It has always been an utmost necessity to exercise caution when reading the historical accounts of great periods that threatened to change the course of the world. As is widely recognised though not reflected upon enough, ‘history is written by the victors’, and if this be indeed the truth, than we must be aware of what lens we are looking through.

It is a sad reality that most Americans have forgotten that the Russians were their brothers during the American Civil War, a union that was not only based from a geopolitical stratagem but much more importantly was based on a common view of humankind; that slavery’s degradation could no longer be tolerated and that industrial growth was an absolute precondition to free man. Historians today largely dismiss this as a fairy tale, they spew their vitriolic commentaries, and try to destroy the memories of great people from the past that truly did believe and fight for something noble. These historians would erase our heroes or otherwise would have us believe that they were nothing but small, bitter men that cared nothing for the world. For if we have no memory of such heroes, we have no memory of the fight that was left unfinished…

Since these revisionist historians would have this, let us not be led by such false guides into the dark forest of history, but rather let us focus on the actions and the words of the very men who shaped the world stage as proof of their mettle.

The Roots of Russian-US Relations

Princess Vorontsova-Dashkova (1743-1810) was one of the most important political and scientific leaders within Russia, and would become the head of the Russian Academy of Sciences, one of the most influential intelligence institutions in Russia. Benjamin Franklin met Princess Dashkova in Paris 1781 during her European tour and the two quickly recognised that they were on the same page in world outlook, comrades in the Enlightenment so to speak. In 1789, Benjamin Franklin would be recruited as the first American member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Princess Dashkova would become the first female member of Franklin’s American Philosophical Society all in the same year. Although some might have us believe that this was just a gesture of show for the public eye, anyone who comprehends the significance of both these institutions and their roles in American and Russian intelligence circles would recognise this as a close pairing.

Dialogue between the two countries would continue and in 1809, John Quincy Adams became the first American Ambassador to Russia and began a close diplomatic relationship to Czar Alexander I. In less than two years from Adams’ arrival in St. Petersburg, Czar Alexander I announced on Dec. 31, 1810 a ukase lifting all restrictions on exports and imports to Russia by sea, while at the same time imposing a heavy tariff on goods arriving overland, most of which came from France. This action by Alexander I would mark a clear break from Napoleon’s Continental System and was a great triumph for the US since most cargo carried to Russia by ship came in American vessels, whether the cargo was American or English. Napoleon would conclude from this decision that Russia stood in the way of his conquering of Europe and declared war on Russia 18 months later, to which as is well known, Russia was victorious.

In 1861, Cassius Clay became possibly the greatest US Ambassador to Russia (1861-1862 and 1863-1869), stead-fasting relations, Clay was instrumental in convincing Czar Alexander II to support the Union amidst the American Civil War and aided in setting up massive industrial improvements within Russia (more on this a little later). It is worth noting that Clay would also become very good friends with the Dashkova family, as he frequently cited in his Memoirs.

United under a common cause

In 1861, the Emancipation Edict was passed and successfully carried out by Czar Alexander II that would result in the freeing of over 23 million serfs. This was by no means a simple task for which there was much resistance met, and required an amazing degree of statesmanship to see it through. In a speech made by Czar Alexander II to the Marshalls of Nobility in 1856 he stated:

“You can yourself understand that the present order of owning souls cannot remain unchanged. It is better to abolish serfdom from above, than to wait for that time when it starts to abolish itself from below. I ask you to think about the best way to carry this out.”

The success of this edict would go down in history as one of the greatest accomplishments for human freedom and Czar Alexander II became known as the ‘Great Liberator’, for which he was beloved around the world.

Shortly after, in 1863, President Lincoln would pass the Emancipation Proclamation which declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.” There is astonishingly a great deal of cynicism surrounding this today. It is thought that because Lincoln did not announce this at the beginning of the war it somehow was never genuine. The preservation of the country was to be the utmost priority. Lincoln was willing to see out the end of slavery over a longer period of time if it could mean the avoidance of a civil war, when it became clear that this was not possible and all-out war was inevitable, he declared that slavery would be abolished in the Confederate held states upon the Union’s victory. Those who doubt where Lincoln stood on the subject of slavery should review his career as a lawyer prior to becoming President where he clearly denounced slavery throughout his entire life.

United under a common threat

However, nothing would attest to the solidarity between Russia and the United States further than the confirmed assurance from Russia that it would actively interfere if Britain and France were to take military action against the Union and for the side of the Confederacy. Autumn of 1862 would mark the first critical phase of the war. Lincoln sent an urgent letter to the Russian Foreign Minister Gorchakov, informing him that France was ready to intervene militarily and was awaiting England, the salvation of the Union thus rested solely on Russia’s decision to act. The Foreign Minister Gorchakov wrote in response to Lincoln’s plea:

“You know that the government of United States has few friends among the Powers. England rejoices over what is happening to you; she longs and prays for your overthrow. France is less actively hostile; her interests would be less affected by the result; but she is not unwilling to see it. She is not your friend. Your situation is getting worse and worse. The chances of preserving the Union are growing more desperate. Cannothing be done to stop this dreadful war? The hope of reunion is growing less and less, and I wish to impress upon your government that the separation, which I fear must come, will be considered by Russia as one of the greatest misfortunes. Russia alone, has stood by you from the first, and will continue to stand by you. We are very, very anxious that some means should be adopted–that any course should be pursued–which will prevent the division which now seems inevitable. One separation will be followed by another; you will break into fragments.”

