The Cold War really is back.

[Jimbuna]

Most gratifying to know we can still depend on the senior service to put on a show of force when required :doh:

A Russian aircraft carrier and and a nuclear-powered battle cruiser have passed through the English Channel - escorted by a British warship.
The seven-strong naval task group led by the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's largest warship, entered the Channel last night, a Royal Navy spokesman said.
Although the ships did not enter UK territorial waters, their movements were tracked by the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon - the duty fleet-ready escort vessel - which was dispatched from Portsmouth.

Apologies for the source:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2623480/The-Cold-War-really-IS-Russian-aircraft-carrier-group-Soviet-era-ships-escorted-English-Channel-state-art-Royal-Navy-destroyer.html

[Rhodes]

So, the good old days are back! At least hollywood and tv series will clean the dust of old cold war scripts ideas...

[STEED]

Who said the cold war ended?

UK territorial waters!..Well where the heck are they so we can get our UK fishing fleet to fish in them as I see it the bloody EU owns it all.

[Jimbuna]

I'm wondering if our naval personnel were busy playing bowls at the time :)

[STEED]

I'm wondering if our naval personnel were busy playing bowls at the time :)

The Navy budget dose not stretch that far. :O:

[Oberon]

Wonder if the Kuznetsov is finally going to get that refit they've been talking about for a while now. :hmmm:

[Catfish]

Of course it is back. And Russia is not the driving force:

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/05/02/washington-intends-russias-demise-paul-craig-roberts/

The term "Nato-Ost-Erweiterung" is all the rage, in Germany.

[Dmitry Markov]

Kuzya (Kuznetsov) didn't get any major refit since mid 00's. He is now going to change airwing from Su-33 (which are ending their resource) to MiG-29 KUB. Pilots are not very happy - for them it's like changing from F-14 to F-18 in US navy. But it is believed to be a cost-effective interim option - new carriers that are being designed now would carry sea variant of PAK FA (maybe).

[August]

Of course it is back. And Russia is not the driving force:

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/05/02/washington-intends-russias-demise-paul-craig-roberts/

The term "Nato-Ost-Erweiterung" is all the rage, in Germany.

What claptrap. Surely you don't actually believe that foolishness do you Catfish?

[Lionclaw]

A Danish registered SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) flight had to take evasive action to avoid a mid air collision with a Russian spy plane. :o

It happened 2 months ago it seems. Heard it on the radio this morning.

http://www.thelocal.se/20140508/sas-plane-in-russian-spy-plane-near-miss

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/6073732/

[Oberon]

Kuzya (Kuznetsov) didn't get any major refit since mid 00's. He is now going to change airwing from Su-33 (which are ending their resource) to MiG-29 KUB. Pilots are not very happy - for them it's like changing from F-14 to F-18 in US navy. But it is believed to be a cost-effective interim option - new carriers that are being designed now would carry sea variant of PAK FA (maybe).

He's long overdue for a refit, IIRC they want to keep the Kuzya (love that version of the name) until around 2025? Or something like that, which surely means the systems onboard will need upgrading in order to respond to new threats. I know that before they build the new carrier they've got to build the facilities to build the carrier since the Kuznetsovs shipyard was in western Ukraine. So Kuzya isn't going anywhere soon, and she does need that upgrade. Would make sense to do it sooner rather than later, especially since the pilots are going to be changing aircraft too. :hmmm:

[Herr-Berbunch]

Hardly cold war returning, just like it wasn't near Xmas when they sheltered in Moray Firth from bad weather and transited North Sea/Channel. Same for Bear visits, regular things but just not as regular as 20+ years ago.

Sensationalist journalism.

[raymond6751]

The sighting report is incomplete. A proper report would indicate the location and direction of the Russian ship(s). Were they exiting or entering the Channel? Was their course Northwards or Southward? The newspaper report did mention Brest, but not direction of travel.

If heading into the Channel from the Atlantic/Biscay area they would be heading home. Otherwise, they are heading to the Atlantic/Biscay area.

If heading out, they might be heading to the Med and the Black Sea, as in Ukraine/Crimea operational area.

See what I mean?

[Oberon]

The sighting report is incomplete. A proper report would indicate the location and direction of the Russian ship(s). Were they exiting or entering the Channel? Was their course Northwards or Southward? The newspaper report did mention Brest, but not direction of travel.

