Free Republic

Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin told her co-hosts Friday on “The Five” that the Biden administration is not overhyping the possibility Russia will invade Ukraine to draw attention away from special counsel John Durham’s investigation. Greg Gutfeld said, “There’s something else going on here that is–that feels very, very manufactured. And I don’t know what it is.” Kennedy said, “I know what it is. It’s Jake Sullivan.” She continued, “Jake Sullivan is the national security adviser. And he is in deep yogurt in the Durham probe, and he’s been the one saying, ‘We have so much intelligence an...

MOSCOW, April 05 /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian Knights aerobatic team marks its 23rd anniversary. The group, the world's only one piloting heavy fighters, Sukhoi-27s, was formed on April 5, 1991. In the early 2000s, the Russian Knights and the Swifts began to fly in the formation called "Kubinka Diamond" of five Su-27 and four MiG-29 jets. The two aerobatic teams almost every day train at their base at Kubinka near Moscow, mastering their piloting skills in the air. Before joining the group, a pilot must undergo two-three-year training. Each of the newcomers is an ace who has logged at least 800...

Russia announced a new stealthy cruise missile for their heavy bombers and whatever emerges from the effort to develop something to compete with the American F-22 and F-35. The Russian announcement said little more, declaring that details of the new missile were classified. That was probably to avoid embarrassment, as the Russians have been having a hard time completing missile designs that were halted at the end of the Cold War (1991) because there was no more money. One of these missiles was the Kh-102, a stealthy development of the Cold War era Kh-55. The Kh-102 had been in development...

Russia is upgrading 30 of its Tu-22M3 bombers to the Tu-22M3M standard. The first of the M3M models recently entered service. This new version has improved electronics, is able to deliver smart bombs, and has in-flight refueling capabilities restored. Other components of upgraded aircraft were refurbished as needed. This is expected to keep these 30 Tu-22M3Ms in service for another decade or more. All 30 upgrades will not be completed until the end of the decade. A decade ago Russia had over a hundred Tu-22M3 "Backfire" bombers in service. Or so it was claimed, as these aircraft didn't fly much....

Naval strike aircraft to be part of Russian Air Force Naval strike aircraft will be reassigned to the Russian Air Force by the end of 2011, a high-ranking Navy source told RIA Novosti on Wednesday. "The strike component of naval aviation will be transferred under the control of the Russian Air Force by the end of the year," the source said. Naval strike aircraft include Tu-22M3 Backfire long-range bombers, MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors, Su-27 Flanker fighter jets, and Su-24 Fencer attack aircraft. "Black Sea Fleet's Su-24 attack aircraft based in the Crimea under a treaty with Ukraine will remain under control...

Russian Space Forces researchers are working on an unmanned reusable spacecraft similar to the US Air Force's Boeing X-37 orbital test vehicle, the head of the armed forces unit dedicated to military space operations has revealed. Oleg Ostapenko, speaking just weeks after the end of the X-37B's maiden, 220-day mission, said: "Something has been done along these lines, but as to whether we will use it, only time will tell." A move by Russia to develop a reusable spaceplane harks back to the Soviet Union's Buran space shuttle project. Buran was similar in concept and size to NASA's Space Shuttle,...

The Russian Air Force has lifted a ban on the flights of Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers imposed after an An-22 Cock transport plane was destroyed in a crash last December. The plane crashed in the Tula Region on December 28, killing all 12 crew members. The Air Force decided to ground all Tu-95s and An-22s because both aircraft types share the Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop, whose failure was suspected as the main cause of the crash. The An-22 remains the largest turboprop-powered aircraft in the world. Around 45 remain in service with the Russian Air Force and most are over 40...

Army aviation will remain part of Russia's Air Force, and its fleet will be fully upgraded in the future, a deputy Air Force commander said on Wednesday. Army aviation was an arm of the Ground Forces prior to becoming part of the Air Force in 2003. The possible return of army aviation assets to the Ground Forces has been one of the main discussion topics during the ongoing military reform in Russia. "Army aviation will continue to fulfill the set tasks as part of the Air Force," Lt. Gen. Igor Sadofyev said. It will carry out a wide-range of missions,...

Russian Air Force to procure 1,500 new aircraft by 2020 Su-27 fighter jets © RIA Novosti. Anton Denisov The Russian Air Force will procure over 1,500 new aircraft and significantly increase the number of high-precision weapons in its arsenal by 2020, a deputy Air Force commander said on Wednesday. "Overall, we are planning to acquire and modernize about 2,000 aircraft and helicopters by 2020...including more than 1,500 new aircraft and about 400 modernized," Lt. Gen. Igor Sadofyev told reporters in Moscow. According to the general, in 2011 the Air Force plans to adopt Su-27SM, Su-30M2 and Su-35S multirole fighters, Su-34...

Russia has grounded all of its MiG-31 interceptors after one crashed. The 200 or so in service will be examined to see if there is a common defect that might cause others to crash. MiG aircraft in general have a reputation for these kinds of problems. Mig-21s, MiG-23/27s and MiG-29 all have had these design defect and quality control issues. Now the curse comes to the MiG-31. Three years ago, Russia completed testing of the latest version of its MiG-31 interceptor. The MiG-31 is itself an upgrade of the MiG-25, which was developed to deal with the American B-70 bomber....

