Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Can The U.S. Stop Its Military Decline

American Decline: U.S. naval intelligence warns in detail of a "new technologically advanced Russian navy" that's to return Moscow "to clear great power status." No Reaganesque U.S. response seems likely.
A 68-page report from the Office of Naval Intelligence this month, "The Russian Navy: A Historic Transition," should scare the American public the way that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan of exactly 36 years ago did.
Chances are, the people will never even hear about it.
"The new, technologically advanced Russian navy, increasingly armed with the Kalibr family of weapons, will be able to more capably defend the maritime approaches to the Russian Federation and exert significant influence in adjacent seas," the report states.
In October, Russian vessels launched 26 Kalibr-class supersonic cruise missiles, which flew more than 900 miles over Iran and Iraq to 11 anti-Assad and Islamic State targets within Syria. (Four reportedly crashed.) Moscow launched another 18 Kalibr cruise missiles last month at Syrian targets, and more this month.
This "very low-flying, fast missile" — as retired Adm. Eric McVadon, formerly U.S. naval attache in Beijing, once described it — can perform sharp-angled escapes and other advanced maneuvers shortly before reaching its target, a naval intelligence manual states. It could sink U.S. aircraft carriers. Chinese submarines have their own version of the missile.
"This multipurpose force," the report continues, will "provide a flexible platform for Russia to demonstrate offensive capability, threaten neighbors, project power regionally and advance President Putin's stated goal of returning Russia to clear great power status."
The report notes numerous specific naval construction projects with short-term time frames for completion:
"Dolgorukiy nuclear-powered ballistic submarine (SSBN) class . .. eight units by the end of 2020."
Severodvinsk fourth-generation multipurpose nuclear attack submarine: "Eight are planned to be built through 2020."
"Grigorovich-class FFGS Guided Missile Frigate ... six Grigorovich units were expected to be in the Black Sea by 2020."
And don't expect any 900-ruble toilet seats.
Read the rest of this IBD editorial HERE.



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1 comment:

cimbri said...

Too many bad decisions, like that Littoral combat ship. They could have built many more very modern destroyers for the price of those ships.

Look at all the money they blew on those white elephant stealth bombers, like the B2. Meanwhile, every time something big happens, they send the B52s.

Now they're talking about updating the land based ICBMs. Leave them alone. We don't need to update them. That's another 500 billion down the rat hole.