Fórum Defesa Brasil

Russia will complete the modernization of the Navy base in Syria in 2011

Russia is upgrading the item-based Navy in the port of Tartus in Syria at an accelerated pace, allowing the work to be fully completed in 2011. It is reported ITAR-TASS citing a source in the General Staff of the Navy of Russia. In agreement with Syria, Russia pays for the use of Tartus as a base for the Navy, making use of facilities, including a simplified entry into port.
In Tartus naval base already in operation in Russia, but she, according to the interlocutor of the agency, "is hiloy and does not meet our needs." As part of modernization locations, will be repaired, the old and new facilities coastal infrastructure, which will provide parking and provision of ships calling at Tartus. After completion of the port will be able to take as individual ships and detachments of the Navy ships of Russia.

Now in Tartus valid point logistics naval ships of Russia. It serves about 50 Russian sailors. The port is also a floating workshop of the Black Sea Fleet, engaged in repairing ships. In the summer of 2009 in Tartus had brought a new floating dock. In the middle of last year in the General Staff of the Navy stated that the base in Tartus will provide all the necessary ships, which will protect civilian shipping in the Horn of Africa.

In January 2009, Deputy Chief of General Staff Col. Gen. Russia Anatoly Nogovitsyn said that Russia is negotiating the establishment of naval bases from the governments of several foreign countries. About what exactly the regions in question, Nogovitsyn did not elaborate. Earlier it was reported that, in addition to Tartus, Russia for several years can be found at the base of warships Yemeni island of Socotra and in the Libyan Tripoli.

Tartus is the second largest port city after Latakia Syria. It is located 220 kilometers north-west of Damascus. Russia's Navy Base is located in Tartus since Soviet times.

Originally published 05:01 a.m., January 20, 2010, updated 10:30 a.m., January 20, 2010
France likely to sell warship to Moscow

Nicholas Kralev

France is soon expected to become the first Western European NATO member to sell advanced military equipment to Russia, amid an aggressive search by Moscow for Western arms suppliers that has divided the country's elite, diplomats and defense analysts say.



The likely deal for at least one Mistral-class amphibious ship for the Russian navy is being watched closely in Washington — not only because of European willingness to arm NATO's former archenemy, but also because of Moscow's tacit acknowledgment of the poor state of its own military industry.

Intelligence Online, a Paris-based Web site with good sources in the French government, reported Friday that President Nicolas Sarkozy "has agreed to allow Mistral-class amphibious ships to be sold to the Russian navy." It quoted "sources at the Elysees Palace" as saying that the decision "will be announced in March, when [Russian President] Dmitry Medvedev visits Paris."

Emmanuel Lenain, a spokesman for the French Embassy in Washington, said that "discussions are going on, but no formal decision has been made yet."

Still, Mr. Lenain dismissed suggestions that his country would help Russia upgrade its offensive capabilities — a grave concern in some former Soviet republics, such as the Baltic states and Georgia.

"We cannot be suspected of complacency toward Russia," he said. "Sarkozy played a key role in [resolving] the Georgian crisis in the summer of 2008, and we still have French men and women on the ground, as part of a European effort to maintain the peace agreement."

The Georgian war strained NATO's relations with Moscow, though ties improved after President Obama took office last year. Mr. Obama has tried to "reset" the relationship after ties were frayed during the George W. Bush administration. In September, Mr. Obama scrapped his predecessor's plans for a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

"A Mistral-class ship is a support ship that France has used in particular for humanitarian or national evacuation missions due to its transport and medical capabilities," Mr. Lenain said. "It would not represent a threat."

NATO member Turkey has sold some military equipment to Russia in the past, but a French deal would be much more significant, diplomats said.

The State Department declined to comment, as did the Russian Embassy. But Russian military leaders have said that such a ship would have made a significant difference in Georgia.

"Everything that we did in the space of 26 hours at the time, this ship will do within 40 minutes," Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky, chief of the Russian navy, was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency in September.

France is not the only NATO member that appears eager to export military equipment to Russia. Spain's Navantia shipyard has emerged as a serious rival to the French manufacturer DCNS. In addition, Dutch Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop said last year that the Russians had approached Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding in the Netherlands.

"Should this sale proceed, an already divided alliance would become even more deeply divided on the eve of drafting its next strategic concept," said Heather Conley, Europe program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Ariel Cohen, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said NATO members should not expand military cooperation with Russia until it "restores its credibility and friendship with the West."

"At a time when Moscow still views NATO as an adversary, abandons the Conventional [Armed] Forces in Europe Treaty, and occupies 20 percent of Georgian territory, a major warship sale to the Russian navy by a NATO ally is premature," he said. "This is especially true when the sale is a part of a major naval modernization, which may jeopardize NATO's flanks and important energy routes."

