August 25th Weekly Update

SHIP LOGS & EXERCISES:

Ship & Group Locations Checked & Updated (August 19-25)

• PANAMAX 2012 ended (August 17) at Mayport, FL (US Navy )
• SUMMER STORM 2012 ended (August 19) in Black Sea
• NORTHERN EAGLE 2012 Begins (August 21) in North Sea / Barents Sea
• NATO Amphibious Exercise will begin in (August) in Mediterranean, date TBA, HMS Illustrious and FS C.D. Gaulle tasked to participate

RFS Adm. Panteleyev (DDG)

• (August 19) en-route to Maizuru, Japan after completing RIMPAC 2012, will arrive (August 28) (ITAR-TASS )

USNS Mercy (T-AH-19)

• (August 20) arrives at Guam, offloading supplies and personnel (US Navy )

USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19)

• (August 20) departs Busan, SK following 3-day visit (US Navy )

USS BH Richard ARG (LHD-6)

• (August 20) arrives at Okinawa, Japan ...update schedule, WESTPAC patrol ETA begin in 3-4 days
• (August 21) USS Tortuga (LSD-46) at Okinawa, Japan on-loading vehicles and equipment
• (August 22) 31^st MEU embark ships starting (August 20) (US Navy ); Marine contingent includes members of the Japanese JGSDF (US Navy )

USS Columbus (SSN-762)

• (August 23) Returns to Hawaii, WESTPAC deployment ends (US Navy )

USS Eisenhower CSG (CVN-69)

• (August 20) USS Winston Churchill (DDG-81) aided the bulk carrier MV Belde 110 miles SE of Socotra Island, Oman, after experiencing a cargo handling accident (US Navy )
• (August 22) USS Dunham (DDG-109) departs Souda Bay, Greece (US Navy )

USS Farragut (DDG-99)

• (August 21) begin NORTHERN EAGLE 2012

USS Ft. McHenry (LSD-43)

• (August 19) departed Constanta, Romania, completed exercise SUMMER STORM 2012 ...currently on EUCOM patrol (US Navy )

USS George Washington CSG (CVN-73)

• (August 20) departed Yokosuka, Japan ...currently on WESTPAC patrol (US Navy )
• (August 22) Japanese officials visit the carrier at sea (US Navy )

USS J. Stennis CSG (CVN-74)

• (August 23) CSG will deploy Monday (August 27) for 8-months ...schedule and ORBAT updated (US Navy )

USS Mt. Whitney (LCC-20)

• (August 19) departs Theoule-sur-Mer, France (US Navy )

USS Olympia (SSN-717)

• (August 20) arrives in Yokosuka, Japan ...currently on WESTPAC patrol (US Navy )

USS Swift (HSV-2)

• (August 24) departs Lagos Nigeria after 1-week visit (US Navy )

GROUND UNITS LOGS & EXERCISES:

US Ground units logs updated per DOD reports, up to (August 13-25) (DOD News Releases )

France, UK, Russia, China Army logs updated per various news releases and open sources

• KAVKAZ-2012: (September 17-23), upcoming Russian Army Ex in Caucasus

RUSSIA

• Nitka Training Facility: Russia and the Ukraine renegotiated the lease agreement to allow the Russians to continue using it for naval pilot training, and opening the base up to use by third parties and other aircraft types, in return for monetary payment (RIA Novosti )
• (August 22) Germany welcomes the resumption of 5+1 peace talks in Moldova over the Transdneistre conflict ...Russia has a Motor Rifle Division deployed to Transdneistre, and is working to establish advanced air defense bases there in the Russian-speaking enclave (ITAR-TASS )

UK

• 40 Commando finishing 12-months of training, preparing for deployment to Afghanistan (August 22) (Royal Navy )

