Russian paratroopers to get high-speed buggies based on latest armored vehicles

The need for creating the buggy was demonstrated at the Center-2019 strategic command and staff drills in September 2019, according to Airborne Force Commander Colonel-General Andrei Serdyukov.

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Russia is developing a new high-speed buggy for paratroopers based on the latest family of Strela armored vehicles, Airborne Force Commander Colonel-General Andrei Serdyukov said in an interview with the Defense Ministry’s Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper on Friday.

"Work is underway to create a Strela light buggy. The model’s mobility characteristics are unique. Its maximum possible speed is 155 km/h. By now, a whole family of such vehicles has been developed. They can be used for various missions, including for the purpose of mounting armament," the commander said.

The need for creating the buggy was demonstrated at the Center-2019 strategic command and staff drills in September 2019. There are plans to equip Airborne Force units "of a new light type" with Strela vehicles, he stressed.

The press office of Russia’s Military Industrial Company told TASS on July 13 that the Company’s specialists had developed a family of VPK-Strela new light armored vehicles that could be transported by Mil Mi-8 helicopters on an external sling.

The baseline vehicle weighs 4.7 tonnes and its armor provides the 2nd-degree ballistic protection (it shields against bullets with a heat-strengthened core of 5.45x39mm cartridges of the AK-74 assault rifle, bullets with the heat-strengthened core of 7.62x39mm rounds of the AKM submachine-gun and bullets with the non-heat strengthened core of 7.62x54mm ammunition fired from the Dragunov sniper rifle).

The vehicle’s anti-blast protection shields the crew inside it upon hitting mines or explosives with a yield of up to 2 kilograms in TNT equivalent.

The Strela can develop a speed of up to 155 km/h on the road and carry eight personnel. The vehicle’s design is based on advanced assemblies, units and accessories planned for their use in mass production in the domestic auto industry. The vehicle’s components are 100% produced on the territory of Russia.

Source: ITAR-TASS 31-07-2020

Kremlin awaits clarification over Russians taken into custody in Belarus

Moscow also expects that all the rights of Russian citizens detained in Belarus will be observed.

MOSCOW, July 30. /TASS/. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told reporters that Moscow does not yet have full information regarding the detention of Russians in Belarus and expects the situation to be clarified.

"Today, our ambassador held a meeting in the Foreign Ministry and with [our] colleagues in Minsk. We hope that we will receive comprehensive information about what happened as a result of that communication and through communication channels between our special services," he explained.

According to the Kremlin spokesman, Moscow does not have full information about the incident yet. "We do know that 33 Russian citizens were detained in Belarus yesterday, and another 200 are still on a wanted list. There is no information about any illegal actions by the Russian nationals that might serve as a reason for being taken into custody. We know nothing about that. We see and hear official statements from Minsk that the Russians are allegedly involved in plans to destabilize the situation in Belarus in the run-up to the presidential election. We do not have any other information," he specified.

When asked to comment on remarks by Zakhar Prilepin, a Russian author, who said, according to media reports, that there were individuals among those taken into custody who had been with him in Donbass, Peskov replied, "We will take that into account."

The Kremlin also expects that all the rights of Russian citizens detained in Belarus will be observed.

"No doubt, we expect that all the rights of detained Russian citizens will be observed in full," the Kremlin spokesman said.

Source: ITAR-TASS 30-07-2020

Su-27 and Su-30 fighters hold stratospheric dogfight in southern Russia drills

During the drills, the fighters’ crews performed complex aerobatic maneuvers.

SEVASTOPOL, July 28. /TASS/. The crews of fighter jets of the Southern Military District’s composite air formation practiced an aerial battle and aerobatic maneuvers during drills, the Black Sea Fleet’s press office reported on Tuesday.

"The training flights in the stratosphere were performed by the crews of Su-27SM3 and Su-30M2 fighters from the Southern Military District’s air units stationed in the Republic of Crimea and the Krasnodar Region. During the flights, the pilots practiced searching for and detecting a notional enemy’s aircraft and conducting an aerial battle at an altitude of 12-15 kilometers," the press office said in a statement.

During the training aerial battles, the fighters’ crews performed complex aerobatic maneuvers, the statement says.

During the drills, the pilots also practiced flight navigation, piloting along the designated route and dodging a notional enemy’s air attack weapons, and also successfully landed on a notionally destroyed runway. The crews performed all the exercises both solely and as part of pairs, wings and groups, the press office said.

