Advances in synthetic biology creates great opportunities for commercial use, but they also make it easy for people to produce and proliferate biological weapons. Al Mauroni has written a good article about the problem.
About Anders Puck Nielsen
Did a Russian frigate track down an Ohio class submarine?
The Russian frigate Admiral Essen tracked down an American Ohio class submarine back in April. That claims a Russian newspaper which puts great pride in the accomplishment. But isn’t it a weird thing to brag about? After all, it does reveal that most of the time you have no clue where the American submarines are.
Baltic and Black Sea compared – deterred in the North
Nikolas Gvosdev argues in War on the Rocks that Russia’s build-up in the Black Sea Basin is more concerning than in the Baltic Area. This leads me to reflect on the differences. The Black Sea area is more contested, and there is no united deterrence against Russia. But that does not mean that there is room for complacency in the Baltic region.
U.S. approves sale of four Black Hawk helicopters to Latvia
The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of four Blackhawk helicopters to Latvia for an estimated cost of $200 million. This does not mean that a deal is made, but if Latvia decides to buy Blackhawk, they will get a good and reliable helicopter.
U.S. approves sale of SM2 missiles to Denmark
The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of SM2 missiles to Denmark. The plan is to use them to increase the capabilities of Denmark’s Iver Huitfeldt class frigates which so far have sailed around with empty Mark 41 launchers.
Civilians can know military stuff too
Lately there has been a heated debate in War on the Rocks about Professional Military Education. It has turned into something of a spectacle where military and civilian teachers respectively argue that their own competencies are the most important. Tammy S. Schultz provides the sane perspective in her piece titled The Road Less Travelled: Both […]
Video of Navy Day parade in Saint Petersburg, producers missed the flagship
Here is a video of the Navy Day 2018 parade in Saint Petersburg. Unfortunately, the TV producers fail to show the flagship of the parade, the nuclear submarine Orel. It seems they got their submarines mixed up and showed pictures of a Kilo class instead.
Bulava missile now operational — a closer look at Russia’s new SLBM
The Bulava missile is Russia’s new submarine-launched ballistic missile. I have taken a closer look at the history and capabilities of the missile upon the announcement that it has now reached operational status.
Russia builds dedicated training ship for helicopter operations
Russia has decided to build a dedicated ship for helicopter training. This seems like a good choice. Helicopter practice is a huge time drain on operational ships, and Russia’s demand for maritime pilots is growing. It will also come in handy when the Helix helicopter is up for replacement in a few years.
More details about naval parade in Saint Petersburg on 29 July
The Russian military press is full of stories about preparations for the Naval Day Parade. I have collected some of them to give and idea about which units we will see in Saint Petersburg, and which naval movements we can expect in the Baltic Sea in the near future.