If heading into the Channel from the Atlantic/Biscay area they would be heading home. Otherwise, they are heading to the Atlantic/Biscay area.

If heading out, they might be heading to the Med and the Black Sea, as in Ukraine/Crimea operational area.

See what I mean?

Put your reading glasses on. :03:

The ships, which are currently being escorted by the Navy, are believed to have been returning to the Baltic after manoeuvres in the Mediterranean. They are headed for a naval base in Severomorsk in the north-west of Russia.
It is not unusual for Russian warships to pass through the Channel - the same group went through in the opposite direction in December.

[u crank]

Put your reading glasses on. :03:

http://i.imgur.com/72Uxy9u.jpg

[Oberon]

:har::har::har::har: :yeah:

[raymond6751]

http://i.imgur.com/72Uxy9u.jpg

Right on! Sorry guys.

My eyes must have been misty in the channel spray! :salute::timeout:

[Garion]

I'm wondering if our naval personnel were busy playing bowls at the time :)

Nah Mate, but a good game of Uckers is a possibility :arrgh!:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uckers

Cheers

gary

[Aktungbby]

I'm wondering if our naval personnel were busy playing bowls at the time :)

Indeed! Sir Francis Drake whilst playing bowls on Plymouth Hoe is informed of the approaching Spanish Armada. " Time enough for another game and still beat the Spaniard!"http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/DrakeMonumentTavistock.jpg/800px-DrakeMonumentTavistock.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/DrakeMonumentTavistock.jpg)

[Jimbuna]

Would never have guessed.

[Aktungbby]

HMS DRAGON. vigilance in the channel HMS Dragon met the taskforce off the coast of Brest as they entered the English Channel.
The Type 45 Destroyer, one of the Royal Navy’s most technically advancedhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png (http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Seven-Russian-Navy-ships-enter-English-Channel/story-21079243-detail/story.html#) warships, was able to pinpoint and monitor the movement of the seven-strong group led by Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov as it approached the UK.
As the Royal Navy’s Fleet Ready Escort – a designated Royal Navy Frigate or Destroyer that is maintained at high-readiness for UK home waters – HMS Dragon made ready her 200-strong ship’s company and sailed from Portsmouth.
Once the ships spotted each other they briefly sailed close by as a standard ‘meet and greet’.
As well as the Kuznetsov, the task group included the Kirov Class nuclear powered battle cruiser Pyotr Velikiy; three tankers; Segey Osipov, Kama and Dubna; one Ocean-going Tug Altay and the Landing Support Ship Minsk.
Minister for the Armed Forces Mark Francois said: “This routine action by HMS Dragon, in her capacity as the Fleet Ready Escort, once again underlines the professionalism and credibility of the Royal Navy in keeping the whole of the UK secure at and from the sea." No playing bowls this time!:salute:


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Royal_Navy_Type_45_Destroyer_HMS_Dragon_MOD_451531 24.jpg/800px-Royal_Navy_Type_45_Destroyer_HMS_Dragon_MOD_451531 24.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Royal_Navy_Type_45_Destroyer_HMS_Dragon_MOD_451531 24.jpg)https://s.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/8fYQakH7A5gQj6ZISPp3Mw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTY0MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9Nz U7dz05NjA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/f5b1cbf509b89812530f6a706700785a.jpg

[vanjast]

Those SU33's look deceptively nice :D

[Dmitry Markov]

As were Tomcats in their last days. Their era is coming to an end. MiG-29 KUB are much smaller but have more air-to-sea and air-to-ground options. Indians like them but they never had Su-33's...

HMS Dragon looks nice too :-) I will certainly build a model of her in 1/350 scale after completing JMSDF ATAGO and our Steregushiy corvette.

[Jimbuna]

As were Tomcats in their last days. Their era is coming to an end. MiG-29 KUB are much smaller but have more air-to-sea and air-to-ground options. Indians like them but they never had Su-33's...

HMS Dragon looks nice too :-) I will certainly build a model of her in 1/350 scale after completing JMSDF ATAGO and our Steregushiy corvette.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234939776-hms-dragon-airfix-1350/

[Dmitry Markov]

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234939776-hms-dragon-airfix-1350/

That's one very nice done!!

[Jimbuna]

That's one very nice done!!

Yeah, probably the best example I've come across so far :cool: