War Is Boring

The Russian military will acquire long-range, presumably jet-powered strike drones to help replace its arsenal of decrepit Cold War-era Tupolev heavy bombers, according to Moscow’s long-range aviation commander, Lt. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev.

English Russia takes us inside the Novosibirsk factory where workers are hand-assembling some 90 Su-34 fighters for the Russian air force.

Via English Russia, a collection of photos from the First Chechen War (1994-1996).

The collapse of the Soviet Union left thousands of military aircraft scattered across Russia and its neighboring republics. They slowly rust away where they were abandoned. English Russia features a new aircraft graveyard pretty much every week.

Last week, the U.S. Navy released its annually-updated 30-year shipbuilding plan. The document confirms what analysts have expected since the January publication of the Pentagon’s new Strategic Defense Guidance: the world’s leading naval power is no longer planning a major expansion from today’s 285 warships to 313 or more, as was expected as recently as last year. Instead, the U.S. combat fleet will slightly shrink to a low of 276 vessels in 2015 before modestly expanding, peaking at a planned 307 ships in the late 2030s.

English Russia goes inside a MiG-29 squadron in Kursk.

by NICK OTTENS Poor Susan Rice was exasperated last week. The American ambassador to the United Nations saw the first step toward international intervention in Syria go up in smoke over the weekend when China and Russia blocked a Security Council resolution that would have urged President Bashar al-Assad to resign. The two veto wielding [...]

Another great pictorial from EnglishRussia, this one detailing a defunct military aviation museum littered with rusting MiGs, Sukhois and Mil helicopters. Check it out.

Here, a detailed photo essay about the communications equipment belonging to a Russian army brigade. Includes shots of a hilarious mock battle. “After a hand-to-hand fight, the gangster [sic] were defeated,” the author assures us.

Via Japan Security Watch, an incredible tour of the Russian battlecruiser Varyag.

Not to be confused with the ex-Varyag, now a Chinese “test” aircraft carrier.

BAE Systems
One of the biggest defense firms in the world announced over 3,000 job losses at a variety of sites within the U.K. as Eurofighter Typhoon production slows. Many of the losses are going to happen regardless of the result of future bids in India and Japan, which could be worth over 200 planes in total.