USA

• (August 24) US Army announces units planned to rotate into Afghanistan this winter, 2012 (US DOD )
• 2^nd Infantry Division, 2^nd Stryker Brigade – KIA @ Kandahar, Afghanistan (August 18)
• 2^nd Infantry Division, 3^rd Stryker Brigade – KIA @ Panjwa'l, Afghanistan (August 16)
• 2^nd Infantry Division, 3^rd Stryker Brigade – KIA @ Kandahar, Afghanistan (August 22)
• 3^rd Marine Division, 3^rd Regiment – KIA @ Helmand, Afghanistan (August 10)
• 25^th Infantry Division, 25^th Aviation Brigade – KIA @ NE of Kandahar, Afghanistan (August 16)
• 173^rd Airborne Brigade – KIA @ Charkh, Afghanistan (August 15)
• 173^rd Airborne Brigade – KIA @ Wardak Province, Afghanistan (August 17)

NOTEWORTHY NEWS:

IRAN

• (August 21) With Iran's continued threats to destroy Israel, and US General Martin Dempsey remarking that the nuclear program can't be destroyed, only delayed, quiet speculation suggests Israel may consider assassinating Iranian leaders (Debka )

ISRAEL

• (August 20) Israel deploys the Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system at the Red Sea port city of Eilat (RIA Novosti )

RUSSIA

• (August 22) Russia says if it's naval base in Syria at Tartus were attacked, it would evacuate it (Debka )

SYRIA

• (August 20) Turkey urges the UN to create buffer zone in N. Syria for refugees (RIA Novosti )
• (August 22) a Turkish military convoy was hit by several bombs near the Iraqi-Syrian-Turkish border; Turkey claims the Kurdish PKK did it; Iran says Turkey's support for Syrian rebels may have contributed (Debka )

UK

• (August 20) The Royal Navy unveiled the latest design for the new Type-26 Frigate “Global Combat Ship”, which will fully replace the aging Type-23 Frigates after 2020. Thirteen Frigates are planned to be built. (Royal Navy )

USA

• (August 21) Boeing wins a contract to supply 22 AH-64 Apache gunships to India, beating out Russia's MI-28 Night Hunter. The deal includes advanced AN/APG-78 fire control radars, Hellfire anti-tank missiles, and Stinger AA missiles (RIA Novosti )
• (August 22) The Chief of Naval Operations established a board of 4-Navy Admirals known as the LCS Council to oversee the continued fleet testing and introduction of littoral combat ship sea frames, mission modules and mission packages (US Navy )

August 17th Weekly Update

SHIP LOGS & EXERCISES:

Ship & Group Locations Checked & Updated (August 13-17)

• CARAT 2012 continues in WESTPAC? No news since July, ESG may be transiting to new task
• RELIANT MERMAID-2012 Begins (August 13-16) in Mediterranean, International Search & Rescue Exercise (US Navy )
• NORTHERN EAGLE 2012 Begins (August 18) in North Sea / Barents Sea
• NATO Amphibious Exercise will begin in (August) in Mediterranean, date TBA, HMS Illustrious and FS C.D. Gaulle tasked to participate

HMS Dauntless (DDG)

• (August 17) Visiting Falklands (Royal Navy )

HMS Defender (DDG)

• (August 13) Friends & Families Day @ Portsmouth, UK (Royal Navy )

HMS Diamond (DDG)

• (August 14) joins Enterprise CSG in Arabian Sea (Royal Navy )

RFS Adm. Kulakov (DDG)

• (August 16) in Atlantic, begins return trip home after patroling for pirates off Somalia and leading the Mediterranean ITF. Kulakov is planning to visit Lisbon, Portsmouth and Cork (Naval Today )

RUSSIAN INTERFLEET TASK FORCE

• (August 11) ends 2-day tactical drill in Mediterranean
• (August 12) misses port call in Novorossiisk, Russia for supplies
• (August 13) near Italy, training in central Mediterranean …heading West? No explanation (RIA Novosti )
• (August 17) group splits, the LSTs head into Atlantic for exercises, the FFGs return to their patrol station in Mediterranean (RIA Novosti )

USNS Mercy (T-AH-19)

• (August 13) PP12 Cambodia completed, Mercy returning to San Diego (US Navy )

USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19)

• (August 14) departs Fukuoka, Japan ...currently on WESTPAC patrol (US Navy )

USS BH Richard (LHD-6)

• (August 12) training in Pacific, Firefighting EX ...add to schedule, EST possible WESTPAC deployment in December

USS Carr (FFG-52) 

• (August 14) assists sailing vessel in the Western Caribbean (US Navy )

