Kyrgyz-Russian military drills to enter active phase June 2

According to the deputy commander of Russia’s Central Military District, it is the first ever exercise of such a large scale conducted by the two states

“During the active phase, Russian paratroopers and military of the National Guard of Kyrgyzstan will launch a landing operation to a specified area form our base’s airdrome,” the press service said. “Then they will be airlifted by helicopter to the National Guard’s Edelweiss training center for a building storming drill.” In addition, in the coming days they will conduct mountainous terrain drills in the Tatyr gorge located on the northern slope of Ala-Too ridge. According to the press service, the Kyrgyz and Russian troops have previously held several tactical and special exercises, including the range practice during which they fired all types of small arms, launched drones and had parachute packing drills.

The joint training exercise of the paratroopers and National Guard fighters was launched on May 25 and will continue until June 5. According to deputy commander of Russia’s Central Military District Yevgeny Ustinov, it is the first ever exercise of such a large scale conducted by the two states, “with the arrival of the troops contingent.” “The maneuvers are conducted quite successfully,” he said. “The military are gaining interaction experience.” However, according to Ustinov, only preliminary conclusions can now be made on the joint exercise, and the final results will be known after the maneuvers are over and their “detailed analysis.”

Ustinov said previously that “the main task is to study each other’s experience.” Ustinov said that during the war games the two states’ troops would improve their weapons and reconnaissance training, including with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles. “We hope that the next joint exercise will take place in Russia’s territory,” said the deputy commander. He said that several Russian military facilities are located in Kyrgyzstan. “Therefore, if the situation aggravates, we, jointly with our colleagues from Kyrgyzstan must be ready to ensure their security,” he added.

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India Test Fires Harpoon Missile From Fighter Jet for First Time

The Harpoon missile built by Boeing was launched by the Indian Air Force from a fighter plane at a pre-designated target.

The Indian Air Force test fired a Harpoon missile from a fighter plane for the first time in the Arabian Sea last week.

The missile, built by Boeing was launched on May 22 from a Jaguar maritime strike fighter that flew 200 nautical miles off the west coast to carry out the mission.

An official source confirmed it was the “first live firing” of the Harpoon from a warplane in India after integration by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. “It was successful,” the source added, media reports.

With a range of 124 km, the Harpoon is proficient for land-strike missions too. India has bought a package of 24 Harpoon Block II missiles for its navy and another 22 for the Indian Air Force.

The US is currently the biggest supplier of weapons to the Indian military, with deals worth over $10 billion during the last six years.

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Egyptian fighter order a shot in the arm for RSK-Mi

 

German MiG-29

The imminent sale by Russia of 46 Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters to Egypt, reported by Russian business daily Vedomosti on 25 May, was stated to be worth about USD2 billion, making it the largest order for the MiG-29 since the fall of the Soviet Union.

The MiG-29 contract would follow the announcement in February that Egypt is buying 24 Dassault Rafale multirole fighters, continuing Egypt’s history of operating both French and Russian combat aircraft that dates back to 1973. Using Russia and France as suppliers also insulates Egypt from any US sanctions affecting its fighter fleet, as happened in the wake of the July 2013 coup when Washington froze the transfer of defence items such as Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters.

Stealth Ability Neutralized! Russia’s T-50 Jetfighter to Rule the Skies

An active defense system developed for Russia’s fifth-generation T-50 jetfighter is also able to neutralize enemy planes’ stealth capability, RIA Novosti reported Friday, citing the press service of the Himalaya system’s designers, the Radioelectronic Technologies Concern [KRET].

 

The Sukhoi PAK FA fighter jet, also known as T-50, is ready to go into production next year, and boasts innovative technology which renders the pilot one part of the plane’s control system.“The PAK FA is already to some degree a flying robot, where the aviator fulfils the function not only of pilot, but is actually one of the constituent parts of the flying apparatus,” explained Vladimir Mikheyev, deputy head of KRET, which is a unit of Rostech Corporation.

The use of composite materials, innovative technologies, advanced avionics and engines ensure the T-50’s extremely low level of radar, optical and infrared visibility.

At present the US is the only country to have operational fifth-generation aircraft – the F22 Raptor and F35 Lightning II.

