Thursday, November 15, 2007

Communist Bloc Military Updates: Russia to build aircraft carrier fleet, Kremlin's top general: USA "evil"; Russia Today: "insidious American plans"

According to state-run Novosti, Russia plans to build six aircraft carrier strike groups over the next 20 years, expanding on its sole carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov (pictured here), which was launched in 1985:

Russia has planes that can be used on carriers. For example, the MiG, or rather the MiG-29 KUB (the acronym stands for aircraft carrier combat training). But they are exported to India under a contract to equip their future aircraft carriers.

Russia cannot be said to be blind to the role of aircraft carriers or the navy in modern warfare. In today's unpredictable world, even the mere appearance of a formidable ship featuring three service components sailing off a trouble spot is capable of producing a sobering effect on a potential aggressor.
It was therefore not surprising that in the middle of the year Admiral Vladimir Masorin, commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, announced plans to reform the country's naval forces and build a blue-water navy with the world's second largest fleet of aircraft carriers.

Or rather, in the next 20 years, Russia aims to create six aircraft carrier strike groups, giving it the world's second largest surface navy after the United States.


Although the Kremlin is flush with revenue from gas, oil, and arms exports, US$4 billion is required to build one carrier. Admiral of the Fleet Vladimir Kuroyedov is not deterred by the cost:

We are now abandoning the large-class ships we have or inherited from the Soviet era, and are moving to multi-purpose vessels," said Admiral of the Fleet Vladimir Kuroyedov, the then commander-in-chief of the Navy.

According to him, "Russia will have its own frigates and corvettes unmatched by anything else in the world."

He said, "aircraft carriers belong to the next decade, and to speak of them now is a bit too soon." But, he said, Russia's only aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" would remain. No one, he said, was going to write it off or sell it. "We have not even given that any thought," Kuroyedov said.
Meanwhile, Yuri Baluyevsky, Chief of the Russian General Staff, continues his tirades against "US hegemony." In a November 13 interview with the Russia Today TV channel Baluyevsky stated: "Russia is under no obligation to protect the world from the US." In response to a question whether or not the world can expect Russia to defend it from "insidious American plans," Baluyevsky replied, "Today, there is no need to be afraid of the Russian Armed Forces. However, I do not believe that the Russian military is obliged to defend the world from the evil Americans." How many Americans are cognizant of the fact that Russia's top general considers them "evil"? Uh, Houston, I think we have a problem here.

1 Comments:

Blogger mah29001 said...

Now there's something not to surprising of a top Soviet-Russian general calling the USA "evil" at the same time U.S. generals in general (pardon for the pun) don't see Russia as a major military threat since the "fall" of Communism.

6:39 AM  

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