Foreign Policy regarding Russia

This is a tough post, despite the humor,
     The Ukraine is getting robbed by Russia and the world stands by and does nothing.   The pisser is that they were expecting us to help.  Back in 1994 when the Ukraine gave up their nuclear arms, it was in the promise that we and Europe would help them if they ever got attacked.  Well they are getting attacked and we and the Europeans folded like a camp chair(interesting analogy for that describes the messiah), but I digress.  Well in 2009 when Obungler sent Hillery to do a "reset" of our relations and it didn't work.  Obama unilaterally pulled a missile shield from Poland and Eastern Europe with no concessions from the Russians.

well Obama also promised Putin that he would have more flexibility after the 2012 election and he does.  He has thrown our ally and our promise in the dirt,  I doubt any other nation will believe anything we say.  Politically, the Ukraine is next door to Russia so it is easier for them to get there than we can.  But after 13 years of war, our equipment is tired and wore out as our troops, and there is no political will to step up and help.  The last country that we promised to help in case they were attacked was South Vietnam and we know how that went.

What happened was that the North invaded the South to unify the country, despite the treaty commitments we had with the South Vietnamese, The Anti-war democrats were firmly ensconced in the Congress, And the political will wasn't there, Gerald Ford had replaced Richard Nixon whom had narrowly avoided impeachment by resigning, the funny thing is that Obama has done far worse than Nixon and the congress refuses to push through impeachment hearings, mostly because the democrats control the senate and that is where the hearing would be held at. 
     Well after 5 years of Obama and trillions of debt, we are much lessened as a country, and we refuse to honor treaty commitments because Obama is only vicious to the GOP, and the media will cover for him, but overseas the media isn't so in love or have soo much invested in the messiah so they tend to report the truth, not the fantasy that is spun by the propaganda arm of the Democrats Mainstream Media. 

After this, I doubt any other country will trust the United States to keep its word, and I guess that is by design since Obama has promised "hope and change" and we have been changed as a nation, and not for the better.

Russian upgrading their military capability.

I decided to change up from the Hitler themes and the second amendment to Russia, whom has seem a resurgence lately in their military capability and funding at the insistence of their premier Putin that I believe has the aspirations and ambitions of the Tzars of old.  Russia has been revamping their military with new aircraft, upgraded tanks, air defense systems, I honestly believe that they are concerned about their far eastern areas especially with the massive illegal Chinese populations in the area with a massive Red China that has been upgrading their military for the past 20 years using our massive trade imbalance to help finance it.   The same China that has declared an ADIZ farther out in defiance of international law, the same red China that tried to crowd an American Warship this week in the same area.  The same Red China that has territorial disputes with the Philippines over the Spratley islands.          China I have heard is having domestic issues and a good way to solve them is have an international excursion and get the medial controlled masses a distraction.   There are dangerous times afoot and we have the Obungler White house that has brought incompetence to the rarefied heights not seen since the Carter administration and their *detente* program with the Soviets and other countries that didn't like Americans.  

Putin is using the huge natural gas and oil that is present in Russia to help finance the buildup.  He also if memory serves, has browbeat Europe in the past because they are depend on the gas and oil to keep their economy going.  I pulled part of this off Aviationweek and other websites.

December 16, 2013
Credit: Sukhoi

A massive modernization push is imminent for Russian aerospace defense: The air force alone could receive 4.5 trillion rubles ($136 billion) over 10 years, about one-quarter of the overall drive to upgrade Russia's Soviet-era weaponry.
The money will help replace about 70% of the air force fleet by 2020 and position it to acquire the Sukhoi T-50—a fighter advanced enough to rival the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter—as well as a stealthy, long-range bomber, and to overhaul its surface-to-air missile stockpile. However, analysts caution that the plan's financial scope may be unrealistic.
For now, the investments are on track. During a series of briefings by military officials and defense manufacturers in late November, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the procurement program adopted in 2010. The meetings amounted to the first public audit of the program to ensure that the investments are on track—a domestic show of support for the Russian defense industry, despite the country's economic stagnation.
The list includes accelerating replacement of old aircraft in the air force fleet. Putin has announced that the military will have received 86 new and, modernized fixed-wing aircraft and more than 100 new helicopters this year, and will take delivery of up to 120 fixed-wing aircraft and 90 helicopters in 2014. In 2011 and 2012, just 263 new aircraft were delivered to the military units.
By 2020, the air force aims to have a total of 1,600 new aircraft, renewing about 70% of its fleet.
So far, the air force's orderbook consists of Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bombers and Su-30M2/SM and Su-35 multirole fighters. In 2014, the air force plans to rearm one air regiment with the Su-34s, according to Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. A training air base in Borisoglebsk is to be reequipped with Yakovlev Yak-130 jet trainers; 18 of the type were delivered in 2013, out of 55 ordered.
According to the head of the United Aircraft Corp. (UAC), Mikhail Pogosyan, the Sukhoi T-50 will start official evaluation tests with the air force in 2014. The first phase of these trials is expected to be completed in 2015, he says. The five prototypes involved in the preliminary test program have logged more than 450 flights. The Russian defense ministry issued technical requirements for the future long-range bomber to the corporation in September. “We are now at the stage of drawing up the contracts to start the full-scale development of this aircraft beginning next year,” Pogosyan says.
    
