Tango01 | 20 Oct 2016 9:12 p.m. PST |
… English Channel. "The Russian aircraft carrier fleet is on its way to pass through the English Channel on its way to join Bashar al-Assad's bombing campaign in Syrian city Aleppo, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed. The eight-strong flotilla, led by the Admiral Kuzentsov, has completed training its pilots for bombing missions while it has been tracked by the Royal Navy's HMS Richmond and several NATO vessels. And Vladimir Putin's admirals are keen to ramp up the pressure on Britain's warships by calling in extra assets from the Mediterranean in a mission dubbed 'Operation Sea Fist' by the Russian media. A MOD spokesman said: 'It is pretty unambiguous that they have set a course to pass through the Dover Strait.'…"
More here link So what?… is this a problem?…
Amicalement Armand |
Editor in Chief Bill | 20 Oct 2016 9:40 p.m. PST |
The fishing boats better watch out, remember what happened the last time! |
Jabsen Krause | 20 Oct 2016 10:44 p.m. PST |
This is bizarre. Almost unreal. However, the comment regarding Mr. Putin's ships, as "behaving very well", is borderline satire! That being said, this is the Daily Mail. |
AUXILIAPAL | 20 Oct 2016 11:09 p.m. PST |
Very interesting, I heard nothing of it in the French medias… |
GarrisonMiniatures | 20 Oct 2016 11:35 p.m. PST |
I see no problems with a Russian fleet doing what several American fleets are doing continuously – en route to support on-going operations of their forces in a military operation. I would imagine that the NATO military, whatever is said in the press, feel the same. The only noteworthy aspect is that they now have the ability to do it. |
GarrisonMiniatures | 20 Oct 2016 11:36 p.m. PST |
Re fishing boats, do we need the 's' on the end of boat these days? |
freerangeegg | 21 Oct 2016 1:38 a.m. PST |
Still it makes a really useful excercise for Natos submariners…. |
Silent Pool | 21 Oct 2016 2:33 a.m. PST |
And what does the European Union have to say about such a development? And China? |
Todd McLeister | 21 Oct 2016 3:14 a.m. PST |
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Striker | 21 Oct 2016 7:04 a.m. PST |
There should be some awesome pics coming out of this. I wonder, will the Russians be able to make it back? |
FatherOfAllLogic | 21 Oct 2016 7:07 a.m. PST |
I am shocked, shocked! that the Russkies have that many operable ships at the same time and place….. |
FatherOfAllLogic | 21 Oct 2016 7:09 a.m. PST |
By the way, isn't the Dover Strait UK/French water? |
Rod I Robertson | 21 Oct 2016 8:33 a.m. PST |
Law of the Sea – Right of innocent passage. The very principle which the UK and US navies are often invoking and forcefully enforcing. The Russiams are entirely within their rights to take this route as long as they behave themselves enroute. So enjoy the spectacle while you can. The Eastern Meditterranian will soon no longer be a NATO controlled sea! Good luck on the No-Fly zone and the proposed Iraqi invasion of Syria. Cheers. Rod Robertson. |
kiltboy | 21 Oct 2016 9:36 a.m. PST |
As Rod has said it's a legal passage and is being monitored appropriately. One thing I did find interesting is the amount of smoke coming from the carrier's funnel as I always assumed smoke and warships were a bad combination. Does the smoke point to the level of maintenance on the vessel and as such also helps explain the tug? David |
Legion 4 | 21 Oct 2016 10:10 a.m. PST |
It's Russia/Putin show of force on the way to the coast of Syria. To assist in keeping Assad in power. Even if many Syrian cities end up looking like Stalingrad. And Aleppo resembling the dark side of the Moon. They know with the political situation in the US. They can pretty much do as they like. Its been that way for quite sometime. And Putin like all "dictator-type leaders" wants to stay in power, etc., … And likes to feed his people the line. That the US is weak and Russia is again strong, etc. … The Russians are masters of propaganda. And it appears many Russians may like this new strong(er) Russian Nationalism rising. And there are still a few hard core old school communist around too. They like Russia rising up again to be a "real" world power … It's a win-win for Putin … |
15mm and 28mm Fanatik | 21 Oct 2016 10:19 a.m. PST |
proposed Iraqi invasion of Syria.
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Legion 4 | 21 Oct 2016 10:49 a.m. PST |
The Iraqis can't clean up their own problems in their own backyard. Let alone invade Syria … |
Lion in the Stars | 21 Oct 2016 11:53 a.m. PST |
One thing I did find interesting is the amount of smoke coming from the carrier's funnel as I always assumed smoke and warships were a bad combination.Does the smoke point to the level of maintenance on the vessel and as such also helps explain the tug? As I understand it, the Russians use Bunker C (aka the sludge left over after you refine everything else usable out of the crude oil) for fuel, like the US did in WW2. It's VERY smoky. US ships don't smoke because they run on JP8 jet fuel. But the tug *is* there because the Russian ships are in piss-poor mechanical condition. |
Mithmee | 21 Oct 2016 1:52 p.m. PST |
Well they have every right to sail through there. |
Ben Avery | 21 Oct 2016 2:04 p.m. PST |
I think it's interesting that it was the carrier in particular that was smoking. Apparently the engines were built in the Ukraine, so spares are hard to come by. |
Lion in the Stars | 21 Oct 2016 3:50 p.m. PST |
I just bet that there are enough submarines shadowing the fleet that you could walk across the Channel without getting wet if they all surfaced at the same time… |
willlucv | 22 Oct 2016 6:18 a.m. PST |
Not sure why people are making such a big issue out of this, its a planned transit by a surface fleet to a known destination for a known purpose. Why is news always hyped clickbait these days, it really winds me up. |
Tgunner | 24 Oct 2016 6:47 p.m. PST |
Could make for an interesting game scenario. What if someone got an itchy trigger finger? Pretty small action with maybe 6-7 warships per side. Shipwreck? Harpoon? Very doable scenario wise. |