President Lincoln was given the go ahead to publicise Russia’s support for the Union and this was sufficient to cause Britain and France to step back. The second critical phase would occur during the summer of 1863. By then, the South’s invasion of the North had failed at Gettysburg and the violent anti-war New York draft riots also failed. Britain was once again thinking of a direct military intervention. What would follow marks one of the greatest displays of support for another country’s sovereignty to ever occur in modern history.

The Russian Navy arrived on both the east and west coastlines of the United States late September and early October 1863.

The timing was highly coordinated due to intelligence reports of when Britain and France were intending their military action. The Russian navy would stay along the US coastline in support of the Union for 7 months! They never intervened in the American civil war but rather remained in its waters at the behest of Lincoln in the case of a foreign power’s interference.

Czar Alexander II, who held sole power to declare war for Russia stated in an interview to the American banker Wharton Barker on Aug. 17, 1879 (Published in The Independent March 24, 1904):

“In the Autumn of 1862, the governments of France and Great Britain proposed to Russia, in a formal but not in an official way, the joint recognition by European powers of the independence of the Confederate States of America. My immediate answer was: `I will not cooperate in such action; and I will not acquiesce. On the contrary, I shall accept the recognition of the independence of the Confederate States by France and Great Britain as a casus belli for Russia. And in order that the governments of France and Great Britain may understand that this is no idle threat; I will send a Pacific fleet to San Francisco and an Atlantic fleet to New York.

…All this I did because of love for my own dear Russia, rather than for love of the American Republic. I acted thus because I understood that Russia would have a more serious task to perform if the American Republic, with advanced industrial development were broken up and Great Britain should be left in control of most branches of modern industrial development.”

It was therefore very much due to Russia’s dedicated display of solidarity with Lincoln’s Union that Britain and France did not intervene and the country was able to piece itself together. Lincoln referred to the Russian support in his Thanksgiving Proclamation as “God’s bounties of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate the heart.”

The Fight for Advanced Industrial Development

What was Czar Alexander II referring to exactly when mentioning the advanced industrial development of the American Republic? Well, in short he was referring to the Hamiltonian system of economics. Notably, Alexander Hamilton’s 1791 Report on the Usefulness of the Manufactories in Relation to Trade and Agriculture  which was published in St. Petersburg in 1807, sponsored by Russian Minister of Finance D.A. Guryev. In the introduction to the pamphlet, Russian educator V. Malinovsky wrote:

“The similarity of American United Provinces with Russia appears both in the expanse of the land, climate and natural conditions, in the size of population disproportionate to the space, and in the general youthfulness of various generally useful institutions; therefore all the rules, remarks and means proposed here are suitable for our country.”

In 1842, Czar Nicholas I hired American George Washington Whistler to oversee the building of the Saint Petersburg-Moscow Railway, Russia’s first large-scale railroad. In the 1860s, Henry C. Carey’s economics would be promoted in St. Petersburg’s university education, organised by US Ambassador to Russia Cassius Clay. Carey was a leading economic advisor to Lincoln and leading Hamiltonian of his age.

Sergei Witte, who worked as Russian Minister of Finance from 1889-1891 and later became Prime Minister in 1905, would publish in 1889 the incredibly influential paper titled “National Savings and Friedrich List” which resulted in a new customs law for Russia in 1891 and resulted in an exponential growth increase in Russia’s economy. Friedrich List publicly attributed his influence in economics to Alexander Hamilton.

In his 1890 budget report, Sergei Witte – echoing the Belt and Road Initiative unfolding today, wrote:

“The railroad is like a leaven, which creates a cultural fermentation among the population. Even if it passed through an absolutely wild people along its way, it would raise them in a short time to the level requisite for its operation.”

Witte was explicit of his following of the American model of political economy when he described his re-organization of the Russian railways saying: “Faced by a serious shortage of locomotives, I invented and applied the traffic system which had long -been in practice in the United States and which is now known as the “American system.” [Memoirs p.19]

Where do we find ourselves today?

Both President Lincoln and Czar Alexander II recognised that the sovereignty of the individual and of a nation were intertwined and that Russia and the United States had become united in this cause. That for an individual to be truly free, there needed to be a system that could ensure access to a basic standard of living and education, for which industry was imperative. Lincoln would be assassinated on April 14, 1865 and Alexander II on March 13, 1881. Their deaths, as is often the case with great leaders, left a void that seemed too large to ever refill.

Today President Putin is advocating this very same policy alongside China in the Belt and Road Initiative, a policy with the clear intention to uplift the standard of living across the world with advanced industrial development.

It is time the United States joins this initiative and remembers its forgotten brother.

Headlines were blaring the word “Russian” again the other day because the mass media narrative managers found yet another reason for westerners to feel terrified of the icy potato patch that we’d barely ever thought about prior to 2016. I’d like to talk about the Kremlin’s latest horrifying horrific addition to its fearsome doomsday artillery, and recap a few of the other incredibly frightening and terrifying tactics that those strange Cyrillic-scribbling demons of the East are employing to undermine truth, justice, and the American way. Just to make sure we’re all good and scared like we’re supposed to be.

Gather the kids, clutch your pearls and sign off on hundreds of billions of dollars of extra military spending, my patriotic brethren! Here are five super scary ways the Red Menace is trying to destroy you and everything you hold dear:

1. Whales

Is this beluga whale actually a Russian spy? https://t.co/GC8hYIuH7J

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) 29 апреля 2019 г.

Headlines and TV news segments from virtually all mainstream outlets were falling all over themselves the other day to report the fact that some Norwegians found a tame beluga whale with a harness on it, and “experts” attest that the animal may have been part of a covert espionage program for the Russian navy.

