all. Most of the trucks and tanks were twenty years old, or more. Tiny defense budgets over the previous decade were barely able to buy food for the troops, much less fuel for training exercises. For a generation, tank crews trained in vehicles that rarely moved, and engines were only started to see if they were still functional, not to move the vehicle.

Over the last six years the army has received enough gear to equip some rapid reaction forces, and get the assembly lines going for a new generation of weapon. To that end, the troops began receiving new T-90 tanks, and refurbished, Cold War vintage, T-72s and T-80s. Some new BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles were bought, as well as lighter, BMDs for the parachute and air-assault units. Noting the success of the American Stryker, new BTR-80 and BTR-90 vehicles were purchased. In addition, refurbished BMPs, BMDs and BTRs were also obtained.

 The army also received new radios, field uniforms, protective vests, small arms, more powerful RPGs and grenades. Perhaps most telling, large quantities of small arms ammunition are being made available for training. This is another side-effect of the war in Iraq, where Russian planners noted how the American army successfully dealt with training deficiencies by greatly increasing live fire training.

The tactical air force, which supports the army, received a lot of refurbished and upgraded aircraft (Su-24 bombers, Su-25 ground attack aircraft, plus some Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters). New Mi-28 and Ka-50 helicopter gunships were bought as well.

The government is spending money to replace Cold War era bombs and shells with more modern designs, but these won't reach the troops in large quantities for another two years.

L’avant du sous-marin Yekaterinburg avant l’incendie

3 janvier 2012 Par Gilles Corlobé. PORTAIL DES SOUS-MARINS

Un article publié sur le site d’information norvégien Barents Observer avance que l’incendie du sous-marin Yekaterinburg trouvait son origine dans la salle des torpilles du sous-marin.

A l’appui de cette théorie, reprise d’un blog, le site publie une image de l’avant du sous-marin prise avant l’incendie. Sur cette image, on voit que la coque extérieure du sous-marin, très fine et en matériaux composites, a été découpée. On ne voit pas de partie de coque épaisse.

Selon le site, c’est là que se trouve la salle des torpilles du sous-marin, et là qu’aurait pris l’incendie.

En réalité, cette image montre une partie des superstructures du sous-marin, où on peut voir sur la gauche, à la limite de la découpe, une partie de ce qui est probablement l’arrière de l’antenne sonar, qui semble cylindrique.

Et sur la droite, des formes qui ressemblent au matériau insonorisant qu’on trouve dans les chambres sourdes : il s’agit probablement de matériaux absorbants les sons du sous-marin, pour éviter qu’ils ne perturbent la réception des sons extérieurs par l’antenne sonar située juste devant.

Ces matériaux absorbants sont très probablement en matière plastique, très inflammable, et expliquent donc les fumées très épaisses et les hautes flammes qu’on a pu voir sur les images de l’incendie.

Sur le bas de la découpe, on devine ce qui pourrait être des planches de bois, qui pourraient avoir pris feu si des travaux de soudure étaient effectués à cet endroit.

Référence : Barents Observer (Norvège)

photo Vitaly Kuzmin

Jan 03, 2012 brahmand.com

MOSCOW (BNS): The Russian Air Force will receive 60 modernised MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor aircraft by 2020, the Defence Ministry said.

According to a news report by RIA Novosti, a defence contract was recently signed by the Russian defence ministry and United Aircraft Corporation.

"We are planning to upgrade the MiG-31 interceptors to the MiG-31BM version by 2020," Air Force spokesman Vladimir Drik was quoted as saying in the news report.

The new aircraft, called MiG-31BM, will feature upgraded avionics and digital datalinks, new multimode radar, color multi-function cockpit displays, a new, more powerful computer.

It will be able to carry new air-to-air and possibly air-to-surface missiles such as the AS-17 Krypton anti-radar missile, the report added.