Russia's aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and missile carrying nuclear cruiser Pyotr Veliky enter English Channel.

Pyotr Veliky

Russia's aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and missile carrying nuclear cruiser Pyotr Veliky enter English Channel.(RBTH).

A unit of the Russian Northern Fleet's ships, including the heavy aircraft carrying cruiser Soviet Union Navy Admiral Kuznetsov, has entered the English Channel, Northern Fleet spokesman Captain 1st Rank Vadim Serga told Interfax-AVN.

"In the near future, the combat ships and the support vessels of this unit will pass through the channel and enter the North Sea, proceeding farther toward the Northeast Atlantic," Serga said.

Upon reaching the North Atlantic, the crews of the Admiral Kuznetsov and the heavy missile carrying nuclear cruiser Pyotr Veliky will conduct a series of air defense and anti-submarine defense exercises.

Units operating the air defense missile systems onboard the ships will hold drills, including a simulated operation to rebuff an air strike launched by an imaginary adversary, convoy maneuvers, as well as a simulated attack against high-speed targets, Serga said.

During the deployment, ceremonies marking the 69th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II will be held onboard the Russian ships.

The nuclear cruiser Pyotr Veliky had spent more than six months within the Russian Navy's group of ships in the Mediterranean Sea. The cruiser hosted the naval group's operations headquarters. Its crew also took part in 13 operations to ensure security during the transportation of Syria's chemical weapons.

The Admiral Kuznetsov had spent more than three months in the Mediterranean Sea. Its presence there allowed pilots of Russia's Northern Fleet to extensively practice flight operations aboard the aircraft carrier at sea.The Northern Fleet ships are expected to return to their base at the end of May.

N. Korea test-fires ballistic missiles in defiance of US-South Korean war games.

N. Korea test-fires ballistic missiles in defiance of US-South Korean war games.(CN)

North Korea on Wednesday test-fired two medium-range ballistic missiles, South Korea said, a defiant challenge to a meeting by the leaders of rivals South Korea, Japan and the United States that focused on the North's security threat.

The launch of what are believed to be Rodong missiles would be a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and marks a big escalation from a series of shorter-range rocket launches the North has staged in recent weeks to protest ongoing annual military drills by Washington and Seoul that the North claims are invasion preparation.

It would be the North's first launch of this type of missile since 2009, said South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok.

Kim told reporters that that the missiles flew about 650 kilometers (403 miles) off North Korea's east coast early Wednesday morning. It wasn't immediately clear where the missiles splashed down. Kim said the missiles were likely fired from a mobile launcher.

The North's arsenal of an estimated 300 Rodong missiles could in theory be fitted with nuclear warheads -- once Pyongyang masters the ability to miniaturize atomic bombs -- and, with a range of up to 1,300 kilometers (800 miles), could reach Tokyo and key U.S. military bases in Japan.Read the full story here.

Hmmm.........Iran Is Building Mock-UP Aircraft Carrier.

Photo: Iran is building a mock-up of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in its Gachin naval shipyard, near Bandar Abbas. (Digitalglobe/The New York Times).

Hmmm.........Iran Is Building Mock-UP Aircraft Carrier.(UOI).

The New York Times reported today that Iran is building a non-functioning mock-up of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln at its Gachin shipyard, near Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf. Times said U.S. intelligence analysts studying satellite photos of Iranian military installations first noticed the vessel rising from the shipyard last summer.

The barge-type structure has the same distinctive shape and style of the Nimitz-class carriers, as well as the Nimitz’s number 68 neatly painted in white near the bow. Mock aircraft can be seen on the flight deck.

“Based on our observations, this is not a functioning aircraft carrier; it’s a large barge built to look like an aircraft carrier,” said Cmdr. Jason Salata, a spokesman for U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. “We’re not sure what Iran hopes to gain by building this. If it is a big propaganda piece, to what end?” (The New York Times, 20 March)

Iran has previously used barges as targets for missile firings during training exercises. It was not clear when the mock-up will take its maiden voyage. Navy officials told the Times that it will presumably be shipped by rail on tracks that run through the shipyard, to its destiny in the Persian Gulf just a few hundred yards away. Hmmmm.....Reminds me of the Japanese...before Pearl harbor.

 Photo: The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln in April 2012.  (Karolina A. Martinez/U.S. Navy/AFP—Getty Images/The New York Times)

Video - North Korea video shows US city resembling New York, engulfed in flames after an apparent missile attack.

Video - North Korea video shows US city resembling New York, engulfed in flames after an apparent missile attack.(INN).North Korea, poised to conduct a nuclear test in the coming days, has posted a video on YouTube depicting a city in the United States, resembling New York, engulfed in flames after an apparent missile attack.

The footage was uploaded Saturday by the North's official website, Uriminzokkiri, which distributes news and propaganda from the state media.

The video is shot as a dream sequence, with a young man seeing himself on board a North Korean space shuttle launched into orbit by the same type of rocket Pyongyang successfully tested in December, AFP reported.

