. | . |
Russia stages fresh military drills in the Arctic by AFP Staff Writers Moscow (AFP) March 30, 2021 Russia was holding fresh military exercises on Tuesday in the Arctic, a territory of growing importance for Moscow as it vies for regional dominance with rivals including the United States. Tensions between the West and Russia have led both sides to beef up their militaries in the remote High North, an area believed to be rich in natural resources and where melting ice has opened up new shipping routes. The Russian military on March 20 launched massive Arctic manoeuvres near Alexandra Land, part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, that are expected to include more than 40 separate drills. On Monday, the defence ministry announced the beginning of command exercises by the Northern Fleet that would continue over "several days". The exercises include tests of Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft systems, in-flight refuelling of a MiG-31 fighter jet and jamming the controls of drones simulating an attack. Last Friday, the drills saw three nuclear-powered submarines break ice and surface simultaneously and also featured a nuclear submarine firing a torpedo from beneath the ice. President Vladimir Putin praised the Arctic exercises on Friday, saying the Russian military had proven its ability to operate even "in harsh northern environments". Retired Russian admiral Viktor Kravchenko told the Interfax news agency that the exercises were to send a "signal to our foreign friends -- the Americans". Kravchenko said last week that drills would remind the United States it has competition in the region and to show that Russia has "been here for a long time." Russia is one of five Arctic nations staking their claims in the region, and Moscow has beefed up its military presence there, reopening and modernising several bases and airfields abandoned since the end of the Soviet era. Moscow has built a military base on the remote Kotelny Island, part of the New Siberian Islands in the eastern Arctic, and there are other installations including on the Franz-Joseph Land archipelago. Russia has also deployed its state-of-the-art S-400 air defence systems there. The United States in February sent strategic bombers to train in Norway as part of Western efforts to bolster its military presence in the region. For the first time since the 1980s, the US Navy deployed an aircraft carrier in the Norwegian Sea in 2018, and then several other vessels in Russia's economic zone in the Barents Sea the following year.
Russia trolls Suez Canal with northern 'alternative' Moscow (AFP) March 25, 2021 Russia cheekily pushed the Northern Sea Route on Thursday as an "alternative" to Egypt's Suez Canal after a huge container ship blocked the busy shipping lane. President Vladimir Putin has long promoted the passage along the country's Siberian coast as a rival to the Suez Canal, and Russia seized on the Egyptian route's traffic jam to play it up again. The Japanese-owned, Panama-flagged MV Ever Given got stuck Tuesday during a sandstorm, blocking the waterway that connects the Mediterranean with ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |