Russian Navy moves LPD to Syria

The Russian Navy is moving the LPD Nicholas Phylchenkov from the Black Sea Fleet to the Mediterranean where it will conduct operations off the coast of Syria. The Nicholas Phylchenkov is a Tapir class (Project 1171) ‘large landing ship’ that was commissioned into the Soviet Navy in 1975. The class can accommodate 20 main battle tanks, or 45 armoured personnel carriers, or 50 trucks and 300 troops.

БДК “Николай Фильченков” вышел из Новороссийска к берегам Сирии

Завтра корабль пройдет пролив Босфор, в пятницу – Дарданеллы, и в назначенное время присоединится к группировке ВМФ России, рассказал представитель ВМФ РФ.

© РИА Новости. Василий Батанов | Купить иллюстрацию

МОСКВА, 11 сен — РИА Новости. Большой десантный корабль Черноморского флота “Николай Фильченков” с грузом накануне вышел из Новороссийска и направился в восточную часть Средиземного моря, сообщил РИА Новости в среду высокопоставленный представитель ВМФ РФ.

В минувшую пятницу источник в бригаде десантных кораблей Черноморского флота (ЧФ) сообщал РИА Новости, что “Николай Фильченков” зайдет в порт Новороссийска для заправки топливом, а потом примет на борт грузы для Сирии. По его словам, этот поход нельзя считать каким-то особенным, так как экипаж корабля “ходил в Сирию десятки раз”.

“БДК “Николай Фильченков” 10 сентября с грузом на борту вышел из Новороссийска и взял курс на Средиземное море. Завтра корабль пройдет пролив Босфор, в пятницу — Дарданеллы, и в назначенное время присоединится к группировке ВМФ РФ”, — сказал представитель ВМФ РФ.

Во вторник высокопоставленный представитель ВМФ РФ сообщал РИА Новости, что сторожевой корабль Черноморского флота “Сметливый” выйдет из Севастополя и направится к берегам Сирии 12 сентября. По его данным, 17 сентября в район восточного средиземноморья прибудет ракетный крейсер “Москва”, а 29 сентября в район сирийского побережья прибудут два корабля ЧФ: ракетный катер “Ивановец” и малый ракетный корабль “Штиль”. В пятницу отряд кораблей, включающий БДК “Новочеркасск” (ЧФ) и “Минск” (Балтийский флот), а также разведывательный корабль “Приазовье” (ЧФ), прошел Дарданеллы и поступил в распоряжение командования средиземноморской эскадры.

http://ria.ru/arab_riot/20130911/962390366.html

Kursk: A Submarine in Troubled Waters (2004)

Russian Pacific Fleet begins snap exercise

70 vessels from Russia’s Pacific Fleet have joined “snap” military exercises ordered by President Vladimir Putin to test combat readiness.

The “surprise” military exercise may also be seen as sabre rattling (shouldn’t that be cutlass rattling for the navy?) by neighbours around the Pacific Rim and comes hard on the heels of joint naval exercises conducted by Russia and China.

Massive Snap Military Drills Begin In Eastern Russia

Pacific Fleet.

MOSCOW, July 13 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian military began early on Saturday large-scale exercises in the Eastern Military District aimed at improving combat readiness of the Russian armed forces, the Defense Ministry said.

The exercise, which involves over 80,000 servicemen, some 1,000 armored vehicles, 130 aircraft and 70 warships from the Pacific Fleet, will continue until July 20. It is the largest surprise check of combat readiness of the Russian military in the post-Soviet period.

“The main goal of the drills is to check the readiness of units to carry out their missions, and to assess the quality of their training and technical preparedness,” the ministry said in a statement.

The snap drills were ordered by President Vladimir Putin on Friday when he told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to inform foreign countries about the upcoming exercises, taking into account their scale and common international practice.

It is the third surprise check of combat readiness since the beginning of the year and follows a major shake-up at the top of a military establishment tarnished by persistent evidence of rampant corruption.

Putin said in May that surprise military drills is a perfect way to keep the armed forces in good shape and vowed to continue similar practices in the future.

The Eastern Military District is one of the four operational strategic commands of the Russian Armed Forces. The district was formed in 2010. It absorbed the territories of the former Far East Military District and part of the former Siberian Military District with headquarters at Khabarovsk.

http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20130713/182212185/Massive-Snap-Military-Drills-Begin-in-Eastern-Russia.html

Avoid electronic intercepts by using good old-fashioned typewriters

Of course, we’ll have to destroy the typewriter ribbons.

(Yes… I’m that old.)

Good old typewriters to save Russia from global US spying

A Russian secret service that guards the country’s high-flyers, including President Putin, will be reequipped with classic typewriters to protect its communications from any foreign snooping programs.

The Federal Protective Service (FSO) has recently become concerned about the security of Russia’s topmost officials after it emerged that US intelligence agencies were eavesdropping on Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the G20 summit in London, as well as made a habit of combing through the troves of phone records, e-mails and other data that pile up on the Internet.

Now the FSO has announced it is going to procure a score of classic old typewriters, such as German-made Triumph Adler Twen 180s, to keep its secrets well out of NSA’s reach.

Russia’s Izvestia daily has talked to informed sources in Russia’s Defense Ministry and intelligence services, who confirmed that time-tested typewriters were still a commonplace sight in their offices.

An order for 20 typewriters has meanwhile been lodged with a special procurement department. The FSO said it planned to type classified documents in order to avoid any sensitive leaks.

For instance, Triumph Adler Twen 180 typewriters, which also stand on FSO’s to-buy list, were popular in the late ’80s and early ’90s and have proven their worth in making highly-structured documents.

Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden last month admitted leaking documents about America’s global surveillance programs, such as Prism, creating a massive public uproar globally. Europeans have been particularly indignant over the news that the US had bugged EU offices and targeted Germany for electronic spying.

Voice of Russia, Mail.ru

http://english.ruvr.ru/news/2013_07_11/Good-old-typewriters-to-save-Russia-from-global-US-spying-7731/