As the shuttle circles the globe -- to the tune of "We Are the World" -- the video zooms in on countries below, including a joyfully re-unified Korea.

The focus then switches to a city -- shrouded in an American flag -- under apparent missile attack on its skyscrapers, including what appears to be the Empire State Building, which appears to be either on fire or in ruins.
"Somewhere in the United States, black clouds of smoke are billowing," runs the caption across the screen, as quoted by AFP.

"It seems that the nest of wickedness is ablaze with the fire started by itself," it added.

The video ends with the young man concluding that his dream will "surely come true"."Despite all kinds of attempts by imperialists to isolate and crush us... never will anyone be able to stop the people marching toward a final victory," it said.

The North is expected to conduct its nuclear test as a defiant response to UN imposed sanctions following its December rocket launch.Hmmmm......"Have Nuclear weapons capability, will Nuke for food?" Read the full story here.

Iran tests battle tactics in strategic Strait of Hormuz, wants to 'Exploit' four new Islands in Strait.

Iranian Naval Bases

Iran tests battle tactics in strategic Strait of Hormuz, wants to 'Exploit' four new Islands in Strait.(JPost).(TI). DUBAI - The naval force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has held exercises to test new equipment and battle tactics in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported on Sunday.
The drills tested the IRGC naval force's combat-readiness, speed in responding to natural disasters and familiarity with new weapons, the Fars news agency reported. They were the fifth such tactical exercises held by the force and took place near Bandar Abbas, a Gulf port on Iran's southern coast, Fars said. It did not say when they took place.
Iran's regular navy, separate from the IRGC's naval branch, held drills in the Gulf in late December and early January meant to showcase the country's military capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil exports passes.
Iranian officials have often said Iran could block the strait if it came under military attack over its disputed nuclear program, and a heavy Western naval presence in the Gulf is meant to deter any such move.
Yesterday, Iran's Oil Ministry issued a request to the government, asking for the proprietorship of several islands, located in the Persian Gulf, aiming to launch gas hubs in the region.
These islands are Greater and Lesser Faror islands, Hendorabi and Farsi islands. Iran's oil ministry says the islands are non-residential, lack any real infrastructure.
Establishing gas hubs in Persian Gulf, close to the Hormuz Strait is both strategically and economically important for Iran.
On one side, Iran would be able to explore new gas fields, which exist on the Islands. Establishing hubs there would allow Iran to produce gas and export it right from the hub, through the Hormuz Strait.
Expert on Iran, Reza Taghizadeh believes that the move to own the islands by the Iran's Oil Ministry is pure propaganda.
"The ministry itself does not have any money to invest into these islands, as they take money from the country's construction budget approved by the parliament," he said. "The goal to own the islands is simply to make additional revenue from gas and oil exports."
On the other side, the small islands in the Persian Gulf give Iran additional strategic points, allowing it to "expand" further, and give country a couple of extra "eyes" in the Gulf, without using extreme measures, such as closing down the Strait of Hormuz.
Since all of the four islands belong to Iran, there should be no negative reaction from other countries towards Iran's intentions.Although, one of the islands, the Farsi Island reportedly has an IRGC Navy base there, and the island is completely restricted to public.Hmmmm......Read the full story here.

Russian Navy to hold biggest war games in decades late January in the Mediterranean and Black seas.

Borey class ballistic missile nuclear submarine

Russian Navy to hold biggest war games in decades late January in the Mediterranean and Black seas.(RT).The four major Russian Navy fleets will hold a joint exercise in late January in the Mediterranean and Black seas. It will be the biggest such event in decades.
­Commands for the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific fleets have been preparing for the exercises since December of last year, the Russian Defense Ministry has announced. Warships detached for the event are currently sailing to those regions.
“The primary goal of the exercise is to train issues regarding formation of a battle group consisting of troops of different branches outside of the Russian Federation, planning of its deployment and managing a coordinated action of a joint Navy group in accordance with a common plan,” the ministry’s information department explained.
The exercise will include several scenarios, including the loading of amphibious troops from an unprepared coast in the Northern Caucasus onto transport vessels.
The announcement comes days after the launch of the nuclear-powered submarine Vladimir Monomakh, the third Borei-class strategic submarine cruiser produced in Russia. The vessel, armed with Bulava ICBMs, will become part of the country’s nuclear deterrence force after completing sea trials.
The Russian Navy's five fleets each have their own headquarters. The strongest, the Northern fleet is based in Severomorsk in north-west of the country. The Baltic fleet is based in Kaliningrad, the western Russian enclave on the coast of the Baltic Sea.
The Black Sea fleet is based in Sevastopol, Ukraine, from which Russia rents a naval base. The Pacific fleet is based in Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East. The Caspian flotilla is the smallest in the Russian Navy, but is the strongest naval force in the enclosed Caspian Sea.Read the full story here.