While there is no indication that this spying cetacean has been trained in the arts of sonar election meddling or shooting novichok from its blowhole, the Guardian helpfully informs us that the harness was labeled “Equipment of St. Petersburg”, and was equipped to hold “a camera or weapon”.

“Marine experts in Norway believe they have stumbled upon a white whale that was trained by the Russian navy as part of a programme to use underwater mammals as a special ops force,” the Guardian reports.

The Norwegian tabloid Verdens Gang, which picked up on the discovery well before the breathless English headlines began gracing us with their presence, is a teensy bit less Ian Flemingesque in its reporting on the matter: the harness is equipped for a GoPro camera. The words “Equipment of St. Petersburg” are written in English.

Why is the Russian military writing “Equipment of St. Petersburg” in English on the garments of its aquatic special ops forces, you may ask? If there were indeed a secret beluga espionage squad assembled by Russian intelligence services, would they not perhaps avoid writing the home address of the whales on their harnesses altogether, and maybe, you know, not let them run free in the wild?

And to that I would say, stop asking so many questions. That’s just what Putin wants.

2. Crickets

NBC and MSNBC Blamed Russia for Using “Sophisticated Microwaves” to Cause “Brain Injuries” in U.S. “Diplomats” in Cuba. The Culprits Were Likely Crickets. https://t.co/7G8p0PyCKI

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) 7 января 2019 г.

A report seeded throughout the mainstream media by anonymous intelligence officials last September claimed that US government workers in Cuba had suffered concussion-like brain damage after hearing strange noises in homes and hotels with the most likely culprit being “sophisticated microwaves or another type of electromagnetic weapon” from Russia. A recording of one such highly sophisticated attack was analyzed by scientists and turned out to be the mating call of the male indies short-tailed cricket. Neurologists and other brain specialists have challenged the claim that any US government workers suffered any neurological damage of any kind, saying test results on the alleged victims were misinterpreted.

The actual story, when stripped of hyperventilating Russia panic, is that some government workers once heard some horny crickets in Cuba.

*cough*

3. Puppies

Robert Parry explores the strange mystery of the Russia-gate puppies, https://t.co/XL9pxJW4E8

— Consortium News (@Consortiumnews) 4 октября 2017 г.

Ye gads, is is nothing sacred? Is there any weapon these monsters won’t use to transform the west into a giant, globe-spanning Mordor?

That’s right, in 2017 puppies became one of the many, many things we’ve been instructed to fear in the hands of our vodka-swilling enemy to the east, with mass media outlets reporting that a Facebook group for animal lovers was one of the sinister, diabolical tactics employed by St. Petersburg’s notorious Internet Research Agency. As the Moon of Alabama blog has explained, the only evidence we’ve seen so far actually indicates that the Internet Research Agency’s operations in America served no purpose other than to attract eyeballs for money. As journalist Aaron Maté wrote of the highly publicized Russian Facebook meddling, “Far from being a sophisticated propaganda campaign, it was small, amateurish, and mostly unrelated to the 2016 election.”

The late, great Robert Parry, one of the earliest and most outspoken critics of the Russiagate narrative, covered this one for Consortium News in an article he authored a few months before his untimely passing:

As Mike Isaac and Scott Shane of The New York Times reported in Tuesday’s editions, “The Russians who posed as Americans on Facebook last year tried on quite an array of disguises. … There was even a Facebook group for animal lovers with memes of adorable puppies that spread across the site with the help of paid ads.”

Now, there are a lot of controversial issues in America, but I don’t think any of us would put puppies near the top of the list. Isaac and Shane reported that there were also supposedly Russia-linked groups advocating gay rights, gun rights and black civil rights, although precisely how these divergent groups were “linked” to Russia or the Kremlin was never fully explained. (Facebook declined to offer details.)

At this point, a professional journalist might begin to pose some very hard questions to the sources, who presumably include many partisan Democrats and their political allies hyping the evil-Russia narrative. It would be time for some lectures to the sources about the consequences for taking reporters on a wild ride in conspiracy land.

Yet, instead of starting to question the overall premise of this “scandal,” journalists at The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, etc. keep making excuses for the nuttiness. The explanation for the puppy ads was that the nefarious Russians might be probing to discover Americans who might later be susceptible to propaganda.

“The goal of the dog lovers’ page was more obscure,” Isaac and Shane acknowledged. “But some analysts suggested a possible motive: to build a large following before gradually introducing political content. Without viewing the entire feed from the page, now closed by Facebook, it is impossible to say whether the Russian operators tried such tactics.”

4. Pokémon

Yes, Pokémon.

This Russia hysteria has been a long, wild ride, and sometimes it’s honestly felt like they’re just experimenting on us. Like they’ve been testing the limits of how ridiculous they can make this thing and still get mainstream Americans to swallow it. Like the establishment propagandists are all sitting around in a room smoking blunts and making bets with each other all,
“I’m telling you, we can sell a Pokémon Go Kremlin conspiracy.”
“Do it!”
“No way. There’s no way they’ll go for it.”
“Yeah well you said that about the puppy dogs!”

And then they release their latest experiment in social manipulation and place bets on how many disgruntled Hillary voters they can get retweeting it saying “God dammit, I knew that jigglypuff looked suspicious!”

The October 2017 CNN report which sparked off a full day of shrieking “OMG THEY’RE EVEN USING PIKACHU TO ATTACK OUR DEMOCRACY” headlines was titled “Exclusive: Even Pokémon Go used by extensive Russian-linked meddling effort”, and it reported that Russia had extended its “tentacles” into the popular video game for the purpose of election meddling. Apparently the Internet Research Agency attempted to hold a contest using the game to highlight police brutality against unarmed Black men, which of course is something that only an evil autocracy would ever do.

