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Russia Starts Production of S-500 Missile Systems
02 July 2019
View attachment 8940
S500 Missile launcher

Production of Russia’s S-500 surface-to-air missile defense systems, having range greater than its predecessor S-400 has commenced, Sergei Chemezov, CEO of Rostec, said Sunday.

"We have begun manufacturing the new S-500 systems. The range of these systems will be higher than the popular S-400. I’d prefer not to tell about them now, they are not yet operational. I think they will enter service very soon," he said in an interview with the Deistvuyushchiye Litsa (Political Actors) with Nailya Asker-zade program on the Rossiya-1 television channel.

“The S-500 missile defense systems will be delivered to troops in the next few years, earlier than initially planned, after the completion of the tests,” Yuri Borisov, Russian
Deputy Prime Minister was quoted as saying by TASS earlier this week.

However, according to Sergei Shoigu, the country’s defense minister, the deliveries of first S-500 defense systems will begin next year.




 

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Fourteen Russian sailors killed in submarine fire: ministry
July 2, 2019 / Updated an hour ago
by Polina Devitt, Christian Lowe

View attachment 8962
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fourteen Russian sailors were killed when a fire broke out while their deep-water research submarine was carrying out a survey of the sea floor near the Arctic, the Russian defense ministry said on Tuesday.

A Russian media outlet, RBC, cited an unnamed military source as saying the submarine was nuclear-powered, but Russian officials made no comment on the type of vessel involved.

The incident was the deadliest involving a Russian naval submarine since August 2000, when the nuclear-powered Kursk sank to the floor of Barents Sea after two explosions in its bow, killing all 118 men aboard.

The latest incident also took place in the vicinity of the Barents Sea. Authorities in nearby Norway said they were monitoring but had not detected abnormally high levels of radiation.

“This is a great loss for the navy,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised meeting with his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu.

“We express our deepest condolences to the families of those who died. We will do everything we can to support them,” said Putin, who canceled a public engagement on Tuesday afternoon to deal with the incident.

Putin told Shoigu to fly to Severomorsk, the Russian naval base on the Barents Sea where the submarine is now located, to find out what caused the incident, and then report back to him.

The incident took place on Monday in Russian territorial waters and the fire has been extinguished, the Russian defense ministry said earlier
“Fire broke out on board a deep-water scientific research vessel that was studying the marine environment of the world ocean on behalf of the Russian navy,” Interfax news agency cited a ministry statement as saying. “Fourteen submariners died as the result of smoke inhalation.”

The defense ministry did not identify the type or model of the vessel. At their meeting, Shoigu and Putin also made no mention of the type of vessel, or whether it was nuclear-powered.

The RBC news outlet said it was a vessel known by the designation AS-12, which is powered by a nuclear reactor and is designed to carry out special operations at depths where regular submarines cannot operate.

Norwegian officials said they had been in touch with their Russian counterparts but had not been able to establish the type of vessel.
“We have made checks and we are not monitoring too high radiation levels in the area,” Per Strand, a director at the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, told Reuters.

He said Russian officials had told his agency that a gas explosion took place on board the submarine.

Russia denied this piece of information later on Tuesday. The Interfax news agency quoted the defense ministry as saying that it had not reported a gas explosion to the Norwegian side.

HIGH-RANKING CREW

In his meeting with his defense minister, Putin said that of the 14 dead, seven held the rank of captain, first class, and two were holders of the Hero of Russia, the highest military award issued in the post-World War Two period.

“This is not a regular vessel, as we know, it’s a scientific research vessel. It’s a highly professional crew,” Putin said.
The sinking of the Kursk submarine in 2000, soon after Putin took office, focused official attention on the state of the military and its hardware, which had been subject to underfunding and neglect after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Since then, Putin has overseen a massive increase in military spending that has allowed the armed forces to renew their equipment and improve training and morale.
However, accidents have continued to happen as the military, used by the Kremlin to project its growing international muscle, has ramped up its activities and extended into new theaters of operation.

In December 2016, a Russian military plane carrying 92 people, including dozens of Red Army Choir singers, crashed into the Black Sea en route to Syria where Russian forces are deployed. Everyone on board was killed.

Russia’s military has been developing new submarines as part of a broader push for new defense hardware under Putin that has also included hypersonic missiles and naval drones.