USS D. Eisenhower CSG (CVN-69)

• (August 12) CSG in Arabian Sea, Vice Chief of Naval Operations visits ship
• (August 12) USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) @ Haifa, Israel for RELIANT MERMAID 2012
• (August 15) USS Hue City (CG-66) aids a distressed Iranian flagged dhow MV Payam SE of Muscat, Oman (US Navy )

USS Enterprise CSG (CVN-65)

• (August 12) USS Porter (DDG-78) Collides with Japanese freighter MV Otowasan in Strait of Hormuz, @ Jebel Ali, UAE for repair (US Navy )
• (August 14) HMS Diamond (DDG) joins CSG in Arabian Sea
• (August 16) USS Porter (DDG-78) receives assistance from USS O'Kane (DDG-77) while in port @ UAE (O'Kane is currently on independent WESTPAC / CENTCOM deployment) (US Navy )

USS Farragut (DDG-99)

• (August 11) departed Tallinn, Estonia after 3-day port visit ...currently on EUCOM deployment (US Navy )

USS Forrest Sherman (DDG-98)

• (August 13) participating in RELIANT MERMAID-2012 ...currently on EUCOM deployment

USS G. Ford (CVN) 

• (August 9) US Navy delays combat stress test for new CVN until second ship in class is built due to costs

USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20)

• (August 14) visiting Theoule-Sur-Mer, France to commemorate the 68^th anniversary of the landing of allied troops there in WWII (US Navy )

USS Peleliu (LHA-5)

• (August 15) Begin CERTEX (lasts 2-weeks, then will be available for deployment) (US Navy )

USS Swift (HSV-2)

• (August 11) departed Liberia ...currently on APS-West deployment (US Navy )

USS Topeka (SSN-754)

• (August 10) @ Yokosuka, Japan ...currently on WESTPAC deployment

GROUND UNITS LOGS & EXERCISES:

US Ground units logs updated per DOD reports, up to (August 13-17) (DOD News Releases )

France, UK, Russia, China Army logs updated per various news releases and open sources

• KAVKAZ-2012: (September 17-23), upcoming Russian Army Ex in Caucasus

NOTEWORTHY NEWS:

EGYPT

• (August 13) President Morsi stages what some describe as a civilian counter-coup on the military, and dismisses the top leadership of the Army (Yahoo News)
• POLAND
• (August 14) Poland is planning to replace it's obsolete SU-22 strike fighters with 30-UCAV aircraft by 2018, forming 3-squadrons (RIA Novosti )

RUSSIA

• (August 14) Russian Akula Class attack subs were discovered patrolling the Gulf of Mexico after they left the area ...I wonder, did we know they were there, but didn't want them to know; or did we not know until it was too late, and have a big hole in our anti-sub detection network?
• (August 16) US denies that the Akula SSN was undetected (RIA Novosti )

SYRIA

• (August 13) Rebels claim to have shot down Syrian fighter over Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria. Government says it crashed from technical problems (Debka ); In Aleppo, Syrian army storms the western neighborhoods with tanks and APCs (RIA Novosti )
• (August 14) Russia complains about false media reports in a Saudi paper, stating Assad will soon resign, according to an interview with a Russian diplomat, which the Kremlin says never happened (RIA Novosti ); Iranian pilgrims captured in Syria are revealed to be IRNG fighters, sent to support the Assad regime (Fox News )
• (August 16) UN Monitors quit mission, saying both sides are committed to war (Yahoo News ); Meanwhile, diplomatic sources say the US and their allies are discussing to potential to sending up to 60,000 troops into Syria to secure the chemical weapons in the event the Syrian government and security forces collapse (Debka )
• (August 17) UN appoints new peace envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, former Algerian Foreign Minister (RIA Novosti )

USA

• (August 14) The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is soliciting bids to develop a kilowatt-scale solid-state laser for use on naval ships as a Point-Defense against drones and small boat threats. The last test was in 2011 on board a decommissioned navy ship, and it proved able to disable a small boat target (US Navy )

August 11th Weekly Update

SHIP LOCATIONS:

Ship & Group Locations Checked / Updated (August 5 - 11)

