Posted on 10/27/2016 1:14:44 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The BBC's Jonathan Marcus reports from Brussels that the battle group is currently at anchor off the North African coast and taking on fuel.
The group has two "oilers" (tankers) with it and it is not clear which of the vessels is actually refuelling, he adds.
The Russian embassy in Madrid formally withdrew a request to Spain for refuelling after being approached by the Spanish foreign ministry.
"Given the information which appeared on the possibility that these ships would participate in supporting military action in the Syrian city of Aleppo, the ministry of foreign affairs requested clarification from the embassy of the Russian Federation in Madrid," the Spanish foreign ministry had said on Wednesday in a statement to the BBC.
It added that permission had been granted in September for three Russian ships to dock in the port of Ceuta between 28 October and 2 November. It said such stops for Russian naval vessels had taken place for years in Spanish ports.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
They should just channelize the Volga.
Interesting. They wanted to refuel in Spain instead of using their allies in North Africa.
Even the Soviets had underway refueling, although it was in an odd fore-and-aft formation. Shows you how confident the current Russian Navy is that they have to anchor to fuel.
This is looking more and more like the Baltic Fleet run to Tsushima.
Where are the Japs when you need them?
They want to let everyone know they can that they are there. Problem is..that carrier is a peice of dung.
I worry about the missile fleet.
Good think there isn’t a IJN waiting for them.
good news !
finally someone attacking ISIS
I agree with Trump, we should join with the rooskies and crush ISIS first
Note the effective Soviet era smokescreen. The cloud hides the MIGs very well!
Interesting hybrid. A carrier, also armed with 12 Shipwreck (P-700 Granit) missiles.
Huh, and any of those twelve could be nukes.
Aviation cruiser with a small airwing of light-strike fighters of little utility in a major air campaign. They’d be better off delivering their aircraft to an airfield and leaving the theater of operations. Not having to take off from a carrier deck would allow the aircraft to carry a full payload.
Makes you wonder if it’s the missiles they need in theatre, rather than the planes.
I suspect they will join the Black Sea fleet permanently, to help hold the Crimea.
Much more useful there long term than way up north.
Yeah, and they’re already past the Dogger Bank fishing fleet to use as targets.
It was a wonder they didn’t kill more fishermen that night.
That makes sense.
Aha - the reason why the Kuznetsov had those 12 missiles fitted seems to have been so that it would be counted as a “aircraft carrying cruiser” rather than as an aircraft carrier.
Which meant that (during the days of the USSR) it could pass freely into and out of the Black Sea under the terms of the Montreux treaty. Whereas an aircraft carrier couldn’t.
I have no idea if that distinction is still important. But that’s why it’s such a strange design.
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