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.
Archives for April 2018
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.
Delivery of Russia’s first Borei-A class submarine postponed to 2019
The delivery of Russia’s first Borei-A class nuclear submarine, Knyaz Vladimir, is postponed to 2019. Borei-A is an improved version of the Borei-class which is Russia’s modern strategic nuclear missile submarine.
Who cheated whom in Russian-British submarine duel?
Did Russian diesel submarines really hunt down a British nuclear submarine and prevent it from launching missiles on Syria? Or did the British successfully keep the Russians occupied with a submarine which was never intended to launch missiles in the first place?
Lessons from Ukraine’s decision to give up nuclear weapons
Article recommendation: Ukraine renounced its nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Budjeryn and Sinovets have identified some interesting insights that are relevant for future nonproliferation cases. Deals are still possible, but the price has increased.
Ships from Russian Baltic Fleet rotate on deployment
Frigate Yaroslav Mudry and tanker Lena are headed for the Mediterranean, and the landing ship Minsk is returning home.
Leadership culture and a reckless instructor led to U.S. Navy plane crash
A T-45 training aircraft stalled and crashed when the pilot instructor directed the student to perform dangerous maneuvers at low altitude. Leadership culture in the squadron and poor instructor qualifications are among the explanations.
Helicopter crashes on Russian problem ship Ivan Gren
A helicopter crash in the Baltic Sea has cost the lives of two Russian pilots. They were practicing deck landings on a new landing ship which will be delivered to the Navy in May. The helicopter crash is a sad culmination of a long series of bad luck with the ship which has been under construction for 14 years.
Warship diplomacy: British intervention in the Baltic from 1800-1801
Article recommendation: This account of the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 is worth reading. Alliances change, technology develops, yet human nature makes the French Revolutionary Wars discouragingly relevant today.
Powerful maritime patrol UAVs to Germany
U.S. State Department has approved the sale of MQ-4C Triton drones to Germany. It is a terrific UAV which will give Germany a powerful surveillance capability. And this time the drone has an approved anti-collision system, so there is hope for more success than in Germany’s earlier adventures with the EuroHawk.