The air force expects the stealthy bomber aircraft, to be developed under the PAK DA program, to replace its current strategic bomber fleet of Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjacks, Tu-95 Bears and Tu-22M3 Backfires by 2025-30. Meanwhile, the veteran bombers are being upgraded with new avionics and airborne weapons. UAC completed factory testing of the upgraded versions of the Tu-160 and Tu-95 and is handing them over for the official trials.
The procurement program also calls for enhanced air transport capabilities for the air force. In November, UAC completed the first phase of official tests of the Il-76MD-90A, a much modernized Ilyushin Il-76 heavy transport aircraft. During this phase, the aircraft completed 38 flights, including tests at the maximum takeoff and landing weights (210 tons and 170 tons, respectively). The air force has 39 transports on order; the modifications will be done in Russia, although the older variants were manufactured in Uzbekistan. Pogosyan has promised that deliveries will start next year. The UAC has begun development of medium transport aircraft as a joint program with India and completed the detailed design of a new light transport, Pogosyan says.
Meanwhile, the aerospace defense troops are being reequipped with the S-400 (SA-21 Growler) long-range air defense and anti-ballistic missile systems. Two units of these surface-to-air missiles (SAM) were delivered this year and three more are to be deployed in 2014, Putin says.
S-400 manufacturer Almaz-Antey is working on a next-generation system, the S-500, that will undergo intensive trials in 2014-15, says the company's chief designer, Pavel Sozinov.
The aging S-300PT and PS (SA-10 Grumble), the most common air defense missiles in the force, will be replaced by new S-350 Vityaz medium-range mobile SAMs unveiled this summer. Sozinov says official trials will be conducted during 2014 and deliveries could start in 2015-16.
The aerospace defense troops' missile capabilities will be supported by expansion of the early-warning radar network. The service operates three Voronezh modular radar stations and plans to deploy seven more in the next five years.
Defense experts are quite skeptical of the rearmament program's feasibility, however. “Even if the program is properly financed, it is unlikely to be fully implemented, as the required modernization of defense industry facilities and the respective regulatory environment lag behind,” says Konstantin Makienko, deputy director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a Moscow-based defense think tank.
    

TOR M2E firing a 9M331 interceptor. The missile is capable of defeating aerodynamically maneuvering targets at ranges of seven to 10 km.

Russia’s Almaz-Antey defense corporation has developed an advanced version of the Tor-M2 air defense system (NATO reporting name SA-15 Gauntlet), utilizing a new interceptor missile that has improved performance, doubled the ammunition capacity and enabled firing on the move capability. According to Sergei Druzin, head of research and development at Almaz-Antey, the enhanced version represents a “unique air defense system in its class with an astounding precision and range.”
The Tor system is a low- to medium-altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system designed for intercepting aircraft, cruise missiles, precision-guided munitions, unmanned aerial vehicles and ballistic targets.
Tor-M1K and Tor-M2U variants, armed with 9M331 missiles, are currently in service with the Russian army. The new system, equipped with new 9M338 missiles, was successfully tested at the end of October 2013. “We carried out five launches targeting highly maneuverable drones. Three of the targets were hit head-on, while the other two were destroyed by shrapnel from exploding warheads. It is an excellent result, astounding precision,” Druzin said.
In addition, the smaller size of the 9M338 compared with its predecessor has allowed the carrying capacity of the launcher to be doubled, from eight to 16 missiles. The official said the improved Tor-M2 systems and 9M338 missiles have been approved by a state commission for mass production. “We can now start producing these missiles in quantities that would meet the demand of the Russian army,” Druzin said. The Tor M2E missile system has also been exported to Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine, China, Venezuela and Iran. Earlier versions (M1) were also exported to Greece, Cyprus and Egypt.
According to Druzin, the next step in the improvement of the system would be for launching missiles at acquired targets while on the move. “The [mobile] launcher currently stops for two or three seconds to launch a missile, but it could be done on a move, without stopping,” Druzin said.
The export version known as TOR M2E is also armed with the 9M331 interceptor, is designed as a short range air defense system, capable of intercepting air breathing and maneuvering targets at ranges of 1-12 km and altitudes from ground level (10 meters) to 10 km. Cruise missiles and drones could be killed at ranges of 1.5 km to 7 km maximum with precision guided weapons intercepted at a minimum distance of 50 meters and maximum range of six kilometers. Maximum target speed is 700 m/sec (2,520 km/h). A Tor M2E can engage four targets simultaneously, having up to eight missiles airborne. (four actively guided).
The export variants are also expected to be offered with the new interceptor.

