do i really have to say it??? 
Posted on 10/31/2009 8:14:12 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
While Russian admirals have been talking about building six aircraft carriers in the next decade, the president of Russia has recently ordered them to concentrate on smaller ships for the Black and Baltic Seas. The Black Sea fleet has been continually declining since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. That decline is the result of new countries (like Ukraine and Georgia) inheriting old Soviet ships and bases. That was the dissolution deal. Whatever Soviet weapons or bases were normally were, belonged to one of the 14 new nations. Most of Russia’s high seas ships were based in northern Russia (the Northern fleet, based next to Finland and Norway) or the Far East (the Pacific fleet, based north of China and North Korea). But the Baltic and Black Sea fleets were largely based in ports that were now part of a foreign nation. For over a century, Russia had four fleets (Northern, Pacific, Baltic and Black Sea). The latter two were virtually destroyed by the dissolution. But now Russia is having political problems (largely caused by Russia) with Georgia and Ukraine, and could really use some additional (and modern) naval power. To a lesser extent, the same situation applies in the Baltic (where Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania harbored, and often built, many of the Soviet ships of the Baltic fleet.) Poland, while not part of the Soviet Union, was a major naval ally, as was East Germany. Thus the Baltic fleet is a fraction of what it once was, and needs rebuilding.
So the admirals have been ordered to forget about aircraft carriers, and take care of business closer to home. Corvettes and patrol boats are needed, not carriers.
(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...
Bump
Too bad China can't adopt the same doctrine.
Russia knows that 1 Obama = far more than 6 Carriers.
More like 1 Obama = 1 Russian fleet
With Obama in Office, destroying freedom and prosperity in the USA, Russia gets a “peace dividend”.
CVN’s are giant floating targets anyway. The Russians and Chinese have had no luck in fielding carriers in their past.
do i really have to say it???
>>>So the admirals have been ordered to forget about aircraft carriers, and take care of business closer to home. Corvettes and patrol boats are needed, not carriers.
I guess about a dozen times now in stories about the “resurgent” Russian Navy I’ve posted that the Russian economy (roughly on par with the UK) can’t afford full sized carriers. Even the UK is slowly admitting this as they just last week announced the second of the two new carriers will instead be built as a troop transport LPH.
Corvettes and Patrol Boats aren’t glamorous but they are sensible.
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Average Russian corvette can sunk biggest cruiser....
At the height of the Russian Navy they could not have real carriers. What made them think they could do it this time? High oil prices? Takes more than that.
Shirley, you can't be serious. Ever hear of Libya?
When you have a Missle that does Mach 3 you don’t need carriers.
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