Sweden replaces the intelligence ship Orion with a larger and more modern version. Signals intelligence is an important part of naval operations during peacetime and in the phases of conflict before a war breaks out. The new ship will be ready in 2020.
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Russia’s military budget has nothing to do with the GDP of Spain
An often used reference to the GDP of Spain says nothing about Russia’s military potential. Instead, Russia’s defense budget gives them the same purchasing power as Germany, France, and the United Kingdom combined.
Russia builds six more Borei-A submarines and cancels Borei-B project
Russia has decided to build six more Borei-A submarines. This will give Russia a total of 14 modern strategic nuclear submarines. The development of the Borei-B class has been canceled.
How could Israel destroy a cutting edge Russian air defense system?
Israel destroyed a Syrian Pantsir-S1 air defense system last week. Did this modern piece of Russian weapon technology fail, or is there another explanation? Poor tactics and neglect on the part of the Syrian soldiers have probably played an important role.
Forbidding soldiers to talk on the phone doesn’t improve security
Russia introduces rules to limit phone use in the military. The purpose is to save money on phone bills and to improve information security. The consequence may well be the opposite – worse security and wasted money on bureaucratic control.
Germany buys six C-130 transport and tanker planes for French-German squadron
The U.S. State Department has approved Germany’s purchase of three C-130J transport aircraft and three KC-130J tanker aircraft. Germany will use them in a combined French-German squadron where France also contributes with four C-130Js.
Ukraine adopts warship pennant number system from NATO
Ukraine has adopted the pennant number system from NATO. This means that Ukrainian warships will get a letter that matches their type according to NATO’s system. Incidentally there now is a Ukrainian training vessel with the same pennant number as the Danish royal yacht.
15,000 troops make Siil 2018 the largest exercise ever in Estonia
Siil 2018 is the largest military exercise in Estonia to date. More than 15,000 troops take part, including 2,000 from other countries. It takes place on 2-14 May.
Nuclear Notebook publishes status on Russian nuclear forces, 2018
Russia has 4,350 functional nuclear warheads. 1,600 of these are deployed and ready for use, and 2,750 are in reserve. These are just some of the numbers that can be found in Kristensen and Norris’ great overview of Russia’s nuclear forces.
What to expect for naval parade in Saint Petersburg on 29 July 2018
Details have started emerging about the attending ships at this year’s naval day celebration in Saint Petersburg. Not quite the same display of everything related to “the biggest in the world” as last year, but still an impressive collection of warships.
Lessons for Western armies from the war in Ukraine
Article recommendation: Liam Collins identifies a good list of lessons to be learned from the war in Ukraine about war with a near-pear adversary. Some of the items are old skills that counter-insurgency focused thinking has caused Western armies to forget. Others are truly new.
