← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · madrussian
Thread ID: 11614 | Posts: 3 | Started: 2003-12-26
2003-12-26 18:21 | User Profile
*Russian bear has to do on his own. No lobby in Washington to get favorable business deals, pass along secrets/intelligence and no-interest no-repayment loans. For some reason, I can't see any downside to resurgent Russian nationalism and (hopefully) their military. ZOG not securing ALL of the world's oil fields? *
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW - Russia has begun fitting its aging fighter jets with new engines and electronics as part of the most ambitious military modernization plan since the 1991 Soviet collapse, aimed at strengthening the armed forces' sagging might, officials said Friday.
The first batch of five upgraded Su-27SM fighters flew Friday from the aircraft plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Far East to the air force's Lipetsk combat training center in western Russia for testing.
Russian TV showed the sleek, twin-engine blue-and-grey fighters landing at a snowy airfield and enthusiastic pilots hailing their performance.
"They still smell of fresh paint. They are like factory-fresh cars," a smiling squadron leader, Yuri Gritsenko, told NTV television.
Maj. Gen. Alexander Kharchevsky, the commander of Lipetsk, said the upgraded fighter "features the latest achievements in electronics, weapons and navigation." The planes have computer displays instead of analog gauges, a satellite-guided navigation system and sophisticated weapons control systems.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly promised to increase funds for combat training and modernize military arsenals.
Since the Su-27 entered the Soviet arsenal during the 1980s ââ¬â built as an answer to the American F-15 Eagle fighter ââ¬â the cast-strapped Russian air force has bought just a handful of new jets. Russian pilots have complained bitterly that their aircraft were falling apart while Russia's aircraft builders were producing new jets for China, India and other foreign customers.
Next year will see the most ambitious weapons modernization program since the Soviet collapse. The government plans to spend $11.7 billion, or about 14 percent of the 2004 federal budget, on modernizing fighters, upgrading strategic bombers and buying new helicopter gunships, missiles and other weapons.
Ivan Safranchuk, head of the Moscow office of the Center for Defense Information, a Washington-based think-tank, said fitting old Soviet weapons with modern electronics was the cheapest way to upgrade Russia's aging arsenal.
"The military has a lot of hardware that can remain in service for a long time," Safranchuk said in a telephone interview. "Modernizing it by inserting new software appears to be the most cost-efficient way."
Lt. Gen. Alexander Zelin, air force deputy chief, said the program to overhaul Russia's fleet of Su-27s will be completed in 2005, the Interfax-Military News Agency reported. Zelin wouldn't say how many of the several hundred Su-27 fighters in service would be converted to the new standard.
Zelin said the plane's new version has better capabilities than the Su-30MKK and Su-30MKI ââ¬â the advanced versions of the Su-27 sold to China and India in recent years.
"We can't have aircraft in our inventory that would be worse than those sold to foreign customers," Zelin said.
Increasing wear-and-tear on Russian air force planes and lack of pilot training have contributed to an increasing number of crashes of combat aircraft in recent years. Because of fuel shortages, Russian pilots fly an average of only some 20 hours a year compared to a minimum of 200 hours in Western air forces.
2003-12-26 18:55 | User Profile
Russian bear has to do on his own. No lobby in Washington to get favorable business deals, pass along secrets/intelligence and no-interest no-repayment loans. For some reason, I can't see any downside to resurgent Russian nationalism and (hopefully) their military. ZOG not securing ALL of the world's oil fields?
I hope Russian nationalism is behind it. How much influence do you think the tribe has in Russia now? Among other possibilities, I'd hate for it to be a fall back measure, in case Americans realize how ridiculous the theory of an Islamic threat is. You know, another 'cold war' and all that.
2003-12-26 19:21 | User Profile
There is obvious need for upgrades, so that's the primary reason behind it. The tribe has no influence in the army or security apparatus. Putin is doing a balancing act trying to do what's good for Russia but at the same time piss off the tribe all over the world as little as possible. There are symbolic gestures to the zhids all around: menorahs in Moscow and the Kremlin.
As far as the new Cold War is concerned, the zioswine sure make noises in the US. They know they can follow up and get what they want, so now it's probably just warning shots.