• CARAT 2012 continues in WESTPAC
• NORTHERN EAGLE 2012 will begin (August 18^th) in North Sea / Barents Sea
• NATO Amphibious Exercise will begin in (August) in Mediterranean, date TBA, HMS Illustrious and FS C.D. Gaulle tasked to participate

SHIP LOGS:

August 6

• HMAS Canberra (LHD) arrives in Melbourne, Australia next month for installation of it's superstructure and systems (Courier Mail )
• HMS Diamond (DDG) arrives in Persian Gulf, begins patrol
• PLAAN Yantai (FFG) visits Varna, Bulgaria (Aug 5) (China Economic Net )
• PLAAN Zhenghe training ship visiting French Polynesia (Aug 3) (China Economic Net )
• RUSSIAN INTERFLEET TASK FORCE: currently in Mediterranean patrolling (...ORBAT updated and fixed) (Naval Today )
• USS T. Roosevelt (CVN-71) begins Chief Induction Season (...currently in Maintenance @ Newport News)

August 7

• HMS Sutherland (FFG) arrives in AOR east of Suez, begins patrol
• USS A. Lincoln (CVN-72) arrives at Norfolk, deployment ends, preparing for maintenance phase (...removed from Active Schedule)

August 8

• HMS Westminster (FFG) will return to UK from Indian Ocean patrol on (August 13) (Royal Navy )
• USS Boxer (LHD-4) crew perform flight deck firefighting training, preparing for Aviation Certs
• USS J.E. Williams (DDG-95) rescues Iranian sailors from burning vessel in Gulf of Oman (..currently part of Enterprise CSG)
• USS Louisville (SSN-724) completes WESTPAC deployment, returns to Pearl Harbor (...removed from log)
• USS Olympia (SSN-717) begins WESTPAC deployment (...log updated)

August 9

• FS Jean Bart (DDG) at Cyprus, Train with Cypriot Coast Guard (French Navy )
• USS Farragut (DDG-99) visited Riga, Latvia on (Aug 4) for 4-days (...currently on EUCOM deployment)
• USS Nimitz (CVN-68) begins onloading supplies after RIMPAC (August 4)

August 10

• HMS Dauntless (DDG) finishing visit to Cape Town, South Africa (Royal Navy )
• USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) visiting Fukuoka, Japan (US Navy )

August 11

• RUSSIAN INTERFLEET TASK FORCE: completed a 2-day tactical exercise in Mediterranean (RIA Novosti )
• USS Vela Gulf (CG-72) returns to Norfolk after EUCOM deployment (Hampton Roads )

GROUND UNITS LOGS:

Ground units locations updated per DOD reports, up to (August 5 – 11) (DOD News Releases )

• INDRA 2012 began (August 5^th), Anti-terror exercise with Russia and India being held in Russia's Far East District for 1-week (RIA Novosti ). Here's a video of Indian and Russian tank crews practicing during the exercise (...I noticed the Russians have adopted a computer generated camo pattern for their uniforms, much like the US, but retaining their preferred drab green emphasis ...who do I have to talk to to buy a uniform set? It would look cool while doing yard work or hiking!) (RIA Novosti video )
• KAVKAZ-2012: (September 17-23) upcoming Russian Ex in Caucasus
• French BG Steel units, working with Afghan army and police, clashed with Taliban units near Tagab District bridge, 2-French troops wounded, 12-Taliban KIA (French Def Min )
• UK Light Dragoons – discover and destroy large cache of bomb making equipment in Helmand, Afghanistan (UK MOD )
• UK The Rifles, 3^rd Battalion – KIA @ Nad-e Ali, Helmand Prov., Afghanistan (August 10) (UK MOD )
• UK 26 Engineer Regiment, 30 Armored Engineer Squadron – KIA @ Nad-e Ali, Helmand Prov., Afghanistan (August 10) (UK MOD )
• US 1^st Marine Division, 1^st Regiment – KIA @ Shaban, Afghanistan (August 7)
• US 4^th Infantry Division, 4^th Brigade – KIA @ Sarkowi, Kunar Province, Afghanistan (August 8)
• US 25^th Infantry Division, 4^th Brigade – KIA @ Koragay, Afghanistan (August 7)
• US 82^nd Airborne Division, 4^th Brigade – KIA @ Kandahar, Afghanistan (August 2)