Not until the fifteenth paragraph of the article did we see the information which undercut all the frantic arm flailing about Russians destroying democracy and warping our children’s fragile little minds:

“CNN has not found any evidence that any Pokémon Go users attempted to enter the contest, or whether any of the Amazon Gift Cards that were promised were ever awarded — or, indeed, whether the people who designed the contest ever had any intention of awarding the prizes.”

Mmm hmm.

5. Laughter

Turns out jokes are a Russian disinformation conspiracy.
Is nothing safe? What will those barbarian Others think of next? Weaponizing our tears? https://t.co/0CFcTL65q0

— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) 15 декабря 2018 г.

Late last year the BBC published an article titled “How Putin’s Russia turned humour into a weapon” about yet another addition to the Kremlin’s horrifying deadly hybrid warfare arsenal: comedy. The article’s author, ironically titled“Senior Journalist (Disinformation)” by the BBC, argues that Russia has suddenly discovered laughter as a way to “deliberately lower the level of discussion”.

“Russia’s move towards using humour to influence its campaigns is a relatively recent phenomenon,” the article explained, without speculating as to why Russians might have suddenly begun laughing at their western accusers.

Is it perhaps possible that Russian media have begun mocking the west a lot more because westerners have made themselves much easier to make fun of? Could it perhaps be the fact that western mass media have been doing absolutely insane things like constantly selling us the idea that the Kremlin could be lurking behind anything in our world, even really innocuous-looking things like puppy dogs, Pokémon and whales? Could we perhaps be finding ourselves at the butt end of jokes now because in 2016 our society went bat shit, pants-on-head, screaming-at-passing-motor-vehicles insane?

Nahhh. Couldn’t be. It’s the Russians who’ve gone mad.

medium.com

Developed by Russia's Tactical Missiles Corporation, the Kh-35U is a unified, subsonic, sea-skimming, anti-ship cruise missile that consists of its body, an active radar seeker, a high-explosive fragmentation penetrator warhead, an independent self-destruct system, an inertial navigation system, a radio altimeter, an air intake, a fuel system, a sustainer turbofan, and a solid-state rocket booster. With a range of 260 km (144 mi), it can take out surface ships with a displacement of 5,000 tons. It should be noted that its specs are superior to those of the US air-launched Naval Strike Missile, which has a range of only 100 nautical miles.

Its minimum range is 7 km, speed: Mach 0.8–Mach 0.95 (609–723 mph; 980–1,164 km/h), and flight altitude: 10-15 m en route and roughly 3 m in its terminal stage. Its warhead includes a 145 kg HE fragmentation shaped charge designed to pierce horizontally through bulkheads and compartments prior to exploding inside a ship. The warhead’s small diameter — 45.0 cm — allows it to be fitted on various means of delivery.

Weighing 550 kg, the Kh-35U can be installed on a variety of platforms, such as helicopters, surface ships, and coastal defense batteries. At present, it can be carried by several types of surface combatants, the Su-24M, Su-30SM, MiG-29K/KUB, Su-35S, and Tu-142 combat aircraft, and the Ka-52K helicopters. The decision to introduce the Kh-35U to the armament suite of the Su-35S (a 4++ generation, advanced capability, multirole air superiority fighter that has become the backbone of the Russian Aerospace Forces) was made in early September. It has also been integrated into the Bal coastal-defense missile system. The Kh-35U can attack land targets, including heavily fortified enemy positions, warehouses, and mobile military equipment. This is beyond what its predecessor, the Kh-35 jet-launched anti-ship cruise missile, was able to do.

Leader, the new Russian icebreaker, is capable of shattering ice up to 4.5 meters thick, which will keep the Northern Sea Route and Arctic coast open year-round. The vessel will be equipped with containers holding weapon systems, including the Kh-35U and Kalibr anti-ship missiles.

The Kh-35U features a normal aerodynamic configuration with cruciform wings and fins and a semi-submerged air duct intake. It’s a “fire and forget” weapon. Upon launch, the missile instantly finds its target and is independently guided toward it. It is controlled during flight by an inertial system. The ARGS-35E X-band terminal active radar homing head and  radio altimeter provide information during the final leg of the trajectory.  There have been reports that the Gran-KE, a new radar seeker, will replace the ARGS-35E in the future.

Target designation data is input from onboard organic and external sources, including those that are airborne.  Aerial unmanned and autonomous underwater vehicles can be used for targeting. The Kh-35U boasts improved guidance systems with a satellite navigation update and a more sensitive seeker with a range of 50 km.

Its small dimensions and sea-skimming capability greatly minimize the signatures of this weapon that can be employed under adverse weather conditions at sea states of up to 5-6, during the day or night, and while being subjected electronic countermeasures. The missile travels at an altitude of 10-15 meters. In the terminal stage of its flight it descends to 3-5 meters above the surface, or lower than the ship's deck, in order to evade hostile defense systems.  This makes it extremely hard to hit, even if detected. Its dual-band active/passing homing guidance system allows it to bypass missile-defense interceptor systems, as well as advanced electronic jamming.

The Kh-35U is a formidable weapon, boasting both high speed as well as evasive terminal profiles. Many details remain classified, but there is little doubt the missile has effective ECCM, otherwise other countries would not want to purchase it — and they do. According to the Russian media the ship-based version is of special interest to potential buyers. The Kh-35U incorporation makes any platform a multifunctional warrior able to deliver lethal strikes against an enemy’s key assets.

