Monthly Archives: October 2014

Nato Ficarra - Green Belt - Pinan Sandan
Nato Ficarra - Green Belt - Pinan Sandan.

By: Invision Photography Ltd

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Nato Ficarra - Green Belt - Pinan Sandan - Video

7.62 NATO Ball striking an armor steel plate
The video shows the interaction between a soft lead bullet and a strong steel plate during ballistic impact. Extreme deformations of the bullet can be seen. Fracture is described through node-split...

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7.62 NATO Ball striking an armor steel plate - Video

Turkey feels sustained NATO ally pressures over Kobani Kurds
The fate of Kobani is seen as less strategically crucial for the radical Islamic State movement than for Turkey. If the besieged city falls, Ankara is expected to feel seismic political aftershoc...

By: euronews (in English)

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Turkey feels sustained NATO ally pressures over Kobani Kurds - Video

Propagandist NATO Mouthpiece RADM John Kirby
Untrustworthily Foolish MAN / NATO Spokesman RADM John Kirby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BYtM7EAmO4 list=UUVqHqV-g0QFucFIJdjqBRsQ Propagandist NATO Mouthpiece RADM ...

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Propagandist NATO Mouthpiece RADM John Kirby - Video

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Editor's note: James Stavridis is dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and former supreme allied commander at NATO. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author

(CNN) -- Recent developments off the coast of Sweden raise many questions, and we do not as yet have answers.

Last week, Swedish media reported that the country's military was searching for an underwater vessel, possibly a Russian submarine, after an emergency radio transmission allegedly made in Russian (although Russia has denied it has any vessels in Swedish waters).

James Stavridis

Now, as the Swedish Navy continues to search for the unidentified undersea vessel that may have penetrated the country's territorial waters, it's worth keeping in mind some key facts to help place the issue in perspective.

For a start, anti-submarine warfare is complex and very difficult to execute properly. Especially in the close confines of territorial waters, the advantages tend to accrue to the submarine. The rocky floor of an inland sea like the Baltic can mask acoustic signatures that give watching ships, helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft the ability to track and identify a subsurface contact.

Second, this is happening against the backdrop of the Swedish Navy and Air Force having suffered significant budget cuts over the past decades. As a general proposition, the Swedes have a capable and professional force. But since the end of the Cold War, they have not invested heavily in anti-submarine warfare capability.

They are not alone in this regard -- many of the other European nations have likewise cut back in this area given a sense that anti-submarine warfare was something they would have needed against the USSR during the Cold War but less so during pre-Ukrainian crisis days with Russia.

And although Sweden is not a NATO member, meaning this operation is a national effort, it is a very strong partner to NATO and has been involved deeply in positive ways in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Libya and other operations. Yet the fact remains that there is no treaty obligation on the part of NATO to be involved. If the Swedes ask for help, it is likely that NATO would respond, but to date they have not done so.

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NATO should aid in Swedish mystery

NATO scrambled fighter jets including two Canadian F-18s twice in two days to intercept Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea, it said Tuesday amid reports that Russian military activity in the region is increasing.

Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Gericke said the Russian aircraft were flying in international airspace and had not violated the territory of alliance members.

Two Canadian F-18 Hornet jets were scrambled from the Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania on Monday to intercept a Russian Ilyushin-20 surveillance aircraft, which they shadowed for some 15 minutes, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said.

Once identification was successful, the intercept mission was completed and the two Hornets returned to their base, a NATO statement said.

Earlier, the Latvian military tweeted that NATO F-16 jets were dispatched on Tuesday to intercept a Russian Ilyushin-20 surveillance aircraft over the Baltic Sea. Gericke confirmed that NATO jets had also intercepted a Russian aircraft that day, but could not immediately provide more details.

NATO, which has 16 fighter jets in the region monitoring Baltic airspace, said it regularly launches jets to identify unknown or potentially hostile aircraft in the proximity of national airspace.

There were two similar incidents in the region on Oct. 7 and Sept. 11, but on neither occasion did the Russian aircraft constitute a threat to NATO forces, the alliance said.

In the past five days, the Swedish Navy has been combing the Stockholm archipelago for signs of a foreign submarine that officials suspect entered its territorial waters illegally. It hasnt officially linked Russia to the suspected intrusion.

The Finnish military says that Russian military aircraft have violated the small Nordic countrys airspace five times this year, and the Environment Institute said Russian military ships had twice intercepted one of its research vessels in international waters.

On Sept. 5 an Estonian security service officer was detained on the Russian border Estonia and Russia disagree on which side of it and is still in custody in Moscow.

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NATO jets intercept Russian fighters twice in two days over Baltic

Published October 21, 2014

Oct. 20, 2014: Two Canadian F-18 Hornet jets were scrambled from the Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania on Monday to intercept a Russian Ilyushin-20 surveillance aircraft, which they shadowed for some 15 minutes, NATO said(The Associated Press)

A member of the ground crew installs the protection pin onto a Canadian Air Force F-18 Hornet's missile at Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania Monday Oct. 20, 2014 . Two Canadian F-18 Hornet jets were scrambled from the Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania on Monday to intercept a Russian Ilyushin-20 surveillance aircraft, which they shadowed for some 15 minutes, NATO said. (AP Photo/Canadian Air Force, Cpl Gabrielle DesRochers)(The Associated Press)

HELSINKI NATO scrambled fighter jets twice in two days to intercept Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea, it said Tuesday amid reports that Russian military activity in the region is increasing.

Lt. Col. Robert Gericke said the Russian aircraft were flying in international airspace and had not violated the territory of alliance members.

Two Canadian F-18 Hornet jets were scrambled from the Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania on Monday to intercept a Russian Ilyushin-20 surveillance aircraft, which they shadowed for some 15 minutes, NATO said.

"Once identification was successful, the intercept mission was completed and the two Hornets returned to their base," a NATO statement said.

Earlier, the Latvian military tweeted that NATO F-16 jets were dispatched on Tuesday to intercept a Russian Ilyushin-20 surveillance aircraft over the Baltic Sea. Gericke confirmed that NATO jets had also intercepted a Russian aircraft that day, but could not immediately provide more details.

NATO, which has 16 fighter jets in the region monitoring Baltic airspace, said it regularly launches jets to identify "unknown or potentially hostile aircraft" in the proximity of national airspace.

There were two similar incidents in the region on Oct. 7 and Sept. 11, but on neither occasion did the Russian aircraft constitute a threat to NATO forces, the alliance said.

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Latvia: NATO jets intercept Russian fighters twice in 2 days over Baltic Sea