Posted on 08/12/2005 9:07:42 AM PDT by jb6
MOSCOW. Aug 12 (Interfax) - The Russian Navy will buy a Panther deep-sea rescue vessel from Britain in the next few months, Chief of the Navy Staff Adm. Vladimir Masorin told Interfax on Friday.
"This vehicle is more advanced than Scorpio and will be deployed at the base of the 40th research center in St. Petersburg, which hosts a special diving team," he said.
"The Navy plans to set up an airborne unit to rescue submarines in distress that will be equipped with the Panther, various other rescue equipment, an airplane and ground vehicles," Masorin said.
Smart move. An even smarter move would them to distance themselves from China and seek closer ties with Britain and the USA. I know I would feel a lot better doing business with Russia than China.
Good move, considering their recent submarine "goofs."
Smart. Seeing as they darn near had a second accident in three years.
Not to self: stay away from Russian subs
They've gone out of their way to avoid interfacing with the US in this episode. They asked the Brits for help before they asked us. Now they are buying their hardware.
They need to get over their embarrassment of losing the Cold War and face up to the fact that we are on the same side now.
Their next submarine disaster won't be like the last one. It will be something totally new and unexpected -- something for which they're not prepared.
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