KRET has also created for the T-50 the upgraded BINS-SP2M strapdown inertial navigation system that autonomously processes navigation and flight information, determines position and motion parameters in the absence of satellite navigation, and can integrate with GLONASS, Russia’s space-based satellite navigation system.

The T-50 is set to replace the Sukhoi Su-27 fourth generation fighter jet, which entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1985, and the Mig-29, which entered service in 1983.

In December 2014 Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation announced that production of the fighter was ready to begin in 2016, following the completion of the testing phase.

55 PAK FA jets will be delivered to the Russian Air Force by 2020.

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Not only T-72s were unloaded at Umm-Qasr…

Judging by the latest photos, Russia delivered to Iraq not only T-72B tanks, but also BREM-1 recovery vehicles and a new batch of TOS-1SA Solntsepyok heavy flamethrowing systems. It seems they have already more than proved their usefulness!

Nothing Obliged France to Cancel Mistral Deal – French Politician

It was a big mistake that France terminated the Mistral deal with Russia, as nothing legally obliged Paris to cancel the arms export contract, said Thierry Mariani, the former French Minister of Transportation.

The contract cancelation was a mistake, because in reality nothing legally obliged France to freeze the deal, as the contract was signed before the EU introduced the embargo on the delivery of military equipment to Russia, Mariani told Sputnik in an exclusive interview.

Furthermore, the Mistral-class helicopter carriers are not even combat ships, but vessels used for logistical support. That is why it was “totally stupid” to link the Mistral-deal with the Ukrainian crisis, Mariani said.

The former Minister of Transportation also added that France has no right to sell the Mistrals made for Russia to other countries.

“Some parts of the vessels were manufactured in Russia… So it’s obvious that the ships can’t be sold without an agreement from Russia. May France sell the ships whomever it pleases? In my opinion, no!” — said the politician.

 

But even if Russia allows France to re-sell the ships after the trade dispute is over, it won’t be that easy for Paris to find potential buyers for the Mistrals. The French Navy said they won’t need extra Mistrals, as they already have three in service. Other than that, no parties so far were interested in purchasing the Mistrals, Mariani said.In 2011, Russia and France signed the 1.3 billion euros Mistral deal. Paris was supposed to handover the first Mistral to Moscow in November 2014. However, French President Francois Hollande decided to suspend the delivery, citing Russia’s alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, a claim denied by Moscow.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Russia gave up on the arms deal. Now the two countries are working on the amount of money that Paris should pay Moscow for the failed contract. There was information that France offered to refund Russia 785 million euros. However, the amount is much less that the actual sum that Paris must pay back. The 785 million euros refund does not even cover the amount that Russia had already paid.

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Russia Stations Iskander Missiles in Kaliningrad: NATO Cries Wolf

The deployment of Iskander-M missile complexes in Kaliningrad will “fundamentally change the balance of security in Europe,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a speech at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies on Wednesday.

 

Stoltenberg described Moscow’s actions as “unjustified, destabilizing and dangerous” while adding that the alliance did not wish to deepen its confrontation with Russia.In Moscow President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov dismissed the NATO chief’s words about Moscow allegedly using military drills as a cover for moving troops to Ukrainian territory as “irrelevant.”

On Wednesday, Czech General Petr Pavel who will assume office of Chairman of the NATO Military Committee on June 1, 2015, said that Russia is capable of seizing the Baltic countries and the Ukrainian capital of Kiev within two days.

The general also believes that if Russia launched an offensive then NATO forces would be incapable of repelling the attack.

Major General Mikhail Matvievsky, chief of Strategic Missile Forces and the Artillery of the Russian Ground Forces, said earlier this month that a missile brigade redeployed to the Kaliningrad region would be equipped with Iskander-M complexes before 2018.

The Iskander-M (also referred to as NATO’s reporting name SS-26 Stone) is characterized by high mobility and maneuverability, as it takes just 20 minutes to place the system in operational readiness.

The system is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 500 kilometers, with a precision of around 30 centimeters. It can hit adversary troops or underground command centers, depending on the warheads placed on the rockets.

The system can also fire high-precision R-500 cruise missiles.

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