Source: ITAR-TASS 28-07-2020

Crimean Shipyard floats out advanced cruise missile corvette

The launch ceremony was attended by Crimean Head Sergei Aksyonov.

KERCH, July 24. /TASS/. The Zaliv Shipyard in Kerch on the Crimean Peninsula floated out the Project 22800 Karakurt-class cruise missile corvette Tsiklon, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene.

The launch ceremony was attended by Crimean Head Sergei Aksyonov, officials of the city and the Shipyard, shipbuilders and the public.

"Your work for building ships gives a possibility for other Crimean enterprises working in cooperation with you to utilize their capacities. This is actually a big deal. I am confident that thanks to you Crimea will revive its glory of a shipbuilding region of the Russian Federation," Aksyonov said.

This is the first Project 22800 ship floated out from the slipway of the Zaliv Shipyard, the Shipyard’s press office specified.

Project 22800 Karakurt-class missile corvettes are a Russian series of green-water multipurpose missile/artillery warships. The corvettes of this class developed by specialists of the St. Petersburg-based Almaz Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) displace about 800 tonnes, develop a speed of over 30 knots and their sea endurance is 15 days.

Karakurt-class corvettes are armed with Kalibr-NK cruise missiles and the upgraded AK-176MA 76.2mm artillery gun.

Source: ITAR-TASS 25-07-2020

Latest mobile radar arrives for mountainous air defense force in Siberia

The radar is capable of detecting air targets at ranges of 1 km to 40 km and at an altitude of up to 10 km.

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. A Garmon mobile radar station arrived for a mountainous air defense formation in the Republic of Tyva in Siberia, the press office of the Central Military District reported on Friday.

"The radar arrived for air defense units of a motor rifle formation of the 41st all-arms army. It is designed to detect an air enemy and control the airspace in the interests of short-and medium-range anti-aircraft missile batteries," the press office said in a statement.

In addition, the radar’s team has a radio station for communications. About five minutes are required for a team of three to assemble the radar and prepare it for operation," the statement says.

An operational radar is capable of detecting air targets at ranges of 1 km to 40 km and at an altitude of up to 10 km. The radar can detect air targets moving at a speed of 700 m/s.

Source: ITAR-TASS 24-07-2020

Latest missile frigate enters service with Russian Navy

Project 22350 frigates are long-distance deployment ships and carry precision weapons.

ST. PETERSBURG, July 21. /TASS/. The Project 22350 frigate Admiral Kasatonov has entered service with the Russian Navy, Navy Spokesman Captain 1st Rank Igor Dygalo announced on Tuesday.

"By order of Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, the Project 22350 latest frigate Admiral Kasatonov has been accepted for service in the Navy," the spokesman said.

The ceremony of accepting the frigate for service in the Navy and hoisting the St. Andrew’s (Russian naval) flag on its board was held in the Neva roadstead, following the warship’s arrival for its participation in Russia’s Main Naval Parade.

"The frigate Admiral Kasatonov, which has successfully completed state trials, has been accepted for service in the Navy in the Neva roadstead abeam Senate Square. The Navy has received another ship capable of effectively coping with assigned missions in long-distance maritime and oceanic zones," Yevmenov said.

Project 22350 frigates being built at the Severnaya Shipyard (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) are long-distance deployment ships and carry precision weapons. They are capable of operating effectively both solely and as part of Russian Navy all-arms forces.

Project 22350 warships displace 5,000 tonnes, are 135 meters long and 16 meters wide and can develop a speed of about 30 knots. They have an operating range of 4,500 miles, a crew of about 200 and their sea endurance is 30 days.

Source: ITAR-TASS 21-07-2020

Russian fighters shadow Norwegian spy plane over Barents Sea

No violations of Russia’s state border were allowed, the National Defense Control Center stressed.

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. The Northern Fleet’s fighter jets shadowed a Norwegian Air Force P-3C Orion reconnaissance plane over the Barents Sea, Russia’s National Defense Control Center reported on Friday.

The Russian airspace control capabilities detected a Norwegian Air Force P-3C Orion reconnaissance plane on July 17, 2020, the Center said.

"The fighter aircraft of the Northern Fleet’s Air Force and Air Defense Army carried out its shadowing," it said.

No violations of Russia’s state border were allowed, the National Defense Control Center stressed.

On July 14, the Russian airspace control systems detected a Norwegian Air Force P-3C Orion reconnaissance plane over the Barents Sea flying towards Russia’s state border. The Northern Fleet’s fighter aircraft were also scrambled to identify and intercept the target.

Source: ITAR-TASS 18-07-2020