U.S. media have cited Pentagon officials as saying they are concerned about the increased activities of Russian submarines and spy ships operating in the ocean off the U.S. coastline.

According to an archived report in Russian newspaper Izvestia, the AS-12 submarine was first launched in 2003 and is known by the nickname “Losharik”.

It is made out of a series of inter-connected spheres, which are stronger than the conventional submarine construction and allow the AS-12 to resist water pressure at great depths.

The plant that built the vessel declined to disclose any details about it, citing secrecy rules, Izvestia reported.

Additional reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Peter Graff and Frances Kerry

 

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Russian defense chief says there are survivors of navy fire
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
30 minutes ago
03 July 2019

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 2, 2019. A fire on one of the Russian navy's deep-sea submersibles killed 14 sailors, the Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday without giving the cause of the blaze or saying if there were survivors. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

MOSCOW (AP) — Some crew members have survived a fire that killed 14 sailors onboard one of the Russian navy’s deep-sea research submersibles, the nation’s defense minister said Wednesday.

Sergei Shoigu didn’t specify how many crew members were rescued from Monday’s fire. Speaking at the navy’s Arctic base of Severomorsk, he praised the vessel’s crew for “heroic” action, saying they sacrificed their lives to rescue a civilian expert and save the ship after the fire erupted.

Details were scarce about the incident on the ship, which was on a mission to measure sea depths in Russia’s territorial waters in the Barents Sea. The Defense Ministry said the seamen were killed by toxic fumes from the blaze, but did not specify how many crew members were aboard.

The ministry didn’t name the vessel, but Russian media reported it was the country’s most secret submersible, a nuclear-powered research submarine called the Losharik intended for sensitive missions at great depths.

Few images and details have emerged about the vessel. In 2012, the Losharik was involved in research intended to prove Russia’s claim on the vast Arctic seabed. It collected samples from a depth of 2,500 meters (8,202 feet), according to official statements at the time. Regular submarines can typically dive only to depths of up to 600 meters (2,000 feet).

President Vladimir Putin, who summoned Shoigu Tuesday to report on the fire, said in televised comments that seven of the dead had the rank of captain and two were awarded the nation’s highest medal, the Hero of Russia.

“It’s a huge loss for the navy,” Putin said.

Russian media on Wednesday identified some of the victims, including the ship’s captain, Denis Dolonskiy, who was awarded the Hero of Russia medal for the 2012 Arctic seabed research mission.

Shoigu, speaking during a meeting with officials investigating the fire, said those who died were “high professionals” and “unique experts.”

“The submariners acted heroically in the critical situation,” he said. “They evacuated a civilian expert from the compartment that was engulfed by fire and shut the door to prevent the fire from spreading further and fought for the ship’s survival until the end.”

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to answer questions about the vessel’s name, design and mission, saying that the information is confidential.

A Vatican spokesman said Pope Francis has been informed of the fire and “expresses his condolences and closeness to the families and the victims affected by the disaster.” Putin is set to visit the Vatican Thursday for a meeting with the pope.

The blaze marks the most serious Russian naval accident since 2008, when 20 crew members died aboard the nuclear-powered Nerpa submarine in the Pacific Fleet when a firefighting system was accidentally initiated.

The Losharik is named after a Soviet-era animated cartoon horse made up of small spheres — a reference to the unique design of its interior hull, reportedly made of a chain of titanium spheres capable of withstanding colossal pressure at great depths.

Media reports speculated that it likely has features similar to the U.S. deep submergence vessel, the NR-1, which was mothballed in 2008 after nearly 40 years of service.
But unlike the NR-1 that was designed to dive to 910 meters (3,000 feet), the Losharik was built to go far deeper.

Some observers speculated the Losharik was even capable of going as deep as 6,000 meters (19,685 feet), but the claims couldn’t be independently confirmed. Analysts suggested that one of its possible missions could be disrupting communication cables on the seabed.

In Russia’s worst submarine disaster, the Kursk nuclear submarine suffered an explosion and sank during naval maneuvers in the Barents Sea on Aug. 12, 2000, killing all 118 crewmembers. Putin, who was in his first year of his presidency, came under heavy criticism at the time when he failed to immediately interrupt his vacation to handle the catastrophe.
___
Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.