NOTEWORTHY NEWS:

August 6

• SYRIA: Syria's Prime Minister Riyad Hijab defects, flees country, denounces Assad regime (Reuters); The Army claims to be bracing itself for a decisive blow against the rebels in Aleppo, while they push deeper into the city heart and stage hit-and-run attacks in Damascus (AP)

August 7

• RUSSIA: KAVKAZ-2012 EX, Russian Defense Ministry says foreign observers won't be invited to the upcoming strategic command staff wargames (September 17-23) (ITAR-TASS); also reported that Iskander ballistic missiles will be live fired (RIA Novosti )

August 10

• IRAN: Russia says that if Iran doesn't drop their suit for S-300 air defense systems, then Russia may withdraw their international support for the Iranian government (ITAR-TASS )
• RUSSIA: Russia is planning to reequip their Air Force air defense units with S-400 (SA-21), S-300 (SA-12) and Pantsyr-S1 (SA-22) by 2020 (RIA Novosti )
• SYRIA: Army says they've pushed the rebels out of Salaheddin District of Aleppo (RIA Novosti )
• USA: The US is planning to deploy their missile defense systems, Radars and Interceptors, with the triggers held by individual nations (RIA Novosti )

August 11

• SYRIA: French special forces are reportedly in Jordan on the Syrian border alongside US and UK units. It's said that their mission is to assist the Syrian rebels there, but observers say the troops are trained for deep penetration (Debka ) However, France reports an army surgical team has been deployed from Brest to Jordan, with the ability to do 10-operations per day and a 20-bed capasity (France Def Ministry )

INDRA 2012

(RIA Novosti ) Russia and India will begin joint INDRA-2012 anti-terrorism military exercises in the Siberian republic of Buryatia on Sunday, a spokesman for Russia’s Eastern Military District said.

The drills will be held at the Burduny training range until August 16.

On Sunday, Russian and Indian troops will arrive at the training range and begin preparing for an active phase of the exercises, which will begin on August 13, the spokesman said.

Some 500 servicemen – about 250 on each side – will take part in the drills, which will be conducted using Russian-made combat vehicles.

Since 2003, India and Russia have conducted five INDRA-series joint ground and naval exercises. The last such exercise was held in India in October 2010.

Russia cancelled both INDRA-series ground and naval exercises last year despite an earlier announcement by the Russian General Staff that INDRA drills may be held every year and involve three branches of the armed forces.

India is the world’s largest arms importer and a key buyer of Russian weaponry. In 2007-2011, Delhi purchased some $12.7 billion in arms, 80 percent of that from Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

August 4th Weekly Update

SHIP LOCATIONS:

Ship & Group Locations Checked / Updated (July 29 – August 4)

• RIMPAC 2012: Concludes (August 3) (...no alien invasion reported) (US Navy )

SHIP LOGS:

July 31

• HMS Sutherland (FFG): in Indian Ocean, relieves HMS Westminster (FFG), Westminster expected in UK in August (Royal Navy )

August 1

• HMS Daring (DDG): returns to UK from Indian Ocean deployment, relieved by Diamond (Royal Navy )
  
• HMS Middleton and Pembroke (MCM): assist disabled cargo ship in Gulf of Aden on (July 27), currently enroute to UK after 2.5-year term in Persian Gulf
  
• USS A. Lincoln (CVN-72): is scheduled to arrive at Norfolk on (August 7) (US Navy )
  
• USS Simpson (FFG-56): returns to Norfolk from EUCOM / APS deployment (removed from log)
  
• Russia announces that metal cutting on their first Mistral Class LHD began at Russia's Baltic Shipyard (RIA Novosti )
  

August 2

• USS Kearsarge (LHD-3): in Atlantic providing NROTC Surace Orientation and CORTRAMID with USS Gravely (DDG-107)
  
• USS C. Vinson (CVN-70): Begins PIA Maintenance Period (US Navy )
  

August 3

• RFS Chabanenko (DDG): preparing for NORTHERN EAGLE 2012 (Naval Today )
  
