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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Russia announces naval drills in 'east Mediterranean' |
| 2015-09-25 |
| [AlAhram] Russia's defence ministry on Thursday said it would hold naval drills in the "east Mediterranean" region in September and October, as the West frets over a military buildup by Moscow in Syria. The exercises include three warships from Russia's Black Sea Fleet, including the Saratov landing ship, the Moskva guided missile cruiser and the Smetlivy destroyer, the ministry said in a statement. The drills will involve "40 combat exercises, including rocket and artillery fire at sea and airborne targets," the statement said. The ministry said that the Mediterranean drills -- which were restarted in early 2013 -- had been planned since the end of last year and did not link them to the conflict in Syria. Russia officially alerted the airport in Cyprus earlier this month through the international aviation authorities to divert aircraft from the area between Syrian port of Tartus, where Russia has a naval facility, and Cyprus. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #7 Skidmark, I would think Russia would want to be friends with Turkey if they are going to be in the Eastern Med and need access through the Bosporus. Of course if you are right, they might provoke Turkey into something rash and then take the Bosporus. Greece might want it back although now that the population is like 99% Muslim maybe they don't. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2015-09-25 16:23 |
| #6 The Russian Naval Infantry will be highly concerned whether Hizbollah will do as it's told when it's told before significant upgrades will begin. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2015-09-25 12:10 |
| #5 Russian marines join Hizballah in first Syrian battle The Russians will want their Hizb'allah partners to have better weapons and training, regardless of Israeli feelings on the subject. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2015-09-25 10:46 |
| #4 Russian marines join Hizballah in first Syrian battle |
| Posted by: 3dc 2015-09-25 02:14 |
| #3 VladVedev + RussNav must be feeling confident, since it appears that no Fleet Salvage Tug(s) have been deployed wid this force in case of vessel breakdown. * ION DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Sputnik] RUSSIA'S NEWEST MILITARY BASE IN EUROPE WILL BE JUST 40-KMS FROM NATO FACILITIES IN CYPRUS. | [Hurriyet Daily News] GREEK CYPRUS SPATS WID BRITAIN OVER RUSIAN USE OF MILITARY BASES. * PRAVDA > RUSSIAN UNMANNED NUCLEAR SUBMARINES TO ENCIRCLE US. VERSUS * INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES [IBT] > US-RUSSIA NUCLEAR STANDOFF: USAF WON'T STATION NEW ATOMIC BOMBS IN GERMANY UNTIL [Year] 2020, as these BL-62 NuvBombs themselves won't be ready for production until FY20. * RELATED PRAVDA > OFFICIAL: US NOT TO DEPLOY NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN GERMANY, for at least another five years. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2015-09-25 01:17 |
| #2 Syria and Ukraine. Is this a flanking maneuver to pinch Turkey and crush the 'stans or were they given to Iran? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2015-09-25 00:55 |
| #1 Actually, the Rooshuns have formed a separate command for their naval deployment in the Med. It is beginning to sound, at least for their naval component, that the new command will operate directly out of Moskva, just as their Transcaucusus Front did in the 2nd Chechen War. This naval exercise will likely test the command/control coordination between their ships, which will act as radar pickets and the ground based SAM launchers. As I have said repeatedly, watch the naval deployment, not the ground forces. That is, until Rosshun airborne units arrive. |
| Posted by: badanov 2015-09-25 00:39 |