The improved TOR M2 is claimed to offer ‘firing on the move’, enabling the unit to launch its missiles instantly upon stopping. Existing TOR M2K systems require about three minute set-up time.

9M331 missiles are loaded in two stacks of four missiles each.

The rebirth of the Soviet Union...?

Putin wants to be the new Ironman..or the new Stalin.

This is from Voice of America.

Is 'Soviet Union Light' the Future of Putin's Russia?

October 05, 2012
by James Brooke
Russian President Vladimir Putin once described the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” Two decades later, he is laboring to create what some critics call a "Soviet Union Light."
On a visit Friday to the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan, President Putin oversaw the signing of a 30-year extension of Russia's lease on three military bases there, home to 7,000 troops and Russia’s largest military deployment outside its borders.
In return for the lease extension, Russia promised to give Tajik migrants work permits valid for up to three years. Every year, one million Tajiks working in Russia send home $3 billion, crucial aid for their impoverished nation.
As the base deal was being signed, warplanes from Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan - all former Soviet republics - began 10 days of joint air-defense drills, codenamed “Clear Sky.”
Meanwhile, back home in Moscow, members of Russia’s Duma were celebrating Monday’s electoral defeat of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvhili. The new prime minister of Georgia is to be Bidzina Ivanishvili, an oligarch who made his billions in Moscow in the 1990s.
Alexander Rondeli, president of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, said in Tbilisi that Russian officials believe time is on their side. Moscow ruled Georgia for almost two centuries, including the 70 years it was part of the Soviet Union, and wants to restore the ties that were broken during the two countries brief war in 2008.
“Russians wants to restore diplomatic relations,” Rondeli said. “Russians want Georgia to accept reality, as they say, and to accept this Russian advancement into the Caucasus.”
Putin's dream
One year ago, presidential candidate Vladimir Putin announced a goal of creating a Eurasian Union by 2015. Lawrence Sheets, South Caucasus project director for the International Crisis Group, said one big step toward that goal is winning back Georgia.
Sheets, speaking in his office in Tbilisi, said President Putin is trying to reassert Russia's influence abroad, to establish "some sort of rump Soviet Union, if you like, [and] also to put pressure on Georgia, so that Georgia comes back to the fold.”
Indeed, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that he will work to bring Georgia back into the Confederation of Independent States, a loose federation of nine of the 15 former Soviet republics.
Georgia, NATO "red line"
In Tbilisi, however, Prime Minister-apparent Ivanishvili, met with NATO’s top official for the South Caucasus and pledged his government will go forward with Georgia’s application to join the NATO alliance.
For Putin, NATO membership for Georgia would be crossing an unacceptable "red line."
Russia’s president envisages a federation of sovereign states, with everyone's foreign, defense and economic policies guided by the Kremlin. A common-currency project had been proposed, but that was shelved after the eurozone problems erupted.
Lilit Gevorgyan, analyst for Russia and the former Soviet Union at HIS Global, watches Putin’s progress from her office in London.
“Russia wants to become a global power broker," she said, "and it also wants to spread its ... political and economic influence, and it just makes logical sense for Putin to, first of all, reinstall [Moscow's] political and economic influence over the former Soviet countries.”
Winning over Ukraine
Putin’s first move came in January, when Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan joined a Moscow-dominated Customs Union. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are expected to join that group soon, but the big stumbling block has been Ukraine - the second largest member of the old USSR by population.
The Kremlin thought Ukraine was in the bag when Viktor Yanukovych was elected president there in January 2010. Yanukovych quickly extended Russia's lease on its Sevastopol naval base in Crimea by 25 years. Since then, however, he has tried to balance Moscow’s demands with Kyiv’s desire to join the European Union.
Over the last 18 months, a succession of Russian envoys dispatched to Ukraine to win further agreements have returned home empty-handed.
“There is an exaggeration of the ability of Putin, of the Russian government, to bring changes in other former Soviet states,” said analyst Gevorgyan. “They may have wishes. They may try to do something. But I do not see them having the power to actually bring to the helm of government their own guy.”
The 2015 deadline
Why did Putin say he wanted a Eurasian Union in place by 2015?
By then, some Moscow analysts predict the United States will be fully out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and Washington will refocus its attention on Russia.
Of course, if Mitt Romney wins next month’s U.S. presidential election, that day could come sooner. The Republican candidate has singled out Russia as America’s “number one geopolitical foe.”