 

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Russian-made 'World's Fastest Helicopter Minoga' Ready on paper - WDF Exclusive
Eagle 1
03 July 2019

View attachment 9000
The Prospective designs

The Russian Helicopters holding has completed a detail design of the advanced ship-based helicopter for the Russian Navy, codenamed ‘Minoga,’ CEO Andrey Boginsky said.

"Our job has been accepted," he said. "Together with the Defense Ministry, we now continue drafting a statement of work for the next stage, for the stage of experimental design."

In May 2018, Boginsky said that the detail design of the project was scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2019.

As was reported earlier, work has been launched to develop a fast-speed helicopter for the Industry and Trade Ministry and the Defense Ministry of Russia. Then-Commander-in-Chief of Russia’s Aerospace Force Viktor Bondarev noted at the time that the helicopter was being developed for the Russian Defense Ministry, would enter its serial production from 2022 and would be able to develop a speed of up to 500 km/h.

The Russian Navy is to receive several modifications of the prospective seaborne Minoga helicopter, including airborne assault one, a defense industry source told TASS on the sidelines of the Army-2016 defense forum.

The chief designer of the Kamov design bureau (part of the Russian Helicopters), Sergei Mikheyev, earlier told TASS that an unmanned version of the rotorcraft may be created if necessary.
 

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Russian Mini-Submarine in which 14 Sailors were Killed, Believed to be Nuclear Powered
03 July 2019
View attachment 9007
Russian mini-submarine, 'Losharik'_Image via Russian media

A fire broke out in a Russian mini-submarine near the Barents Sea killing 14 sailors on July 1, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense in Moscow.
Reuters quoted Per Strand, a director at the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority as saying that his agency "made checks" and was "not monitoring too high radiation levels in the area" where the accident took place, suggesting that the vessel is nuclear-powered.

"He said Russian officials had told his agency that a gas explosion took place on board the submarine," Reuters added. However the Russian MoD said in a statement on Tuesday it had not notified the Norwegian authorities about a ‘gas explosion’ on board a Russian Navy research submersible.

“On July 1, 14 sailors died in Russian territorial waters as a result of inhaling combustion products aboard a research submersible vehicle designated for studying the seafloor and the bottom of the World Ocean in the interests of the Russian Navy after a fire broke out during bathymetric measurements,” state-controlled TASS news service said quoting an MoD statement.

The fire was extinguished “thanks to the self-sacrificing actions of the team,” the ministry said. The incident is believed to have occurred off Russia’s northern shore in the Barents Sea on Monday.

The submarine was towed to the Russian North Fleet headquarters in Severomork and an investigation is underway, according to the news agency.

The submersible was identified by Russian-language news service RBC as Losharik (AS-12), a nuclear-powered mini-submarine that is deployed by the Russian Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, also known as GUGI.

The Losharik is believed to be nuclear powered but its specifications and functions remain a secret. It is estimated to carry a crew of 25 and is able to dive deep and stay submerged for weeks, according to information posted on Russian navy writers’ blogs.

 

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Putin says ready to step up dialogue with U.S over disarmament: paper
July 4, 2019

View attachment 9059
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during the International Forum "Development of Parliamentarism" in Moscow, Russia July 3, 2019. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS

ROME (Reuters) - Russia is ready to step up dialogue with the United States over disarmament and strategic stability, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, adding that he discussed these issues with his American counterpart Donald Trump in Japan.

“I think that reaching concrete measures in the field of disarmament would contribute to strengthen international stability. Russia has the political willingness to do it. Now it is up to the U.S.” to decide, Putin was reported as saying in a interview with Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.

Putin, who will meet Pope Francis and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Thursday, said he talked about these issues with president Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan last month.
“Recently, it seems that Washington has started to reflect about stepping up dialogue with Russia over a wide strategic agenda,” Putin added.

Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; editing by David Evans

 

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Israeli media: Russian and US submarines clash in Alaska
Thursday, July 4, 2019

View attachment 9073
Russia and the US are holding urgent consultations due to an encounter between their submarines, according to a report by the Israeli military news portal DEBKAfile.

Citing anonymous military sources, the site reports that the incident took place in American territorial waters near Alaska, when a US submarine intercepted a Russian nuclear submarine.

The Russian submarine that was escorting the strategic submarine reportedly responded with a Balkan 2000 torpedo, which breached the American submarine’s hull.

