Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

T-14 Russian MBT ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Vitaly V. Kuzmin) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz Stefan- Gady The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has for the first time officially revealed the Russian Ground Forces’ most advanced armored fighting vehicles, including a brand new main-battle tank, self-propelled artillery, and new armored personnel carrier, ahead of the May 9 Moscow Victory Day Parade (see: “‘Arma Virumque Cano’ – Parades and Militarism in Asia”). It is important to not that the recently published photos on the Russian MoD’s website revealed prospective military hardware not yet commissioned into the Russian Armed Forces. Additionally, the vehicles displayed on the images have all their their weapon systems covered, which makes the initial analysis of the equipment highly speculative. “During the May 9 parade in Blagoveshchensk we will be showcasing for the first time the latest types of arms and military hardware the Eastern Military

Russian S-400 SAM ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- UMNICK) Source- The National Interest Author- Rebecca M. Miller Russia has doubled the number of S-400 air defense system it deploys in its far east region as part of a larger military buildup in the region. Reports in Russian state-media, citing the Russian Defense Ministry, say that Moscow has deployed yet another S-400 missile defense system to the Kamchatka Peninsula; according to the Russian defense ministry. The reports said that Russia ultimately intends to deploy five S-400 systems to protect Kamchatka’s skies. The S-400 is one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world, and can be equipped with missiles with ranges between 120 km to 400 km (long-range). The system can shoot down anything from small aircraft to ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads. The S-400 is already deployed around Moscow and St. Petersburg, and Severomorsk, which is where Russia’s Northern Fleet is bas

President Vladimir Putin ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons /   Author- Kremlin ) Source- The National Interest Author- Nikholas K. Gvosdev If I were a strategist advising the Russian government on key national-security objectives for 2015 (and I am not), here would be five priorities for the year: First, the Kremlin needs to beat back the so-called “Maidan challenge” in Ukraine. Any consolidation of a westward-leaning administration, especially one that successfully undertakes the economic and security reforms that would make it easier to contemplate closer and more meaningful relations between Ukraine and NATO and the European Union, without also guaranteeing Russian equities, remains a critical danger to Moscow’s interests. This challenge, after the Orange Revolution in 2004, was met by the implosion of the coalition that spearheaded the dramatic political shift and by its subsequent inability once in government to deliver on any substantial reforms. While former U

Vladimir Putin ( Image courtesy-Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin) Angry with the West’s response over Ukraine and eager to diversify its options, Russia is moving rapidly to bolster ties with North Korea in a diplomatic nose-thumbing that could complicate the US-led effort to squeeze Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear weapons programme. Russia’s proactive strategy in Asia, which also involves cozying up to China and has been dubbed “Putin’s Pivot,” began years ago as Moscow’s answer to Washington’s much-touted alliance-building and rebalancing of its military forces in the Pacific. But it has gained a new sense of urgency since Ukraine – and Pyongyang is already getting a big windfall. Moscow’s overtures to North Korea reflect both a defensive distancing from the EU and Washington because of their sanctions over Ukraine and a broader, long-term effort by Russia to strengthen its hand in Asia by building political alliances, expanding energy exports and developing Russian re

More fourth-generation fighters, including the Sukhoi Su-35S, will be deployed to the Russian city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Khabarovsk Krai region near the Chinese border in response to the growing strength of Chinese, American and Japanese air power in the Far East, according to the Canadian-based Kanwa Defense Review operated by military analyst Andrei Chang also known as Pinkov. Through providing S-300 air defense missiles and a Yakovlev Yak-130 trainer to Belarus, Russia had solidified its buffer zone in Eastren Europe against NATO air power. At the same time, Russia is encouraging Belarus to purchase 18 decommissioned Sukhoi Su-30K fighters from the Indian Air Force; however, the magazine said that the situation in the Far East is very different from that in Eastern Europe. As the People's Liberation Army Air Force and the PLA Navy Air Force become more powerful in the Far East after introducing new aircraft, equipment, doctrine and training systems, the United States

Image courtesy- Wikimedia commons and the author The Yantar shipyard in  Russia ’s Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad on Friday floated out the first in a series of six Project 11356 frigates being built for the Black Sea Fleet, the company said. The Admiral Grigorovich was laid down in December 2010. Four more ships of the same class are in various stages of construction at the shipyard. All six frigates will be delivered to the Black Sea Fleet between 2014 and 2017 under two contracts with the Defense Ministry. The Project 11356 frigates, displacing 3,850 tons, are designed for anti-ship and  anti-submarine warfare  as well as for air defense missions, operating both independently or as part of convoys and naval task forces. The frigates are armed with an eight-cell launcher for Kalibr and Klub (3M54E) anti-ship and surface-to-surface missiles, a 100-mm main gun, Kashtan gun/missile close-in air defense systems, Shtil vertical-launch air defense missile systems, two torpedo tu

Image courtesy- Wikimedia Commons President Obama’s former defense secretary is making a grim prediction: At the end of the day,  Russia will successfully annex Crimea  from Ukraine, no matter how many economic  sanctions or assets freezes  the West imposes. In an interview on Fox News Sunday,  Bob Gates said that Vladimir Putin  “wants to recreate the Soviet Union,” and sees the Crimean invasion as “taking back territory that belonged to them.” The best thing the U.S. and its allies can do at this point, according to Gates, is prevent more countries from falling into Russia’s sphere of influence. “I do not believe that Crimea will slip out of Russia’s hands,” Gates said. “You think Crimea’s gone?,” host Chris Wallace asked. “I do,” Gates responded. Next week,  Crimea will hold a referendum  on whether or not to reincorporate itself into Russia. Moscow, not surprisingly, supports the referendum, while Ukraine’s leadership has called the referendum illegal. Prime Minister

http://thediplomat.com/flashpoints-blog/2013/11/05/to-hedge-its-bets-russia-is-encircling-china/