• USS Essex (LHD-2): visits Pearl Harbor, HA
  
• USS Nimitz (CVN-68): visits Pearl Harbor, HA
  
• USS Swift (HSV-2): Visits Liberia (US Navy )
  

GROUND UNITS LOGS:

Ground units locations updated per DOD reports, up to (July 29 – August 4) (http://www.defense.gov/releases/ )

• 1^st Marine Division, 7^th Regiment – KIA @ Helmand, Afghanistan (Aug 1)
• 1^st Infantry Division, 4^th Brigade – KIA @ Paktika, Afghanistan (Aug 1)
• 2^nd Infantry Division, 2^nd Stryker Brigade – KIA @ Khakrez, Afghanistan (July 26)
• 10^th Mountain Division, 10^th Sustainment Brigade – KIA @ Wardak, Afghanistan (July 28)
• 173^rd Airborne Brigade – KIA @ Kharwar, Afghanistan (July 27)

NOTEWORTHY NEWS:

July 29

• USA: US Navy tests the X-47B unmanned combat drone, flying it from Edwards AFB to Pax River testing center. The UCAS will be tested for carrier operations, including arrested landings and catapult launches (LA Times )

July 30

• RUSSIA: Russia is expecting to finalize an agreement with Ukraine by end of year allowing it to modernize the naval base in Crimea and homeport modern warships there, as well as continue using the airfield at Nitka to train carrier pilots (...also mentioned are plans to build three CVNs in the near future) (RIA Novosti )
• SYRIA: Syrian Charge d' Affaires in London resigns his post in protest of the regimes handling of the civil conflict in Syria; In Aleppo, Syrian forces bombard positions with tanks, artillery and helicopter gunships. The army says rebel strongholds have been captured, but the rebels disagree

August 1

• IRAN: Debka reports that Iran's supreme leader summoned the top military chiefs for what was termed their last war council. The leader was disclosed as estimating a timeline for conflict as being in September or October, and each Chief provided updates to their contingency plan for retaliation
• ISRAEL: A Palestinian anti-tank missile was successfully defeated by the “Wind Jacket” active defense system installed on an armored vehicle.
• I remember a few years ago when Israel invaded southern Lebanon in response to Hezballah actions, and spotting a strange device installed on an IDF Merkava tank that was part of the successful follow-up force (not the blunted initial force). I speculated openly about it being a new active defense system for IDF vehicles, and I forwarded it to my contacts for verification, but received no reply. This is the first openly reported confirmation (that I can think of) of a domestically produced vehicle defense system for the IDF. The only other viable system is currently installed on Russian armor. Hmmm, possible Russian collaboration? Drone tech for Active Defense tech?
• SYRIA:
• UN Observers report Syrian AF jets firing on rebel positions in Aleppo (this constitutes an escalation, only artillery, armor and gunships were used previously)
• RIA Novosti reports Turkey has been supplying the Free Syria Army with about 2-dozen MANPADS air defense systems, initially reported by NBC.

August 2

• TURKEY: Army holds exercises near Syrian border, is expected to last 1-week (RIA Novosti )

August 3

• RUSSIA: Now Russia says it's fleet in the Mediterranean might visit Tartus, Syria
• ...note the CG in the pic, but not in ORBAT, pic might not be of the actual Task Force, or they haven't fully disclosed the Black Sea Fleet part of it ...if this is an accurate pic, I bet it's the Moskva from the Black Sea Fleet ...note also their plans to drill again in September (RIA Novosti )
• I think part of my problem with reporting Russia's ships near Syria is that the current ORBAT info is non-existant, but the initial Chabanenko TF orbat seems to remain intact. I'm thinking the current TF in the Mediterranean is part of the Smetlivy deployment, but without mentioning which ships are involved. The Chabanenko TF may be in place as wello, but without the declared Flagship, which remains in the North Sea training for NORTHERN EAGLE. At the same time the Kuznetsov CSG is forming, and plans to train and then go to Syria as well. Either way, this should be considered... The Russians have a task force in the Mediterranean; It has a strong amphibious component; It has 1-3 DDG's or FFG's protecting it, and posssibly a CG / BCGN; It will be boosted soon by their CV; The Russian's are sending mixed signals about it's ORBAT, activities, mission, and timeframes, but expect the force (in some form) to remain in place until the end of the year, maintain a hidden offensive amphibious ability behind a declared evacuation mission, to peak in strength late Fall to early Winter if the CV enters the area; Expect them to “own” the area for 6-months. Also, listen to what the UK and France say about Syria. They may send a TF to Syria after the August exercises near Sardinia that is able to directly challenge the Russians ship for ship. But, like Libya, I expect the US to fall to the rear in a support roll ...but that may depend on the US presidential election.

