Russian Navy Black Sea fleet deploying for 'training drills' in Eastern Mediterranean sea, NATO fears Russian ships heading towards Syrian coast



A Black Sea-based Russian surface action group scrambled to the Eastern Mediterranean —under the guise of drilling in the region — are likely there to provide an air defense bubble to protect Russian fighters striking targets in Syria, according to a Russian press report.

In the last three weeks, several surface combatants have departed the Russian Black Sea headquarters in Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula for the Mediterranean for an announced series of anti-ship and anti-air drills.

At the time the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) denied the drills had any connection to the Russian build-up of forces in Syria but reports from independent Russian news wire service Interfax-AVN quoted a military source on Friday saying the exercise was to, “test the efficiency of the system protecting the air base near Latakia from air strikes.”

A separate source told The Daily Mail, “ships of the navy’s task force led by the Moskva missile cruiser deployed in the eastern part of the Mediterranean have started taking measures to ensure the aerial defense of the air base near Latakia, where a collection of Russian Air Force fighters has been deployed.”

Russian state controlled media announced on Monday four Russian Navy ships had conducted live anti-surface and anti-air exercises in the region.

Guided missile cruiser and Black Sea flagship Moskva, Krivak-class guided missile frigates Ladny, Pytlivy and Kashin-class frigate Smetlivy “completed firing exercises at marine and air targets using artillery and missile complexes,” read a Black Sea fleet statement to state-controlled wire Sputnik.

In addition to the surface ships, the Russian Navy also deployed a surveillance ship as well as several amphibious ships.

From the Caspian sea to Syria have to pass through Iran and Iraq, so can safely conclude they are both OK with Russia using their airspace.

Some reports say people found fragments of a large missile with cyrillic writing near Aleppo, some are saying probably some sort of short range ballistic missile like Scud or Tochka.

Also, probably the cruise missile attack also to demonstrate to western powers Iran and Iraq are on board with Russian operations in the region. No way Russia could launch missiles all the way from the Caspian to Syria without Iran and Iraq giving Russia access to their airspace.

Probably trying to test NATO defenses in the region. Considering they did it twice, its a good bet they were.

Nahh...Iraq is in some disarray now, but its far from a broken-down third world country. They still have air defense capabilities and a few fighter planes to deploy if they really want to block any Russian use of their airspace.

This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: Oct 8 2015, 11:19 AM

Iran very much strongest Russian ally in the region besides Egypt. US lost its influence in Iraq after the fall of Ali al-Maliki. New PM Haider al-Abadi is pretty much Iran's puppet in Iraq.

Nowadays Russia also have been cozying up Jordan and UAE as potential regional partners alongside Egypt. Recently Putin invited them to Moscow for a counter-terrorism conference which unsurprisingly, Saudi Arabia and Qatar declined to attend.

Russia has been meeting with Iran leaders over possible Russian air base in Iran for Syrian campaign. Word has it they intend to use it as a transit point for Russian strategic bombers from Russia en route to Syrian airspace.

Not that strong, Egypt felt US slighted them after US heavily backed the MB-heavy Muhammad Mursi presidency. US even suspended some arms shipment and financial aid after Mursi was overthrown.

Also, strictly speaking, Jordan isn't actually that tight with the US, it's more neutral in its dealings with US and Israel.

Not just expensive, it's obscenely expensive.

Even when rich US allies like UK, Japan & SK that were 'ínvited' into the project have shoveled enormous amounts of money into its development, the costs are still climbing up ($1.3 trillion (Overall including inflation), US$59.2B for development, $261B for procurement, $590B for operations & sustainment in 2012) and yet the plane still has a long way to go until it's even remotely battle-ready.

This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: Oct 9 2015, 04:54 PM

Currently projected price per unit is about $100 million USD (F-35C), not including the engine. So $100 Million USD gets you a high-tech paperweight.

Forget it la.

PAK FA is still early in its development compared to F-35, so not that much spent. India agreed to shoulder 25% of development cost in return for 250 units (Russia will take another 250). Although projected cost as of now is somewhat similar compared to F-35, in the region of $ 90-100 million USD per unit (but with engine though).

Ridiculous fad. You get better ergonomics and stability by using the vertical grip. Plus the hand keep blocking the front sight.

Haha fail at reporting

This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: Oct 13 2015, 08:22 AM

British used Agent Orange in Malaya 10 years before the US used it in Vietnam



The British government has used Trioxone in the Malayan Emergency 10 years before the US military used in in Vietnam. Trioxone, better known as Agent Orange, is a chemical defoliant that speeded up the metabolism of plants and forces the plant to shed its leaves.