The White House and the Kremlin began consultations on Tuesday night, DEBKAfile writes.

Conspiracies surround abrupt changes to US Vice President Mike Pence’s schedule, as he unexpectedly called off his trip to New Hampshire without explanation.

Pence received an “urgent call” which necessitated his return to Washington, the vice president’s spokesperson Randy Gentry told the press.

“Something came up that required the VP to remain in Washington. It’s no cause for alarm,” wrote his press secretary, Alyssa Farah, later on Twitter.

According to Ms. Farah, Pence did not leave Washington, and the reason for the cancellation could be publicized within a few weeks.

On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that 14 submariners of its North Fleet had been killed in a fire on Monday in a deepwater submersible. According to RBC, the incident took place on the AS-12 nuclear deepwater station, also known as “Losharik”. Development of this unarmed submarine began in the 1980s and was completed only in the 2000s, writes the Russian news outlet Military Survey. Its purposes include eavesdropping on foreign underwater communication lines and monitoring Russia’s own cables, sources told RBC.

Russia will not officially publish any information about the submersible on which the tragedy took place, said Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. “It is classified as absolutely top-secret information,” he noted.

Some of the crew members were saved, said Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, adding that the victims will be given national awards.

Shoygu said that the submariners were “heroic” during the fire in one of the modules, and first evacuated a “civilian industry representative”.

“They closed the hatch behind him in order to prevent the fire from spreading throughout the submersible, but they themselves fought to the end for the vessel’s survival,” he observed.


 

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Russia unveils Barnaul-T complex elements
View attachment 9076
The MRU-D on static display at the Army 2019 exhibition. Source: IHS Markit/Mark Cazalet

NPP Rubin, a division of the ROSEL Concern, has unveiled the MP-D and MRU-D air-droppable amphibious command-and-control (C2) vehicles, which form part of the Barnaul-T air automated air defence C2 system.

The vehicles are intended for Russia's Airborne Forces (VDV), and are based on the BTR-MDM 'Rakushka' armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis. They were revealed at the Army 2019 defence and security exhibition, held in Kubinka, outside of Moscow, in June.

The MRU-D is referred to as the "intelligence and control module", and it is provided with a radar said to be capable of detecting targets at a maximum range of 40 km, and capable of simultaneously tracking up to 100 different targets, with an automatic refresh rate of 1-12 seconds, according to a factsheet displayed with the vehicle. It is manned by a driver, commander, and two crew to control the radar and C2 equipment, with the control stations housed in the crew compartment.

The MRU-D is primarily used to locate and track low-altitude aerial targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), helicopters, and ground attack aircraft. The MRU-D then processes and transmits this information to local air-defence assets. It is capable of continuously operating on internal power sources for 72 hours, and has a maximum set up time of five minutes from road march to combat readiness configuration, the factsheet said.

The MP-D is referred to as the "planning module" and it is provided with a pyramid-shaped radar that is said to be capable of detecting targets at a maximum range of 150 km, and capable of simultaneously tracking up to 100 different targets, with an automatic refresh rate of 1-12 seconds, according to the factsheet. It is manned by a driver, commander, and four crew to control the radar and C2 equipment, with the control stations housed in the crew compartment.


 

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Russia claims its ‘light tank’ will be better than American
Jul 6, 2019


View attachment 9097
According to information from the Russian The Federal News Agency citing military experts, newest Sprut-SDM1 125 mm self-propelled anti-tank gun, or also know as light-tank, will be better than newest American combat vehicle that developing under the Mobile Protected Firepower program.

The U.S. Army seeks to receive as soon as possible the new combat vehicle, commonly known as a light tank, to provide the Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) with a protected platform capable of delivering overwhelming precision firepower combined with the ability to move rapidly in a variety of terrain conditions.

According to a recent report released by Army News Service, the Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle, part of the Next-Generation Combat Vehicles suite, is currently in the competition after two vendors were chosen in December to each build 12 prototypes for under $376 million.

Beginning in March, those prototypes will be put through the wringer in a series of lethality, survivability and mobility tests. A light infantry unit at 82nd Airborne Division will also conduct an assessment later next year to gain Soldier input.

Russian news agency claimed that the Russian Armed Forces already have this type of combat vehicles and said that called the Sprut. Also added that now is developing upgrade variant of Sprut-SDM1 125 mm self-propelled anti-tank gun for use in Russian Airborne Troops (VDV).

