Monster US warship anchors off Portsmouth, defense chiefs downplay British shrinkage
Published time: March 23, 2015 11:50
Edited time: March 23, 2015 14:30
At more than 100,000 tons, laden with warplanes and missiles and with 5,000 men and women aboard, the American Nimitz Class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt anchored at Portsmouth has British defense chiefs talking down military cuts.
The Roosevelt – known to her crew as Big Stick – is currently moored off Portsmouth because she is simply too big to dock in the port.
Serving alongside the thousands of US sailors and marines, as part of an exchange program, are six aircraft handlers and a navigator from the Royal Navy.
In a statement on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) website, Britain's First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambrellas, lauded the US-UK defense relationship.
“It is excellent to see US Navy carrier steel in Portsmouth.
“And in barely two years we will see UK carrier steel here too,” he said, referring to the UK's two carriers, HMS Queen Elisabeth and the planned HMS Prince of Wales
READ MORE: ‘Very concerned’: Top US general attacks UK military spending cuts
“We warmly welcome the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group – a reflection of the close partnership between our nations and navies, and the value of credible sea power in support of our shared national interests.”
The carrier is in the UK for five days, having made the initial transatlantic leg of her round-the-world operational mission to project US military power around the globe.
But the arrival of so potent a symbol of American might comes at a time when civilian and military defense chiefs on both sides of the Atlantic are airing their concerns over Britain's willingness and capacity to commit to the symbolic NATO contribution of 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon downplayed fears.
“The USS Theodore Roosevelt’s visit shows yet again that UK/US relations are as close as ever. Ten days ago, I was the first of his counterparts to meet incoming Defence Secretary Ash Carter.
READ MORE: NATO will be harmed by UK defense cuts, Obama tells Cameron
“Having the Roosevelt in Portsmouth today is yet another example of the world’s broadest, deepest and most enduring defense relationship at work. I’m thrilled to be going aboard today to welcome the crew personally.”
Yet behind this Atlanticist ardor, a narrative of fear over defense cuts has come to dominate in recent months.
Writing in the Telegraph on Monday, Fallon sketched out the broad range of threats he believes Britain confronts.
“In Eastern Europe, Russia is subverting democracy – seeking to change international borders by force and destabilizing a sovereign state,” wrote Fallon.
“In the Middle East, the ISIL (Islamic State) death cult is spreading a new form of fascism in its warped drive to create a caliphate spanning Syria and Iraq. And in Africa, another jihadist franchise, Boko Haram, is causing chaos in northern Nigeria and along its borders.”
READ MORE: £5bn black hole in UK defense budget poses ‘real risks,’ say MPs
Yet he downplayed concerns about impending strategic impotence, and to some extent buttressed the view on defense taken by Prime Minister David Cameron, writing: “Our Armed Forces now rest on firm financial foundations.
“National security is underpinned by economic security, which is why we have gone from a £38-billion black hole in the defense budget left by Labour, to a properly funded £34-billion-a-year budget. After taking some tough decisions, we still have the largest defense budget in the EU and the second largest in NATO.”
“We are one of only four NATO countries meeting the target to spend 2 percent of our GDP on defense and we will do so this year and next.”
In early March, US Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno said he was “very concerned” about military austerity given the deeply “uncertain global environment.”
READ MORE: ‘Hubris, cowardice, delusion’: MP blasts generals & politicians in defense debate
“We have a bilateral agreement between our two countries to work together. It is about having a partner that has very close values and the same goals as we do,” explained Odierno at the New America Foundation’s ‘Future of War’ conference.
“What has changed, though, is the level of capability. In the past we would have a British Army division working alongside an American army division,” he added. Cuts mean the US Army now expects Britain to provide only half its previous commitment.
Despite fears of British military decline – many of which were expressed in a much-hyped but poorly attended Commons debate on defense reductions two week ago – UK defense spending remains the sixth highest in the world.
Source:
http://rt.com/uk/243157-carrier-us-uk-defence/
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An excellent, large target practice item for Skival torpedo, Brahmos/Sunburn cruise missile, and DF-21D Chinese ballistic missile.
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US Heightens Military Presence in Gulf as Iran Nuclear Deal Approaches
17:13 23.03.2015(updated 17:33 23.03.2015)
As the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 nations come to a head, the US begins Eagle Resolve, a massive military exercise in the Persian Gulf.
With the support of regional allies, the US moved nearly 3,000 military personnel, as well as "air, land, sea, and special operations components," into the gulf on March 8. Taking place just off the coast of Kuwait, the exercise will continue through the end of the month, and is meant to improve the military’s response time should an incident occur in the region.
"Eagle Resolve 2015 will consist of a week-long series of simulated 'injects' to exercise participants' ability to respond as a multinational headquarters staff, followed by a series of tactical demonstrations of land, maritime, and air forces from several nations," reads a fact sheet provided to the Washington Free Beacon by US Central Command. "The exercise ends with a senior leader seminar to foster an environment for commanders to discuss issues of regional interest."
Eagle Resolve will involve tactical exercises from the US Army, Marines, and various other military branches to test readiness in air defense, border security, counterterrorism, as well as "consequence management." These include amphibious landing exercises and ship-based search and seizure operations.
