Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Russian Carrier Task Force Transits English Channel

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Russian Carrier Task Force Transits English Channel

    UK deploys destroyer to track large Russian naval task force

    By Andrew Osborn
    LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has deployed a destroyer to track an unusually large Russian naval task force transiting the English Channel, it said on Thursday and also noted a "resurgence" in Russian air activity close to its airspace.

    The Ministry of Defense said the decision to dispatch HMS Dragon, one of Britain's newest and most sophisticated ships, to track the Russian naval force was routine and that the Russians had notified it of their transit plans in advance.

    "What is different here is that a Russian task group of this size has not passed by our shores in some time," Captain Rex Cox, HMS Dragon's commanding officer, said in a statement.

    Diplomatic relations between Russia and the West have been strained by the crisis in Ukraine, which has revived memories of the Cold War when the military forces of Western Europe were ranged against those of the Soviet Union.

    The task force included Russia's only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, the Ministry of Defense said, as well as a nuclear-powered battle cruiser, a landing support ship, three tankers and a tug.

    A Russian naval spokesman said last month that the Kuznetsov had completed a deployment in the Mediterranean and was on its way back to its base of Severomorsk in northwest Russia.

    Defense Secretary Philip Hammond played down the deployment of HMS Dragon, which was dispatched in similar circumstances last month to shadow another Russian warship.

    But when asked by Reuters whether he had noticed an increase in Russian military activity around Britain, he said he had.

    "We have over the last few years seen a resurgence in Russian air activity," he told reporters at a lunch in parliament, saying the amount of long-range flying the Russians were doing close to Britain was on the increase.

    "That's a reflection of something which a lot of people have missed or have chosen to miss which is that Russia has been investing very substantially for many years in renewing its fleets, in rebuilding its military capability," said Hammond.

    Britain scrambled Typhoon fighter jets last month to see off Russian military planes flying close to its airspace off the coast of Scotland, one of a number of such incidents. Link
    Well they brought a tug as usual, pretty smart. I wonder if they brought a fuel-spill recovery ship as well for whenever that CVBG decides to UNREP.
    “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

  • #2
    This is alarming.

    Only ONE tug?
    "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by gunnut View Post
      This is alarming.

      Only ONE tug?
      Yeah, what happens when more than ONE of their ships break-down?
      "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not there any more." -Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Stitch View Post
        Yeah, what happens when more than ONE of their ships break-down?
        Conga line?

        "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

        Comment


        • #5
          It also states they were traveling with three tankers which means they are guzzling fuel at a very large rate. Sucks not to have friendly ports for refuling huh?;)
          Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

          Comment


          • #6
            Huh, I didn't know any of the Kirov class were still seaworthy(wish).
            "Nature abhors a moron." - H.L. Mencken

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Genosaurer View Post
              Huh, I didn't know any of the Kirov class were still seaworthy(wish).
              Pyotr Velikiy has been their only active Kirov-class for quite some time.

              They are apparently getting serious about returning the other 3 to service, starting with the Kalinin/Admiral Nakhimov.

              What's hilarious about that linked article is that it touts Sevmash's "success" with the Vikramaditya but notes that the Nakhimov will be more difficult, what with having a nuclear reactor and more weapons systems.

              I guess "success" in the Russian maritime industry is defined as "5 years overdue and $1 billion over the contracted price"
              “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                Pyotr Velikiy has been their only active Kirov-class for quite some time.

                They are apparently getting serious about returning the other 3 to service, starting with the Kalinin/Admiral Nakhimov.

                What's hilarious about that linked article is that it touts Sevmash's "success" with the Vikramaditya but notes that the Nakhimov will be more difficult, what with having a nuclear reactor and more weapons systems.

                I guess "success" in the Russian maritime industry is defined as "5 years overdue and $1 billion over the contracted price"
                No, it means Indians paid for Russian overhauls.
                No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

                To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

                Comment

                Working...
                X