Sukhoi plans to hand over a new batch of Su-34 fighters to the Russian air force by year-end. The aircraft are currently undergoing flight testing at the Novosibirsk NAPO assembly facility, company officials say. Although they would not specify the total number, four aircraft are believed to be involved. This will be the first batch to be handed over since the contract signing in 2008, which calls for the delivery of 32 fighter bombers through 2013. The air force already operates five Su-34 strike aircraft from the preproduction batch. During the Vostok 2010 military exercise last July, these aircraft flew...

Sukhoi Company conducted flight tests of serial Su-34 fighter bombers at the Chkalov Aviation Production Association (NAPO) flight testing station in Novosibirsk. Serial production of the Su-34 has been set up at the NAPO plant, which is a part of the Sukhoi holding company. The Russian Air Force already has in service several Su-34s. Another consignment of such planes is due by the end of the year. In 2008 a state contract was signed with the government to supply the Russian Defense Ministry with Su-34 serial-production aircraft. The Su-34 can effectively attack land-based, sea- and airborne targets by day and...

Russian aircraft are approaching, and entering, Japanese air space more frequently. Such intrusions are up 80 percent this year. So far this year, Japanese fighters have scrambled 186 times to deal with these alerts. That's a 30 percent increase from last year. In contrast, fighters were dispatched only 24 times to deal with Chinese aircraft and four times for Taiwanese aircraft. Nearly all of these intrusions were by maritime reconnaissance or electronic eavesdropping aircraft. These intrusions have been increasing over the last three years. Early on, the Japanese launched many aircraft for each intrusion. For example, in 2008, a Russian...

Two F16’s from the Dutch Royal Air Force have intercepted two Russian bombers over the North Sea on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the Air Force. The two Russian aircraft type TU-95 MS (Bear) were for some time monitored by the Dutch aircraft and eventually flew away. It is the second time in more than one month that Russian long range bombers are flying in European airspace. On the night of 15th September, British, Danish and German aircraft came in action because of two Russian aircraft. Tuesday first Danish and British aircraft came in action before the Dutch fighter...

According to the Joint Staff for Japan's Self-Defense Forces, its air force responded to 149 alerts against Russian aircraft in the April-September period, up 80% on the year. Japanese jets responded to a total of 186 alerts, up 30% from the year-earlier 146, with Russian aircraft drawing about 80% of such responses, known as scrambling in military terms. Chinese aircraft sent Japanese fighters scrambling 24 times, with Taiwanese planes drawing four responses. Russian planes have been spied over the disputed islands off Hokkaido, but have not been confirmed to have violated Japanese airspace elsewhere. Russia conducted a major military exercise...

Russian naval aviation is facing a crisis, in that within the next five years, few of the navy's aircraft will be flyable. It's not that no one saw this coming, it's just that there were larger calamities to deal with. The collapse of the Soviet armed forces after 1991 (when the Soviet Union dissolved) was a catastrophic event, with the largest military establishment on the planet quickly losing 80 percent of its manpower. A lot more equipment stayed on the books, in theory. But over 100,000 tanks and aircraft were allowed to quietly fall apart in the 1990s, because there...

Sukhoi says it will deliver the first Su-35S multirole fighter to the Russian air force by the end of the year. Last year the Russian military ordered a batch of 48 fighters with the deliveries to be completed by 2015. On Oct. 11, Sukhoi reported that the first production Su-35S is already in final assembly at the KnAAPO facility in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, with preparations underway for flight testing. The single-seat Su-35S is a mid-life upgrade of the Su-27 Flanker. It combines the proven Flanker airframe with more powerful 117S engines equipped with thrust vector control. The electronics also have been overhauled...

The recent Russian decision to buy four Mistral amphibious assault ships from France is just the beginning. According to the Russian Defense Minister, Russia will seek more Western weapons and military equipment. Russia is planning to spend over $600 billion in the next decade to replace aging Cold War gear. The Defense Ministry insists that the Mistral deal is but the first of many. Russia already has a deal with Israel, to build a factory in Russia to build Israeli UAVs under license. This arrangement may be aborted because the Israelis apparently expect Russia to stop selling advanced weapons to...

The Sukhoi Company has completed factory flight tests of the first of four Su-30M2 multi-role strike fighter aircraft for the Russian Air Force. The long-range combat aircraft underwent the tests at the flight test station of the Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft production association named after Yuri Gagarin (KnAAPO), Sukhoi said. Presently, the aircraft is being readied for certification test, it said. The Russian Defence Ministry had awarded a contract to Sukhoi to supply four Su-30M2 fighters during the international aerospace show MAKS-2009. The Su-30M2 is a long-range strike aircraft based on the Su-30 fighter design optimised for precision strikes on ground and...

The Russian Air Force’s in-service Su-34s designed by the Sukhoi Company have proved their superior operational capabilities and flight performance in the East-2010 military exercises held in July. In performance of the operational mission a non-stop flight was carried out from the European part of Russia to the Far East with in-flight refueling and subsequent attack as per task assigned. Soon it is planned to increase the operational capability of the aircraft by adding new aerial munitions, announced the Director General of Sukhoi Mikhail Pogosyan today at the press conference at the Farnborough International Airshow-2010. The Su-34 frontline bomber will...