During the Emergency, the insurgent Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and its supporters lived in and around the dense tropical jungle. British forces were concerned about the cover the jungle provided and how it could aid ambushes and sabotage efforts by the MPLA.

The development of Trioxone, along with other herbicides, was brought to the attention of a General Harold Briggs, the head of UK armed forces in Malaya in 1951. Widespread testing and spraying using modified fire fighting vehicles was approved in 1952. This resulted in ICI’s entire stock of Trioxone being bought by the UK-run Malay administration.

A follow-up report ultimately showed cutting down the forested areas by hand was cheaper due to the abundance of labour and spraying was stopped. To avoid embarrassment from purchasing a large quantity of an expensive and potentially useless chemical, it was then decided by the administration, led by Sir Gerald Templer, the then High Commissioner, to target the insurgents’ food supplies that were being grown in inaccessible parts of the jungle. Spraying by helicopter commenced in March 1953.

The US government later cited the use of Agent Orange by the British in Malaya as a precedent in arguing the legality of Operation Ranch Hand, the massive spraying of the Vietnamese countryside with Agent Orange to destroy the forest cover used by the Viet Cong.

US abandons $500 Million training project for 'moderate'Syrian rebels, airdrops 50 tons of arms and ammunition instead



The U.S. military airdropped 50 tons of small arms ammo and grenades in northern Syria on Sunday, a senior defense official said, representing the Pentagon's shift from training rebel fighters to equipping them.

Coming just two days after the Defense Department announced it was effectively ending its current training program, the airdrop delivery was made Sunday by four C-17 transport aircraft. The 112 pallets contained ammunition for M-16s and AK-47s.

"All the pallets reached friendly forces," the official said, adding that the drop "looked similar to what we did in Kobani." This referred to one of the few bright spots in the war against the Islamic State when the U.S. military dropped weapons to Syrian Kurdish fighters, known as the YPG, who successfully expelled ISIS from the Turkish-Syrian border town of Kobani earlier this year.

This time, the official said Syrian Kurds were not recipients of the U.S. airdrop -- only Syrian Arabs fighting ISIS. There is sensitivity in Washington over arming Syrian Kurds, whom Turkey sees as an enemy but the U.S. counts as a NATO ally.

The 50 tons of supplies were airdropped into Al-Hasakah province, home to Syrian Kurds, Arabs and a minority Assyrian community.

Hahaha think I'm one of those people who put fake news here ah?

Sos

Malaysian Navy establishes Quick Reaction Force to combat piracy



The Royal Malaysian Navy has set up a special squad code-named the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to combat piracy.

The 14-man squad comprises two teams, namely the sharpshooters and a strike force, based in Tanjung Pengelih in the state of Johor, Malaysia.

"For the time being, the teams are stationed in southern Johor waters as it is a hotspot for pirates," said Rear Admiral Mior Rosdi Mior Mohd Jaafar, assistant chief of staff exercise operations in the Anti-Sea Robbery Cooperation Working Group held in Malaysia on 6 October 2015.

According to Jaafar, the team can respond within 15 minutes upon receiving a report, deploying assets such as helicopters and an assault vessel to the vicinity of the incident.

"I hope with the establishment of QRF, we will manage to combat piracy effectively," Jaafar said. "It is impossible to have zero robberies, but we will work hard to reduce the figure. To do that, we have to be fast."

Probably a formerly neglected way for Russia to influence things in the Middle East?

"What's that? US want to send a carrier in Arabian Gulf to threaten Iran? Why would you look at that, we actually have long-range anti-ship missiles in Caspian sea. Better think twice, bro"

Vietnam to follow Malaysian model of converting civilian vessels into naval auxiliary ships



Malaysian media reported that the KM Tun Azizan, a civil transport ship, has been converted into a military base by order of the Malaysian navy.

Commenting about the move, Vietnamese maritime experts said this could also be implemented by Vietnam. They stressed that Vietnam has many things available to do this.

Regarding technical issues, Do Thai Binh, deputy chair of the Vietnam Shipbuilding Science Association, said engineers would have to re-design the ships on the basis of the original design when upgrading the ships for other purposes.

However, this is expected to not be a complicated work because all ships have their “profiles”. He thinks that turning large transport ships into maritime bases would be the best choice for Vietnam. The bases will not only serve national defence, but also help fishermen in their offshore fishing.

I love the fact the guy don't even bother to adjust his elbow pad in place as it keep slipping down his arm!

I bet his knee pads are already at his ankles.

This post has been edited by MilitaryMadness: Oct 15 2015, 04:45 PM