Romeo Squared – Defense blog

Month: November 2017

  • You have to practice being jammed

    Estonian intelligence chief Kapo Rosin has an assessment of the Zapad exercise and Russian doctrine in Defense News: The exercise basically [addressed] two factors. First, how to jam the enemy, which is logical; and second, how to operate [within those] conditions themselves. They of course know that an electronic field is both a challenge for […]

  • Historic procurement of Nordic Combat Uniforms reaches prequalification

    The Nordic Combat Uniform (NCU) project is moving ahead with an official invitation to possible candidates for prequalification. The goal is that Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden will buy new combat uniforms together, albeit with national variations in colors and camouflage patterns. By making the procurement together the Nordic countries hope to attract big players […]

  • Russia continues military line with 2018-2027 armament program

    Dmitry Gorenburg in a policy memo for PONARS Eurasia: By the end of 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin will approve Russia’s State Armament Program for 2018-2027. […] Based on these plans, Russia seems primed to stay ahead of its competitors in some capabilities (anti-ship missiles, electronic warfare, air defenses), narrow the gap in areas such […]

  • Lithuania gives old weapons to Ukraine

    Lithuania has decided to give some of its old weapons to Ukraine. This is some 7000 Kalashnikovs, machine guns, mortars, anti-tank weapons, and other equipment including ammunition. The total value of the weapons is just a little short of €2 million. This is the third time that Lithuania supplies weapons to Ukraine. The first time […]

  • Russia completes transformation to Iskander in Kaliningrad

    Russia has completed the transformation to the Iskander-M missile system in Kaliningrad, according to Russian defense blog bmpd. That happened when the 152nd Missile Brigade officially received the modern missile at a ceremony last Monday to replace the old Tochka-U missiles (NATO name SS-21 Scarab). Russia is modernizing its fleet of tactical ballistic missiles at […]

  • Finland will buy 64 new fighter jets

    Finland’s Ministry of Defense has announced that they expect to buy 64 new fighter jets. That means that the country’s F/A-18 Hornets will be replaced on a one to one basis. Manager of the acquisition program Lauri Puranen says to yle.fi that since the new jets are not faster than the old ones, and they […]

  • Lithuania hopes for NATO air defense agreement in 2018

    Lithuanian defense minister Raimundas Karoblis says he hopes that the NATO countries can reach an agreement in 2018 on the principles for a comprehensive air defense concept for the Baltic region, writes Delfi.lt. According to the Lithuanian minister the problem is political, as the technical details are mostly worked out. He therefore hopes that air […]

  • Russia’s new strategic bombers will fly soon

    Dave Majumdar for The National Interest: Early next year in February, the first of Russia’s new production Tupolev Tu-160M2 Blackjack supersonic strategic bombers will take to the air. The new bomber is essentially a prototype of a next generation variant of the venerable Blackjack, the first generation of which was built during the 1980s in […]

  • Strange message about deterrence from Danish general

    Danish Chief of Defense Bjørn Bisserup has given a comprehensive interview to defense website DefenseWatch (in Danish). The interview was published on the same day that I published my review of Gerasimov’s speech, and what a difference. Unfortunately it seems to me that the Russian general has a much more realistic approach to the challenges […]

  • Denmark reopens listening post to eavesdrop on Russia

    The Danish Defense Intelligence Service is building a listening post on the island of Bornholm in order to eavesdrop on Russian radio communications. That reports Danish newspaper Politiken. The mast will be 85 meters high, and the newspaper writes that it will be focused on the VHF frequency band. That sounds like a very narrow […]

  • Sale of Patriot missiles to Poland approved

    The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of Patriot missiles to Poland, reports Reuters: The proposed sale includes 208 Patriot Advanced Capabilty-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement missiles, 16 M903 launching stations, four AN/MPQ-65 radars, four control stations, spares, software and associated equipment. In addition, Poland is authorized to buy U.S. government and contractor technical, […]

  • Germany will probably replace Tornado with F-35

    It looks like Germany might join the F-35 family around 2025. According to Janes the Joint Strike Fighter is the preferred choice as a replacement for the Tornado. The Tornado will retire around 2030, and the transition to its successor will take about five years. It makes a lot of sense to replace the Tornado […]