The new version of the Russian ‘light tank’ is fitted with the Sosna-U multichannel gunner sighting system (like the T-72B3 main battle tank). The Sprut is armed with a 2A75M 125 mm smoothbore gun, the specifications of which are almost identical to those of the 2A46M5 gun. The Sprut-SDM1 carry an ammunition load of 40 rounds, including 20 high explosive fragmentation rounds and 14 armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabots, as well as six anti-tank guided missiles.

The Sprut-SDM1 is officially referred in Russia as a self-propelled anti-tank gun, or tank destroyer. Though it is a light tank by its function.

According to the current information, under the State Armament Programme, the Russian Airborne Troops is set to get its first Sprut-SDM1 light tank in 2020.

Russia claims its ‘light tank’ will be better than American
 

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Russian Su-27 Fighter Scrambled To Intercept US Reconnaissance Plane Near Border
July 5, 2019
Updated July 6, 2019

View attachment 9106
Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker (image: The National Interest)

A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter was scrambled to intercept a US-made Boeing P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft near Russia’s southern border, Russian defense ministry said in a statement Friday.

"A Su-27 fighter jet of the Air Force on duty in the Southern Military District was scrambled to intercept a target," the ministry said.

According to the ministry, as the fighter approached the US plane, it immediately changed it course and deviated from the Russia.

In mid-June, the Su-27 Flanker fourth-generation jets were scrambled to intercept US strategic bombers, which approached Russia’s state border from the Black Sea and the Baltic Seas, according to TASS.

 

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Russia’s New Mi-28N Gunship Has Maneuverability Nearly Twice That Of Predecessor
06 July 2019

View attachment 9113
Russian Helicopters’ new Mi-28N gunship outperforms its predecessor, the Mi-24, with increased manoeuvrability and overload handling, a senior test pilot said Thursday.

"The Mi-28N helicopter’s manoeuvrability capabilities have been expanded almost by two times compared to the Mi-24. The Mi-28 is capable of a roll angle of up to 70 degrees compared to 45-60 degrees for the Mi-24," Vladimir Khorev, senior test pilot of Russian Helicopters, was quoted as saying by TASS.

The senior test pilot added that the Mi-28 outshines the Mi-24 by permissible overloads.

"The same is true for the overload: we can have a vertical load factor of 1.8 aboard the Mi-24 compared to 2.8 for the Mi-28. The pitching motion is also twice as much: up to 30 degrees on board the Mi-24 and up to 60 degrees aboard the Mi-28," he explained.

The Mi-28N 'Night Hunter' is a serial-produced attack helicopter designated to search for and destroy enemy hardware, including tanks, as well as manpower and low-speed air targets. The helicopter has a crew of two: a pilot and a flight navigator. The Mi-28N can develop a maximum speed of 300 km/h and its take-off weight exceeds 11 tonnes. The gunship is armed with a 30mm gun and can carry both missiles and rockets.

 

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Putin Signs Law Which Cuts Russia's Participation In INF Treaty

View attachment 9114
President of Russia Vladimir Putin has signed a new law that axes Moscow’s participation in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed between the US and Russia in 1987 to avoid a repeat of incidents such as the ‘Cuban Missile Scare’.

The law, which was backed by parliament was published on the government portal for legal information on July 3, Repors Radio Free Europe.

In February, the United States suspended its participation in the 1987 INF Treaty, with Washington and its allies accusing Russia of deploying a missile system that violates the pact.

Russia, which denies the allegation, later followed suit. Moscow accuses the United States of breaking the accord itself, a claim rejected by Washington.

The INF treaty bans the usage of missiles with short and intermediate ranges, ie between 500- 5,500 km (310-3,420 miles). The two countries, in 1962, were on the brink of a nuclear war when Moscow responded to a US missile deployment in Turkey by sending ballistic missiles to Cuba. To avoid such an event again, the INF pact was signed between the Soviet Union and the US on December 8, 1987. It took effect on June 1, 1988, just before the Cold War ended in 1991.

Last month, Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the Russian State Duma’s International Affairs Committee, hinted at the potential signing of a trilateral nuclear deal between the US, Russia and China. The 2011 accord, or the New START treaty, is the only US-Russia arms control pact limiting deployed strategic nuclear weapons. It will expire in
February 2021 but can be extended for five years if both parties agree.