Iran to launch maritime war game in three days.

Iran to launch maritime war game in three days.(TI).Iran's navy force will launch a war game in Oman Sea and India Ocean on Dec. 28, Fars News Agency reported.
Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that "Velayat 91" military drills that will start in three days, will cover a one million km square area in free waters.
"Testing of defense missile systems, submarines and war ships is scheduled during the war game," he said.
Sayyari also before noted on Nov.21 that in the future Iran plans to send its naval forces to Atlantic ocean, in an attempt to demonstrate the power and capabilities of Iranian navy.
In September, Sayyari said that Iran's naval forces will expand their international presence to safeguard the Islamic Republic's interests and rights.
On December 24, 2011 Iran's Navy launched massive "Velayat 90" naval military drills which covered an area stretching from east of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden.Read the full story here.More here.

War Game: Israeli Air Strike Deals Severe Blow to Iran Nukes.

War Game: Israeli Air Strike Deals Severe Blow to Iran Nukes.(INN). In a simulation war game featuring Israelis in senior positions, Israel loses 10 fighter jets in a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities and manages to set back the Iranian nuclear program by seven years. An angry President Barack Obama takes no steps against Israel but also refuses to intervene on its side. In the war game, conducted by Makor Rishon newspaper, the strike takes place on October 16, 2012, just three weeks before the U.S. election. The simulation was carried out with the participation of former Government Secretary Yisrael Maimon as a member of the “Octet” of trusted ministers and Home Front Minister; Iran expert Dr. Eldad Pardo as the Iranian regime; Maj. Gen. (ret.) Eitan Ben Eliyahu as a senior member of the Octet; Begin-Sadat Center Chairman Prof. Efraim Inbar as the Prime Minister; Dr. Mordechai Kedar as “the Palestinians,” Hizbullah and the Arab countries; journalist Amit Segal as Israeli and world press; journalist Ofer Shelach as Preient Barack Obama and Makor Rishon journalist Amnon Lord as game administrator. According to the game’s premise, on October 14 and 15, four independent and reliable Mossad intelligence sources indicate that Iran has begun transferring its strategic nuclear equipment to underground sites in Qom. Military Intelligence, meanwhile, determines that Iran was ready to enrich weapons-grade uranium. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu lulls the press into complacency by maintaining a seemingly regular schedule in Jerusalem. In the pre-dawn hours of October 16, the IDF launches Operation Yahalom (“Diamond”). The nuclear sites at Natanz and Arak are bombed, as are several other nuclear plants and research centers. Ten IAF jets are shot down. President Obama receives word of the strike when he is speaking to 350 rabbis in Florida. 
He convenes a consultation and says that Israel’s “excuse” for bombing is “irrelevant” because while Iran’s nuclear facilities may become immune to an Israeli attack by moving underground, they will not become immune to a U.S. attack. The timing of the strike “basically amounts to an intervention in the elections,” Obama adds. “The attack will have immediate repercussions influencing the election considerations of voters here, such as the expected rise in the price of oil. Israel could have waited until after the elecions.”
In the simulation, the formal White House announcement calls on Israel to cease hostilities but does not place sanctions on it or threaten it. On the other hand, it offers no assistance. “Israel is responsible for its own fate,” it says. “It went against our wishes, and therefore we do not offer it a military umbrella of protection against military responses by Iran or its proxies.”
Iran sends 1,500 tanks toward the border with Iraq and instructs Hizbullah to fire missiles at Israel. It also launches a series of large scale terror actions and fires missiles from Lebanon and from its own territory at hi-tech targets in Herzliya, suceeding in destroying Intel’s headquarters. A suicide bomber kills a large number of cadets in the IDF’s hi-tech Talpiyot program. Low-level radiation is released in Tel Aviv by a “dirty bomb.” In the war game, Israeli media shows surprising solidarity and unity on the day of the attack, initially sparing the government from criticism. Republican candidate Mitt Romney calls upon Obama to give Israel his backing “immediately.” Obama, meanwhile, threatens an Israeli minister who speaks with him on the phone: “I may still be president on November 7. This will have a price, as far as you are concerned. I will not elaborate right now, but you should take this into consideration.”
Iran decides to try and drive a wedge between Israel and the U.S.. It therefore tells the U.S. it will supply it with as much oil as it needs, in the hope of helping Obama get reelected. In late October, its agents blow up a car bomb in Tel Aviv and fire a missile at an El Al jet from a ship in the Mediterranean, killing 300 people. Meanwhile, intelligence indicates that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back 7 years by the Israeli strikes. With U.S. elections days away, Obama decides that “enough is enough” and begins to threaten Iran with a U.S. attack if it does not cease its hostilities against Israel. Whether real life will be anything like the simulation by Makor Rishon remains to be seen.Hmmmmm........The latter part seems doubtful. more like Obama blames Israel for the current economic crisis in America, and promises actions against Israel once reelected.Read the full story here.