August 4

• SYRIA: Kofi Annan quit as UN coordinator to the ME,some say due to his inability to resolve the Syrian situation in any satisfactory manner, and Ban Ki Moon expresses fear over the fragmentation of Syria into warring factions as various militias continue to form throughout country, some competing with and displacing others. The army continues to pound Aleppo and Damascus (DEBKA ) (Reuters )

Today's Russian Navy, with some speculation...

Here's a RIA Novosti Infographic link showing the current composition of the active duty Russian Navy...

http://www.en.rian.ru/infographics/20120801/174900219.html

Something to consider... The activity levels of most navy's run something like this...

30% Deployed
30% in Training, can be deployed if needed
30% in Maintenance

Now look at the Russian Pacific fleet. If an offensive task force was formed, possibly including amphibious capability, the fleets major combatants include...
2-CG/BCGN
8-DDG
4-LST

So, on any given day, they could only field...
1-CG/BCGN
5 or 6-DDG
2 or 3-LST

Considering the US Navy has a battlegroup and / or independant deployed warships in the area that equal the max available Russian task force, PLUS a CVN, not including the ones in Japan, Guam or Hawaii ready to rock if needed, and not considering the SK, Japanese or Australians ... and the Russian menace would appear to be meaningless, except as a spoiler force using Sea Denial tactics with raids and submarines ...with a 20-minute lifespan

So, what am I saying? The DOD is all about China being the big boogey-man ...that's why we're building our alliances and forces there. The Russians are has-been's.

There's an ongoing debate, one that never makes the news because no one cares ...yet. China is the emerging threat, but Russia isn't gone. Russia and China may be each others worst friends. China's been stealing Russian tech and practically colonizing Siberia. China is not only approaching parity with us, but they'll beat Russia even sooner ...and Russia is at a greater disability versus China than we are. If anything, Russia should fear China to a greater degree than us.

So, what about Russia? High gas prices over the last few years have benefited the Russian's much more than the Saudi's. They've initiated alot of advanced weapons and military modernization programs. When China hits that so-called break even with the US in 2020 - 2050, so will the Russians. But no one is watching, and no one is asking what the Russian's are planning to do with those CVN's, heavy cruisers, Mistral amphibious ships and SSBN's.

Most commentators think they're just blowing cash on trophy systems, when they should be building FFG's instead, and coordinating with NATO ...because they'll be joining NATO anyway. But considering everything the Russian's have been saying, and building, and saying "no" too ...then let's look at a map and do some projections.

If China is Russia's main perceived threat, then one could expect Russia to react to the China break-even date by consolidating a mutual defense partnership of some sort with NATO / Europe by that time. Why? because China is a bigger threat to Russia than to us. All the US has to do is spoil China's ability to project naval & air power, and dent the PLA into a stalemate ...not that hard. But Russia has the full Chinese army to contend with, and a bigger modern navy right next door ...a very unpleasant proposition. Russia, in spite of all it's pride and bluster, will need the US / Europe / pro-west alliances to add counterweight versus the Chinese, or they can kiss Siberia goodbye long before the US looses anything of true value in the Pacific.

BUT, if Russia doesn't act to counter the Chinese in time, and continues the current track, then China isn't their main concern ...it's the US. Russia will use the Chinese to blunt and distract us, then act on the flanks to solidify it's world powerbase. It may even use it's economic supply-side influence to isolate Europe from the US, and maybe even form a Russo-centric alliance with Europe, asia and or the middle-east, instead of a NATO-centric one, or one that emphasises US primacy in any way.

So Russia is now reaching our to Europe, buying ships and systems, and even Israeli drone systems. But is it's purpose to gradually melt into the west, or to gain a power position able to usurp the US?

The next ten years could be very telling indeed...