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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Revealed: Putin sent 'several' submarines each capable of carrying 16 ballistic missiles into the north Atlantic hours after putting his nuclear forces on 'special' alert over Ukraine invasion |
| 2022-03-26 |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #14 I mean, that sounds like a lot of fissile material floating aound without adult supervision. |
| Posted by: Matt 2022-03-26 18:14 |
| #13 The first dud they try and launch....The End |
| Posted by: Slappy 2022-03-26 18:00 |
| #12 Thanks, Mike. I don't know whether to be pleased or frightened. |
| Posted by: Matt 2022-03-26 17:59 |
| #11 #4 Mike -- Speaking as a rank amateur, one impression I've gotten over the last 30 days is that the terms "Russian military" and "maintenance" are mutually exclusive. Are their boomers any better than their tanks? Posted by: Matt 2022-03-26 16:45 Matt, Right now that's the subject of a LOT of discussion. I have no access to anything classified, but there is word from the herd that we are starting to think that their weapons reliability is now south of 60%...and dropping as they dig into the older stuff. And we've known for years that their fleet's maintenance was getting progressively sketchier - see also their carrier. I shudder to think right now that their boomers might not be capable of anything more than straight, silent running...and God alone knows what will happen if they pull the launch triggers. NOTE: Actually, I do - they won't get that far, because when they come up to launch depth the USN and RN subs tracking them will blow them out of the water. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2022-03-26 17:45 |
| #10 I personally think their nukes are about as maintained as their MRE's. Like the bottle rocket you saved from 20 years ago, good luck setting it off. |
| Posted by: Slappy 2022-03-26 17:35 |
| #9 "More tea? Anyone?" |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2022-03-26 17:31 |
| #8 I would have liked to have seen Montana. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2022-03-26 17:30 |
| #7 We have a problem, though. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2022-03-26 17:30 |
| #6 ^ LOL |
| Posted by: Matt 2022-03-26 17:14 |
| #5 Well, subs don't use tires, so that isn't a problem. Leaky Chinese made seals are definitely a problem on a sub. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2022-03-26 16:52 |
| #4 Mike -- Speaking as a rank amateur, one impression I've gotten over the last 30 days is that the terms "Russian military" and "maintenance" are mutually exclusive. Are their boomers any better than their tanks? |
| Posted by: Matt 2022-03-26 16:45 |
| #3 /\ Very interesting Mike. My knowledge of things maritime ends at the rope as you exit the theater. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2022-03-26 16:27 |
| #2 ...Let's use the USN's Trident boats as a yardstick here - they go out on 60 day patrols, and with sufficient warning can tweak that by another week or so. It's entirely possible that you can stuff enough gear for a 120 day patrol into a missile boat, but at that point it's going to be flatly hazardous for the crew just to get their jobs done and get around. There's also the reality that as sound and reliable as the Tridents are, things start to break at the 60 day mark. In short, there would have to be one hell of a reason to have a tour past 60 days. Russian boats could in theory and principle, do just as well, but there's a problem: The Soviet and Russian leadership has never, EVER trusted the officers and crews of their boomers. Since the Sixties - and I don't believe this has changed - the crews' families are kept under very close watch when they're on patrol 'so the CIA terrorists don't get them.' Translation, of course, is that the families are effective hostages until everybody gets back. I can't imagine the Russian leadership quite trusting the boomers to be out that long without direct supervision, and the skippers must be terrified of the thought of something going so terribly wrong that they have to surface and call for help. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2022-03-26 16:00 |
| #1 Nine of the Borei class subs sortied from their base in Kamchatka over Thanksgiving weekend. Believe they “normally” remain at sea 120 days before resupply of fresh food (perhaps one of the other readers has more insight on this they could share). |
| Posted by: Slenter Panda4300 2022-03-26 07:05 |