 

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Russia considers using decommissioned ballistic missiles for satellite launches
July 7, 2019

View attachment 9198

Russian State Corporation for Space Activities Roscosmos is considering the possibility of using decommissioned missile systems to launch civilian satellites into orbit, said the head of the Corporation Dmitry Rogozin.

According to him, Intercontinental ballistic missile Voevoda could be used for this purpose. This ballistic missile could be adjusted for launches of civilian spacecraft. Now this project is being discussed with the Ministry of Defense.

Rogozin believes that this method should be applied to all missiles that are going to be decommissioned. He expressed confidence that it is necessary to use the technology of "missiles full life-cycle" to get the maximum benefit from the missile, starting with the first stages of its design and production to the point of its disposal. Rogozon said that "the most important thing is not to do that under the pressure or the risk."

 

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Brand-New S-500 Missile Systems Can Tackle Attack From Space – Russian Military Official
08.July.2019

View attachment 9224
Sputnik / Alexey Malgavko


In late June, Sergei Chemezov, chief executive of the country’s defence industry giant Rostec, said that Russia had recently started manufacturing the sophisticated S-500 missile systems.

The new S-500 air defence system will specifically be aimed at countering an attack from outer space, Yuri Muravkin, the deputy chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces’ anti-aircraft missile troops, told the Russian daily Krasnaya Zvezda.

“Realising the fact that nowadays and in the foreseeable future, the boundaries between air and space are being and will be erased as the aerial enemy gradually becomes an aerospace one, it is safe to say that the S-500 Prometey missile systems entering service is [already] in the pipeline”, Muravkin pointed out.

The remarks come after Sergei Chemezov, CEO of the state-run corporation Rostec, said in an interview with the Russian broadcaster Rossiya 1 in late June that they are “already starting to produce the S-500”.

“It’s a more modern complex. I don’t want to talk about it now, because it’s not in service yet. I think it will appear in the near future”, he added.

Chemezov also said that the S-500 systems are due to be put in service after their tests wrap up. He did not elaborate.

Earlier that month, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, for his part, touted “successful preliminary [S-500] tests” which he said “allowed the Russian Defence Ministry to make the decision to shorten the period of the start of serial supplies to the troops of this air defence missile system”.

“As a result, air defence missile regiments will start receiving S-500 systems already in the coming years", Borisov told reporters at the Army 2019 forum.

The S-500 Prometey, also known as 55R6M "Triumfator-M", is a Russian surface-to-air missile/anti-ballistic missile system designed to replace the S-400 air defences.

With the S-500’s specifications still officially classified, media reports claimed that the system is capable of destroying targets up to 600 kilometres (372 miles) away. It can reportedly also track and simultaneously strike up to 10 ballistic targets moving at speeds of up to 7 kilometres (4 miles) per second (about Mach 20).

In April, the Russian Foreign Ministry underlined in a statement that for Moscow, “the prevention of an arms race in space and its transformation into another sphere of armed confrontation remains a foreign policy priority”.

“We are ready to conduct an equal dialogue with all states in order to keep space free of weapons of any kind as a condition for ensuring international peace and security”, the statement pointed out.

In a separate development, President Donald Trump announced late last year that the US was creating a space force to catch up with China and Russia. Moscow, in turn, warned Washington against deploying conventional arms in space, saying that the international community had yet to adopt an agreement on the issue.

 

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Tests Of Russia’s Sarmat ICBM To Be Completed In 2020
July 8, 2019

View attachment 9240
Russia's Sarmat ICBM (image: local media)


Russia’s RS-28 Sarmat inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), nicknamed “Satan-2” in the west, will complete the testing phase by the end of 2020, Dmitry Rogozin, Head of Roscosmos, said Saturday.

"Firing tests are already underway. The bulk of firing tests will be completed by the end of the year. We expect the closing stage of tests at the end of next year," TASS reported quoting Rogozin as saying.

The RS-28 Sarmat is an advanced silo-based system with a heavy liquid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile. It has been in the process of its development since the 2000s to replace the R-36M2 Voyevoda ICBM. It weighs about 200 tonnes and has a throw weight of around 10 tonnes.

 
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