In 2017, Russian ships made 46 port calls to drop anchor at 28 ports of 27 countries worldwide. The list includes five Western or West-friendly states: Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Japan and South Korea, which account for 19% of the countries visited by Russian ships. Nine (33%) of the states on the list belong to the Asia-Pacific region, with other 13 (48%) situated in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. The 81% vs.19% ratio illustrates Russia’s rebalancing from the West toward other countries and power poles. The Russian Navy also conducted six international exercises, demonstrating its global presence and power projection capability. The service has become strong enough to make the US re-establish the Second Fleet in the Atlantic.

A task force comprising three surface ships and three auxiliary vessels of the Baltic Fleet is on a voyage around the world. The route lies across the Atlantic, the Arctic, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Indian and Pacific Oceans. On May 16, President Vladimir Putin made a statement to say that Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea will be permanent. The standing force will include warships with long-range land attack cruise missiles.

With new ships and weapons coming in, the Navy is quite capable of defending Russia’s maritime approaches and coasts, long-range precision strike missions with conventional and nuclear weapons, power projection and defense of the sea-based nuclear deterrent. It has recently acquired the capability to conduct long-range attacks with conventional weapons against fixed infrastructure targets.

Russia’s shipbuilders offer corvette-frigate size surface ships, such as the Admiral Grigorovich-class and the new Admiral Gorshkov-class, packing a really potent punch to make them formidable warriors. Oniks anti-ship missiles, Kalibr long-range cruise missiles capable to strike land targets at great distances, Pantsir-M point defense weapons, Poliment Redut air defense systems and Paket-NK anti-torpedo systems are contained in vertical launch systems (VLS). Normally the armament suite includes seventy-six-millimeter gun or a one-hundred-millimeter gun and close-in weapon systems (CIWS) to enhance the versatility of the ship. Multi-mission frigates have become the backbone of the Russian Navy. Vasily Bykov, the first project 22160 corvette, started sea trials in April to join service this year. The Drive (War Zone) the “concept is innovative enough that it should be studied by western navies as a source of inspiration for their own future multi-role combat vessels.” The source believes that the ship has “a pretty genius design” with its relatively small frame providing great strike power.

Project 636.3 “Varshavyanka” conventional submarines are cheap, quiet and deadly with their Kalibr missiles. The newest Yasen-class nuclear-powered multipurpose attack submarine is to be armed with land-attack cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine missiles, including several variants of Kalibr-PL designed for a wide range of missions. A single Yasen-class can carry thirty-two nuclear-tipped Kalibr missiles to strike deep into the enemy’s territory.

The Russian industry is capable of producing some of the most sophisticated platforms in the world. There are 11 nuclear powered submarines laid down. The shipbuilders can build a conventional submarine in just 18 months. 

Ivan Gren-class (Project 11711E), the first amphibious assault ship designed and built in Russia’s modern history, was commissioned on June 20 to join the Northern Fleet.

On June 25, The Russian Navy commissioned Ivan Khurs, the second Project 18280 intelligence-gathering ship. The ships of the class are called after Russia’s naval intelligence chiefs. The vessel can conduct electronic warfare, radio, and electronic intelligence.

It was reported this month that the Bulava (RSM-56) intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) had entered service with Russian Navy to become the backbone of the nuclear triad’s sea-based component until 2040. A salvo of four missiles launched in rapid succession within 20 seconds in late May confirmed the SLBM’s operational readiness. 

Modernized to M3M standard, the Air Force Tu-22 long-range bomber primarily designed for naval missions will take to the sky next month.

The Navy is testing the Poseidon (Status-6), a new unmanned underwater vehicle (a doomsday weapon) that can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads, which enables to engage various targets, including aircraft groups, coastal fortifications, and infrastructure.

According to Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Korolev, precision guided weapons and blue water ships are the priority for the future. The Navy also leads in superfast weapons. The Kalibr travelling over Mach 3 is a good example. A higher speed makes interception almost impossible and destruction is maximized by imparting more kinetic energy upon impact. Put on a wide range of ship and submarine classes, the weapon provides for a qualitative leap to drastically enhance the fire power of the Russian sea forces. The Kalibr allows the ships based in the Caspian and Black seas to cover the entire Caucasus and large parts of Central Asia and the Middle East – the areas where threats to Russia’s national security are most likely to emerge.

The 3M22 Zircon anti-ship missile going through final tests has a 500km strike. It will impact at a speed of Mach 6. As yet, the US Navy does not have a weapon to match it.

According to the State Armament Program for 2018-2027 adopted in late 2017, the naval component of the nuclear triad will consist of six Project 667 BRDM (Delta IV-class) and eight Project 955B (Borei-class) strategic ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), to be evenly divided between the Northern and Pacific Fleets. 12 submarines to be in service at given moment with two undergoing overhauls and modernization. The program envisages the construction of Super Gorshkov-class 8,000-ton frigate and six-seven Yasen-M nuclear attack submarines.

Russia’s 2017 Naval Doctrine set the goal of building a strong force to enable the country to achieve and hold the leading positions in the world until 2030. The Navy is on the way to accomplish this mission with balanced forces able to support the operations of strategic ballistic missile submarines and maintain a strong conventional component, carrying out a range of missions, including power projection, with its cutting-edge ships, naval aviation, coastal defense forces, and even ground effect vehicles. Russia has made a strong comeback as a sea power.

The Russian Navy operates Bulava with three of its latest missile Borei-class SSBNs (ship submersible ballistic nuclear) currently in service. The service plans to have eight boats of this class operational by 2021, with the newest five built in an upgraded variant to boast lower noisiness among other improvements.

