Undated photo of Russian spy ship Pribaltika (SSV-80). Sources confirmed the ship is operating off the coast of Hawaii.
Moscow has dispatched a specialized spy ship off the coast of Hawaii with the likely mission to monitor the U.S. Navy led Rim of the Pacific 2016 exercise, USNI News has learned. Read More
Russian Frigate Yaroslav Mudry (FF-777) before the ship’s hull number was changed. RIA Novosti Photo
THE PENTAGON — A Russian frigate again came dangerously close to U.S. ships tasked with striking ISIS targets in Syria from the Eastern Mediterranean – coming within 150 yards of the Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group while the carrier was conducting flight operations on Thursday, USNI News has learned. Read More
USS Gravely on June 17, 2016 from the deck of Russian frigate Yaroslav Mudry. image via RT
A Russian frigate the Kremlin claims was harassed by a U.S. guided missile destroyer was attempting to disrupt an aircraft carrier tasked with fighting ISIS, a U.S. official told USNI News on Tuesday afternoon. Read More
U.K. Defense Minister Michael Fallon
LONDON — Britain’s defense secretary has attempted to calm frayed nerves amid claims that the country’s decision to exit the European Union will provoke financial meltdown and leave the world a more dangerous place. Read More
Military parade in Red Square in Moscow on May 9, 2016. Kremlin Photo
The Soviet Union’s old doctrine was: You deter World War III with nuclear weapons. Now Russia’s new doctrine: Threaten to use nuclear weapons against any major power that may try to block Moscow from having its way in a regional conflict, a specialist in Russian nuclear strategy said on Monday. Read More
NATO Photo
Stationing more U.S. and NATO troops in Southern and Eastern Europe and upping its naval presence in the Baltic and Black seas are important, but a new Atlantic Council report on the alliance’s purpose sees continued sanctions against Russia as an equally important tool of deterrence. Read More
BALTOPS 2016 participants steam in formation during a photo exercise June 10, 2016. BALTOPS is an annual recurring multinational exercise designed to improve interoperability, enhance flexibility and demonstrate the resolve of allied and partner nations to defend the Baltic region. French Air Force photo.
Russian navy activity around an ongoing annual NATO exercise in the Baltic Sea has been more muted than last year – and much more professional than a low-altitude fly-by of an American destroyer by a Russian fighter in April – partly due to heavy criticism of Russia’s unsafe behavior and partly due to recent face-to-face conversations, a top U.S. Navy commander in the region said. Read More
An F-35B Lightning II takes off from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1) on May 25, 2015. US Navy Photo
The U.S. Navy’s Aegis Weapon System revolutionized fleet air defense at the height of the Cold War. The 1983 commissioning of the first Aegis guided missile cruiser USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) and the 26 cruisers that followed provided the Navy with unrivaled capability at a time when an expansionist Soviet navy was bent on challenging the United States on the world’s oceans. Read More
Russian Admiral Grigorovich frigate. Sputnik Photo
The first in a new class of Russian guided missile frigate arrived on Thursday to Sevastopol marking the first time the Black Sea Fleet has seen a new blue water warship since the end of the Cold War. Read More
Retired NATO commander Gen. Philip Breedlove on June 8, 2016. Atlantic Council Image
The U.S. needs to “establish quality communications with the Russians” to back Moscow away from implementing tactical nuclear weapons in times of crisis, the recently retired NATO commander said. Read More
