via Defense News.
Russia is close to purchasing a Mistral-class French warship and needs such a vessel to patrol waters around Pacific islands that are the subject of a long-running dispute with Japan, a top general said June 8.Read the whole thing but if Japan is thinking about scaling back defense spending this should give her pause. Wolves are lurking and territory is at stake.
Russia's plan to purchase the Mistral - capable of carrying up to 16 helicopters and a 750-strong landing force - has alarmed some of its neighbors amid expectations it would become part of its Black Sea fleet.
and then this juicy tidbit...
He said in the region around the Kuril Islands "we need mobile means so that a landing force can be rapidly sent there at the necessary time".