One Borei-class (Project 955) strategic submarine can carry 16 SLBMs each armed with six to ten MIRVed (multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle) warheads with a yield of 150 kilotons apiece. A warhead can carry 10 to 40 decoys. With 8 Borei-class boats in service, Russia will deploy up to 128 Bulava missiles.

The weapon has a range of over 8,300 km with full load compared to US Trident II’s 7,800 km. The guidance is astro-inertial with the GLONASS satellite navigation system. The circular error varies from 120 m to 350 m, according to various sources.

The active trajectory leg is significantly shorter than that of its competitors to complicate the RSM-56’s potential interception. The flight trajectory itself is lower allowing the missile to cover the distance to the target faster and leaving the enemy less time to take a decision and react. The low trajectory allows the Bulava to classify as a quasi-ballistic missile due to its ability to perform maneuvers in flight and make unexpected changes in direction and range. Capable of changing the course in-flight and re-targeting to outmaneuver any ballistic missile defense (BMD), the re-entry vehicles are protected against both physical and electromagnetic-pulse damage to ensure that they can reach their targets intact.

The missile has the following specifications: a launch mass: about 36.8 tons, a throw weight: 1,150 kg, length: 12.1 m, a diameter: 2 m in a launch container. The RSM-56 can withstand a nuclear blast at a range of 500m.The Bulava is a three-stage missile with the first and second stages using solid fuel, while the third stage uses liquid fuel to increase maneuverability during warhead separation.

A submarine can fire the missile from an inclined position while on the move. A launch can be conducted from under ice as the Bulava does not require the submarine to surface and give away its position. Unguided munitions can be used for breaking the ice before the SLBM bursts through. This is an important advantage in comparison with the SLBMs Russia had before. This technology is the legacy of the Bark-class SLBMs that were scrapped in favor of Bulava missiles. The Borei-class SSBNs with stealth capabilities can stay underwater at the depth of 450 m for three months and then launch the missiles undetected. The Bulava missiles mounted on these submarines (the D-30 system) make possible the resumption of patrols in southern latitudes after the interval of more than 20 years.

The Russian Navy has been revived including all its branches but it but looks best underwater. With the Bulava in service, Russia has demonstrated that it has retained and advanced the industrial ca­pacity and knowhow to produce SSBNs and SLBMs. The new boomers and missiles make up its naval nuclear strategic component. Suppose ground-based missiles and airfields are knocked out in a first strike though that one is more than a bit of a stretch. With eight Bulava-armed submarines, Russia will have at least two-three of them constantly on patrol at any given moment to constitute a more than credible deterrent. Retribution is unavoidable as the RSM-56 is practically immune to any imaginable BMD.

70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered with seas and oceans, 80 percent of people live along coasts, and 90 percent of all world trade is carried by water to make this domain a potential source of conflicts. No pole in the multi-polar world can do without adequate sea power. Putting the Bulava to sea allows Russia to preserve strategic parity with the United States within the limits of the New START treaty as well as the status of global leader. The development and modernization of the maritime strategic nuclear forces is a must. Russia has coped with the task.

This far-reaching upgrade includes improved avionics, a new communications suite, an updated weapon-control system, digital radio-navigation equipment, and the ability to attack surface and sea targets with long-range precision-guided weapons.

It has the following specifications: a maximum speed of 2,300 km/h; a cruising speed of 900 km/h; an operating ceiling of 13,000 m; a maximum altitude of 14,000 m; a rate of climb of 15m/s; an operational range of 7,000 km (10,000 km with air refueling); an empty weight of 53,500 kg; a maximum takeoff weight of 126,400 kg; and a crew of 4. The pressurized cockpit is fitted with climate-control systems. The plane is powered by two NK-25 turbofan engines with large air intakes and dual exhausts. Each engine produces a maximum thrust of 25,000 kg. With its tricycle gear, the aircraft can land on unprepared runways.

The armament suite includes a Kh-32 long-range, multi-purpose missile specifically designed to attack US Navy carrier strike groups with a nuclear or conventional 500-kilogram (1,102 lb) warhead. It can hit land targets as well. The list of enemy assets it is capable of knocking out includes radar equipment, large vessels, bridges, power stations, command posts, and other military installations. Equipped with an inertial navigation system and a radio-radar seeker, it need not depend on satellites for guidance, making it immune to jamming.

The missile flies along a unique trajectory, climbing to the stratosphere (40 kilometers) after launch and then either going straight down to hit the target or executing a shallower dive in order to approach it flying as low as five meters above the surface. At such a low altitude the Kh-32 cannot be detected by radar until it is only about 10 km away, leaving a reaction window of approximately 10 seconds. Fast and maneuverable, air-defense systems have little opportunity to fend it off. The SM-6 surface-to-air-missile (SAM), America’s best air-defense tool, is useless against the Kh-32.

It has an operational range of up to 1,000 kilometers and a maximum speed of 5,400 kilometers per hour (1,500 meters per second) during the terminal phase of its flight.

The Tu-22M3M can carry three KH-32s (weighing about six tons each) or 12 of the lighter Kh-15 missiles. The Raduga Kh-15 is an air-to-surface hypersonic aero-ballistic weapon with an operational range of 300 km. The aircraft will be able to carry six to eight Kh-SD medium-range (up to 2,000 km) cruise missiles, and there are plans to develop and produce it under the auspices of Russia’s State Armament Program for 2018–27 (GPV-2027).

Its payload is also made up of FAB-250 or FAB-1500 free-fall bombs. The aircraft is armed with a double-barreled GSH-23 (23 mm) gun installed in the remotely controlled tail turret.