Officials insist that the exercise has been in the planning stages for the last 14 months, and has nothing to do with the Iranian nuclear negotiations.
"The exercise is not intended as a signal to Iran," a CENTCOM official said, according to the Free Beacon. "If there’s any message at all, it’s that all participants have a common interest in regional security."
More:
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150323/1019889953.html
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Russian strategic submarine return to full combat duty
March 23, 2015, 19:15
Photo: Leo Fedoseyev / TASS
Text: Roman Kretsul
Russian submarines have increased for 50% combat duty presence - at least this says the Navy.
10-15 years ago, the Russian missile submarines actually stood in their bases being highly vulnerable to a possible strike. Are now the Russian submarine forces able to bear the sea in full alert?
Russian Navy Commander Viktor Chirkov said that increase of 50% of combat service of Russian submarines was achieved. "I can say that the intensity of the combat service of strategic and multi-purpose submarines in the oceans is maintained at a level that ensures the security of our country. Moreover, I would say that in the period from January 2014 to March 2015 the intensity of the submarines on active service increased by almost 50% compared with year 2013", - he said.
More:
http://www.vzglyad.ru/society/2015/3/23/735618.html
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Russia's new 4th generation Lada submarine to nullify USA's naval power
18.03.2015
The new Russian submarine, Lada, will end the era of USA's reign at sea. Washington will lose the main instrument of "power projection" to remote regions and may finally lose its global geopolitical role as well....
...Rubin Design Bureau - the main developer of submarines in Russia - designed the Lada to deliver salvo torpedo-missile strikes on marine and stationary ground targets both from torpedo tubes and specialized vertical missile silos. Due to the unique sonar system, the Russian sub has a significantly increased distance for target detection. It can submerge at the depth of 300 meters, develop underwater speed of up to 21 knots and submerged endurance of 45 days. To reduce noisiness, vibration isolators are used along with all-mode propulsion motor with permanent magnets. The hull of the submarine is covered with "Molniya" ("Lightning") material that absorbs sonar signals.
The Russian air-independent propulsion power plant will be a lot more energy conserving than its German analogue with up to 25 days of continuing underwater navigation. At the same time, Lada will be substantially less expensive than the German Project 212\214 sub...
More:
http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/18-03-2015/130061-russia_new_lada_submarine-0/
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Posted on 23.03.2015. at 17:52
Poland invited reserves on obligatory military exercises
Poland's defense ministry on Monday published the "urgent" call for compulsory military exercises for several hundred members of the military reserves across the country, and by the end of the year it is planned that these exercises include 12,000 reservists in total.
"This operation, which begins today, is the highest degree of control readiness for recruitment and fight", but "it should not be associated with the current military or political events," according to a ministry statement.
Polish army, which has approximately 100,000 soldiers, is totally professional. In light of the crisis in neighboring Ukraine, it wants to renew and strengthen its reserves, but "there is no question of returning to a system of compulsory military service, as in Lithuania," said Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, who on Friday announced the beginning of deeper cooperation between the regular army and paramilitary organization in order to strengthen the defense of the country, due to the threat of the Ukrainian conflict.
More:
http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/Svijet/tabid/67/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/279442/Default.aspx
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Russia ready to launch fifth generation fighter serial production — deputy minister
March 23, 17:02 UTC+3
The initial number of fifth-generation fighters for purchase may be corrected due to adjustment of the state armaments program
KOMSOMOLSK-ON-AMUR, March 23. /TASS/. The Russian Defense Ministry may adjust the order for the T-50 fifth-generation fighters (PAK FA) in the new economic situation with taking into account the Sukhoi Su-35 high flight characteristics, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said on Monday.
"It would be better for us to have a reserve of PAK-FA and the possibility to move ahead in the future to using the 4+ fighters’ [Su-30 and Su-35] capabilities to the maximum," the deputy minister said.
He also said that the Komsomolsk-on-Amur-based plant in the Russian Far East that is so far making the PAK-FA prototype models is ready to launch the aircraft series production. "According to the next year plans, we should have the first delivery of the series fifth-generation fighters," Borisov said during a visit to the plant.
"Most importantly, I can say that the fighter has been a success," he said."
According to Borisov, the Defense Ministry within the adjustment of the state armaments program reserves the right to determine the number of fifth-generation fighters for purchase, so the initial plans may be corrected.
More:
http://tass.ru/en/russia/784409
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From Baltic Sea to Black Sea: NATO Drills Shadow Operation Barbarossa
With NATO's Operation Atlantic Resolve the Russians are again seeing foreign troops arrayed against them across the height of European continent
This article originally appeared at The Greanville Post
NATO’s Operation Atlantic Resolve paced ahead this week with the latest arrival of more US military forces in the Baltic region. Under the guise of defending eastern Europe from «Russian aggression», more than 100 Abrams tanks and Bradley armoured personnel carriers rolled into Latvia. Last month, a similar motorised display of military support was deployed in Estonia – in the town of Narva – with American flags flown by the US Army’s Second Calvary Regiment just 300 metres from the Russian border.
More:
http://russia-insider.com/en/2015/03/23/4832
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IZAKOVIC