Gerrard Cowan, Europe editor of the British publication Jane's Defense Weekly, wrote earlier this month that the recent activity "is an indication of how far Europe is willing to help Russia modernize its military — even at the expense of erstwhile NATO allies on Russia's borders."

"It would point to the emergence of an increasingly normal relationship between Russia and the rest of Europe, one of the key foreign-policy goals of Mr. Obama," he wrote on Foreign Policy magazine's Web site.

In November, a Mistral-class ship made a visit to St. Petersburg, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's hometown. It engaged in maneuvers with Russian warships and Russian helicopters landed on the French vessel, the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported.

Those exercises intensified a debate in Russia, which was once immensely proud of its military industry, about relying on Western Europe to modernize its armed forces. Some members of the military establishment still argue that Russia does not need to buy from abroad.

"The fact that Russia is seriously considering buying a military vessel from its former NATO adversaries says much about the poor condition of its manufacturing base," Mr. Cowan wrote.

Mr. Medvedev and Mr. Putin have criticized their domestic manufacturers for being too slow to modernize, though the president has been tougher.

"Unfortunately, the policy of 'patching the holes' is still in place and, to be frank, the sector has not achieved the goal of upgrading its technology to the latest standards," Mr. Medvedev told defense industrialists in October, according to a transcript on the Kremlin's Web site. "This directly affects the quality of products delivered to our armed forces and to markets abroad. … This is a question of survival."

Adm. Vysotsky predicted a favorable deal for Moscow soon. He said the United States was not part of the negotiations with France, Spain and the Netherlands "for understandable reasons." Washington is "highly sensitive," he said, about the transfer of new — especially dual-purpose — technology, which the Russians want to be included in any deal with the Europeans.

Carlos Mathias escreveu:Ihhhh, olha abalança mudando de prumo.

Russian Navy to receive new carrier-based fighters

18:5715/01/2010


Russia's Navy will take delivery of the first MiG-29K (Fulcrum-D) fighters later this year, a Navy official said on Friday.

"This year we are planning to buy the first batch of several machines," he said.

He did not give an exact figure for the fighters, which are due to be deployed on the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier.

The Navy earlier said it would buy a total of 24 MiG-29Ks in the next three to four years.

The military official said the Navy was currently using MiG-29K carrier-based multirole fighters and the more advanced Su-33 (Flanker-D) fighters, which will subsequently replace the MiGs.

"The Su-33s' service life is to expire in 2015, but we intend to extend it through 2025," he said.

Military analyst Konstantin Makiyenko has suggested that production of new Su-33 aircraft is possible but not cost-effective, given the small production volumes, whereas considering that India has already contracted 16 MiG-29Ks and could place an order for another 28, the latter option is more financially viable.

The 24 aircraft will cost an estimated $1 billion.

MOSCOW, January 15 (RIA Novosti)

French president defends sale of Mistral warship to Russia


MOSCOW, February 9 (RIA Novosti)

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has defended his decision to allow the sale of a Mistral-class amphibious assault ship to Russia by saying it would not threaten regional security, the Daily Herald reported.
The potential sale has alarmed some of Russia's former Soviet bloc allies, including those now in NATO, especially after the Russia-Georgia conflict over South Ossetia in August 2008.
Sarkozy told U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates at a brief meeting on Monday that in his opinion the sale did not pose a military problem because Russia should be treated as a real partner.
"One cannot expect Russia to behave as a partner if we don't treat it as one," Sarkozy said.
Russia earlier announced that it was considering buying one of the Mistral-class ships, worth 400-500 million euros (around $600-$750 million), and potentially building three or four vessels of the same class in partnership with the French naval shipbuilder DCNS.
A Mistral-class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 helicopters, four landing barges, up to 70 vehicles including 13 battle tanks, and 450 soldiers. The vessel is equipped with a 69-bed hospital and can be used as an amphibious command ship.
The Russian military has claimed that a Mistral-class warship would have allowed the Russian Navy to conduct a more efficient operation in the Black Sea during the Russia-Georgia war.
However, many experts believe that Russia simply wants to gain access to advanced naval technology that could be used in the future in potential conflicts with NATO and its allies.
French Defense Minister Herve Morin said on Monday it was time to turn the page on Cold War-era antagonisms with Russia and start a new relationship with Moscow through new exchanges.
If the deal goes through, it would be the first sale of a major piece of military equipment by a NATO member to Russia

soultrain escreveu:Quando falaram que era só boato, impossível etc o que eu disse?

Mas ainda é cedo.