The Tu-22M3M uses the SVP-24 all-weather special computing subsystem for precise guidance. The GLONASS satellite navigation system constantly compares the position of the plane and the target. The SVP-24 measures environmental parameters to correct the flight. Information is received from all datalinks to compute its flight envelope. There are enough sensors to enable targeting even if the GLONASS receivers are jammed. With fire-and–forget guidance in place, the pilot can concentrate on countering threats and finding new targets to hit.

Currently Russia’s strategic aviation fleet is undergoing an extensive revamping. The modernization of the Tu-160 supersonic strategic heavy bombers is underway and due to be complete by 2030, along with the Tu-22M3M upgrade. The Russian Air Force’s ability to attack enemy assets as an element of conventional, not nuclear, warfare will be greatly expanded. The conventional strike capability of its armed forces is to be augmented by adding relatively low-cost multipliers to their existing arsenal of conventional offensive long-range weapons. This will significantly enhance its power projection capability. The conflict in Syria has been a good example of this. The successful updates to Russia’s long-range aviation forces illustrate the ability of the Russian defense industry to meet the challenges of today.

The Borei-class boats will gradually replace Project 941 Akula-class and Project 667 BDRM Delfin class SSBNs to become the core of Russia’s sea strategic component of the nuclear triad at least till 2040. Today, there are three Borei-class submarines in active service. Five more are being built.

The Yury Dolgoruky is the lead ship. It joined the Navy in 2013. The SSBN carries 16 ballistic missiles. The forth submarine of the Borei class is to meet the 955A standard, with the number of missiles increased to 20 along with many other upgrades.

Anechoic coating to reduce its acoustic signature covers the boat’s hull. All the equipment is mounted on shock absorbers. It’s widely believed that Russia’s Navy is the only one in the world to have submarines capable of evading US detection.

All the submarine’s sonars are integrated into a single automated digital system, which both locates targets and fulfills other functions, such as the search for ice openings and the measurement of its thickness. It can detect targets at a distance 50 percent greater than that of US Virginia-class vessels.

The SSBN has the following specifications: length: 170m, beam: 13,5m, draught: 10m, displacement: surfaced: 14,720t, submerged: 24,000t, depth: 450m, endurance: 100 days, crew: 107. A rescue chamber can accommodate all men aboard. The submarine is propelled by pump-jet propulsion. It is powered by the single water-cooled OK-650 nuclear reactor with a thermal capacity of 190 MW, providing a submerged speed of 29kt and a surfaced speed of 15kt.

In addition to 16 SLBMs, the Dolgoruky’s armament includes six RPK-2 Viyuga nuclear-tipped anti-submarine missiles launched through 533mm torpedo tubes and capable of striking enemy submarines at a distance of 45km. The vessel can be armed with cruise missiles.

The Bulava is a derivative of the ground-based Topol (SS-27) ICBM. Its cycle of development was not a bed of roses. There were difficulties on the way. Not all tests were a success but the May 22 training event showed the obstacles have been overcome by Russia’s shipbuilding industry and Navy.

The SLBM is a three-stage missile to use solid fuel for the first two stages and liquid fuel for the third one to make the missile more agile during warhead separation. The SLBM can be fired on the move or from under the Arctic ice. The trajectory is low enough to make the Bulava classify as a quasi-ballistic missile because it can perform maneuvers in flight or make unexpected changes in direction and range. Along with evasive maneuvers, the Bulava can deploy a variety of countermeasures and decoys making it resistant to missile-defense systems. The independently targetable re-entry vehicles are protected against both physical and electromagnetic-pulse damage.

The RSM-56 can withstand a nuclear blast at a range of 500m. An operational rage: up to 9,300 kilometers (about 5,770 miles). Circular error probable: 250-300 m. The missile has a length of 12.1m and diameter of 2.1m, launch weight: 36.8 t, throw-weight: 1,150 kg, length (in container): 12.1m.

The Borei-class SSBN with new Bulava missiles on board was listed by Business Insider UK as an “incredible” Russian weapon system. Its arrival makes possible the resumption of strategic patrols in southern latitudes after the interval of more than 20 years. The Bulava missiles were fired from a submerged submarine known as a very silent vessel. It could be on patrol anywhere in the World Ocean with potential adversary having no idea where it is. This element of Russia’s nuclear triad offers the best of modern technology to guarantee the inevitability of retaliation in case of attack as it’s impossible to destroy it in a first strike. Retribution is unavoidable with Bulava SLBMs immune to any imaginable missile defense. The May 22 salvo test demonstrated another technological breakthrough to greatly enhance Russia’s strategic nuclear deterrent.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet has become a much different force in comparison to what it was just three years ago. Since 2015, the year the operation in Syria was launched, it has received 15 new ships, including two frigates and six conventional submarines armed with Kalibr cruise missiles. With S-400 and S-300V4 air defense systems, Krasukha-4 electronic warfare systems and shore-based anti-ship Bastion batteries deployed on the Syrian coast, the ships in Eastern Mediterranean operate in a relatively safe environment. Kalibr missiles have already been fired from frigates and submarines at terrorist targets in Syria.

Last July, a 15-strong Mediterranean Task Force was established to be based out of Tartus, Syria’s leased naval facility. The ships provide a buffer on the southern flank of NATO. Russia needs to counter aggressive activities of the bloc in the region, including the Black Sea. Maintaining robust presence in the Mediterranean is the best way to defend Russia’s Black Sea borders.

