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http://www.barentsobserver.com/northern-fleet-vessel-visits-cuba.4616239-58932.html
2009-08-03
The Rescue tug “Altay” from Russia’s Northern Fleet will visit the Cuban capital Havana in the first week of August.
The official visit takes place August 3-6, the Russian Embassy in Cuba told RIA Novosti.
This is the second time a Russian naval vessel visits Cuba since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The first visit took place in December 2008, when a unit from the Northern Fleet led by the Destroyer Admiral Chabanenko made a successful trip to Havana.
Russian company develops heavy UAV for military use
http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20090804/155720998.html
MOSCOW, August 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Kronshtadt defense company has developed a new- generation heavy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for military purposes, a senior company official said on Tuesday.
"The Kronshtadt engineers have developed a heavy Dozor-3 UAV with a lift-off weight of 600 kg and a payload of 100 kg, which could be used as a strike aircraft," said Viktor Godunov, member of the company's board of directors.
"It can carry various types of reconnaissance equipment and weaponry," he added.
The Russian military stressed the need to provide its Armed Forces with advanced means of battlefield reconnaissance in the wake of a brief military conflict with Georgia last August, when the effectiveness of Russian military operations was severely hampered by the lack of reliable intelligence.
According to various estimates, the Russian military needs up to 100 UAVs and at least 10 guidance systems to ensure effective battlefield reconnaissance.
At present, Russia's Vega Radio Engineering Corp. is the only domestic company which manufactures UAVs for the Russian Armed Forces.
The company's new-generation Tipchak mobile aerial system has been designed for reconnaissance and target designation purposes on the battlefield in any weather conditions. The first Tipchak system was put in service at the end of 2008.
Tipchak operates up to six UAVs launched from a pneumatic catapult. Each UAV has a range of 40 kilometers (25 miles) and a 3-hour endurance. It can provide targeting for artillery and theater-based ballistic missiles at distances up to 350 km (about 220 miles).
The new Dozor-3 UAV takes off and lands as a regular aircraft, and has a 6-hour endurance.
Russia Russia has also bought 12 unmanned aerial vehicles from Israel in a recent deal worth $53 million.
Russian nuclear leftovers total 3,906 warheads
http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-08-04/russian-nuclear-leftovers-total.html/print
04 August, 2009, 11:20
The Defense Ministry has revealed that Russian armed forces have 3.906 nuclear warheads and 811 delivery systems at the moment.
The numbers were voiced by the deputy head of the National Center for Nuclear Threat Reduction, a structure in the Defense Ministry responsible for the reduction of strategic arms in accordance with international treaties.
Colonel Sergey Ryzhkov told Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper that since July 31, 1991, when the START agreement was signed by the US and the then Soviet Union, the Russian nuclear stockpile dropped more than twofold from 8,757 warheads. The number of missiles capable of nuclear warhead delivery was reduced almost threefold from 2,288 in 1991 to 811 today.
The American military had 10,563 warheads and 2,246 missiles in 1991, and now they have 5,573 warheads and 1,195 missiles, the colonel added.
Since the 1991 START agreement, Russian military specialists have made 464 inspections of US nuclear sites, while Americans have made 559 inspections on Russian territory. Ryzhkov said both sides worked in accordance with the spirit of START and the progress they made in nuclear reduction helped build stability in the world and brought a sense of predictability in bilateral relations.
Earlier on July 6, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama signed a protocol on the principles of further nuclear weapons reduction as a basis of a new treaty to replace START when it expires later this year. The goal is for both sides to have 500 to 1100 strategic delivery systems and 1500 to 1675 warheads in seven years after the new treaty is ratified.
Kremlin: Medvedev appoints new Russian missile forces chief
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/04/content_11820848.htm
 2009-08-04 04:16:36
MOSCOW, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appointed Lt. Gen. Andrei Shvaichenko as the new commander of the Strategic Missile Forces (SMF), the Kremlin said on Monday.
The presidential decree ordered that Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, head of the missile forces, was replaced by his deputy Shvaichenko.
The new commander, 56-year-old, took the post as the first deputy commander of the missile forces in 2001.
The outgoing commander, who has held the position since 2001, reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 in December 2008 and is now discharged from military service.
Solovtsov might seek the top post at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology (MIT), the Itar-Tass news agency quoted an unnamed source with the defense sector as saying.
MIT is the designer of the silo-based and mobile Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles. Its director general resigned following the recent failed launch of Russia's new Bulava ballistic missile.
Russia strengthens India’s defences with nuclear subs
http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-08-04/ins-arihant-india-nuclear.html/print
04 August, 2009, 09:48
India has become the sixth country in the world to build a nuclear-powered submarine capable of firing ballistic missiles. Moscow played a key role in the construction of the current sub, and has agreed to lease another.
The INS Arihant is India’s new nuclear submarine, which completes its plans for effective nuclear deterrence.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed that his country has no plans of aggression.
“We do not have any aggressive designs, nor do we seek to threaten anyone. Nevertheless, it is incumbent upon us to take all possible measures necessary to safeguard our country and to keep pace with the technological developments taking place worldwide.”
India plans to create a blue-water Navy to safeguard its interests in the Indian Ocean, and to defend against any attack.
While it is building its own warships and submarines, which take several years, it makes sense for India to use the expertise of other countries that already have powerful navies. This is where Russia fits in.
“There has been some participation with the design, architects, in whatever manner it was required, that was worked out between the two governments. This is one example of partnership, partnership to the extent that new technologies need to be inducted,” Singh said.
Russia will be giving India one of its Akula class nuclear submarines on a 10-year lease. This submarine, which has completed the first stage of sea trials in Russia, is far more advanced than the INS Arihant and will be operational earlier too.
This cooperation with Russia is a key part of an ambitious military modernization programme by India, which has hiked its military budget in the current financial year by 24% to $28.4 billion.
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