All southern Europe, including such NATO military assets as Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy, Combined Air Operations Centers in Larissa, Greece, and in Poggio Renatico, Italy, Headquarters Allied Land Command and Air Power Command in Izmir, Turkey, NATO Incirlik air base in Turkey, Graf Ignatievo and Bezmer air bases in Bulgaria used by US Air Force as well as a lot of other key NATO defense infrastructure sites happen to be within the range of Kalibr missiles installed on the platforms patrolling the Mediterranean Sea. They’ll all be knocked out with first salvos in case a Russia-NATO war starts.

The Fleet’s operations are not limited to the Black Sea basin and the Mediterranean. It is on the way of transition from a green-water naval formation to a blue water force, demonstrating the Russian flag as the ships move beyond the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal on the way to the World Ocean.

The establishment of permanent naval presence in the region can be explained by a number of rational calculations. The Mediterranean Sea is Russia’s only exit to the open ocean for the Black Sea Fleet. The permanent presence is a logical step in view of Russia’s growing political influence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Foreign Ministries are not the only ones to shape external policy. Any port call is a diplomat mission, providing an opportunity for official meetings and public diplomacy, with the events covered by media. Take the famous German Kiel Week or Kieler Woche in German, the biggest annual maritime festival and international forum visited by about three million people coming from all over the world. Warships from many countries are an important element of the event. Ships also take part in the Irish maritime festival at Drogheda Port. Russian frigate The Shtandart, a replica of the man-of-war built by Peter the Great in 1703, will visit Drogheda on June 10-11 this year.

The naval visits reflect foreign policy trends. In 2017, Russian ships made 46 port calls to drop anchor at 28 ports of 27 countries worldwide. The list includes five Western or West-friendly states: Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Japan and South Korea, which account for 19% of the countries visited by Russian ships. Nine (33%) of the states on the list belong to the Asia-Pacific region, with other 13 (48%) situated in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. The 81% vs.19% ratio illustrates Russia’s rebalancing from the “collective” West toward other countries and power poles. The Russian Navy also conducted six international exercises, demonstrating its global presence and power projection capability.

The growing trade brings to the fore the task of sea lanes’ protection. Russia has longstanding economic ties with many Mediterranean states, including Greece, Libya, Cyprus, and Algeria. The relations include defense cooperation.

US Navy deployments in support of ballistic missile defense are viewed as provocative moves to downgrade Russia’s strategic nuclear capability. With Russia’s continuous presence in the region, Aegis ships as well as aircraft carriers become sitting ducks for state-of-the art anti-ship missiles.

Like it or not, the Mediterranean Sea has ceased to be a “NATO Lake” dominated by US 6th Fleet. American vessels don’t own these waters anymore. As a great power, Russia has its own interests in the region and it has a powerful naval force permanently deployed to defend them.

The system boasts four or eight vertical launch systems. It can fire three types of surface-to-air (SAM) interceptors: the short-range 9M100, medium-range 9M96M, and long-range 9M96 missiles.

The 9M100 is a solid-propellant weapon with a range of 10–15 km. and an inertial guidance system with active infrared (IR). The 9M96M is an IR-guided missile with an active radar terminal homing guidance system. Its FRAG-HE 26 kg. warhead travels at a speed of 900m/s and it has a maximum range of 40-50 km.

The 9M96 is a new missile that is resistant to jamming and can intercept targets at a speed of Mach 15 (4,800-5,000 m/s) and at an altitude of 35 km. It can hit incoming threats at a range of 150 km. An active radar homing head and inertial navigation system are used for midcourse guidance. The thrust vectoring control system offers impressive maneuverability at any altitude or range.

The SAM is equipped with a directed explosion warhead to improve the chances of fully destroying fast moving and agile targets upon direct impact. The hit probability is 0.9 against aircraft, 0.8 against drones, and 0.7 against missiles. Thrust vectoring makes it possible to achieve high Gs and angular rate capability.

A datalink from the MFMTR X-band radar blast is used for midcourse guidance. Its 24 kg. fragmentation warhead produces a controlled pattern. A radar fuse controls the warhead’s timing.

The 9M96 missile was initially developed for the S-400 Triumf ground-based air-defense system that has already been delivered to China. It will soon be sent to Turkey. India, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are also quite interested in this system.

The three vertical-launched, solid-fuel, one-stage missiles have a variable range of 1-150 km. at an altitude of 5 m. to 30 km. At a speed of 2,100 m/s they can hit targets traveling at 1000 m/s. A Poliment-Redut-equipped frigate can carry 32 medium/long-range or 128 short-range missiles. Any combination is possible — one launcher can house either one medium- or long-range weapon or four short-range SAMs. The four-faced phased array antenna can track 16 targets at once. The detection range is 200 km. Russian sources report that the system can engage surface targets as well.

The combination of various-range missiles makes it possible for one Poliment-Redut to carry out the missions of three air-defense systems. It provides multi-tier defense, reducing reaction time. It can fire at a rate of one launch per second. The vertical start is an important advantage, enabling the system to counter a target approaching from any direction. These highly agile missiles can use an optimal trajectory to kill highly maneuverable threats.

The lead ship of the Russian navy’s Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates has been equipped with this system, along with the Steregushchiy-class (Project 20380) and the Gremyaschiy-class (Project 20385) corvettes. The combination of the Poliment-Redut and the close-in weapon systems keep these ships well protected against any kind of air threat. For instance, the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier will also receive the naval version of the Pantsir cutting-edge close-in weapon. Because of the Poliment-Redut, these vessels can provide area defense, which is crucially important for a navy destined for a wide variety of peacetime and wartime missions all over the world.