Russia's Army can't be in this bad a shape can it?

English Russia has a pretty damning photo expose' on the Russian Army.  If things are this bad then the Russians are a threat only to themselves.

AN-70 to the Russian Air Force?

 image via FlightGlobal

via Ria Novosti.

Russian military to receive first An-70 transport planes by 2012

Russia may start receiving its first An-70 military transport planes as early as in 2012, the defense minister said on Thursday."We hope to start receiving the tested aircraft by 2012. We need this plane and the Russian Defense Ministry plans to buy it," Anatoly Serdyukov said during his visit to the Black Sea Fleet's base in Sevastopol on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.
The An-70 is a medium-range turboprop military transport plane developed by Ukraine's Antonov design bureau. The Antonov company first tested a flying prototype of the An-70 in 1994, but a lack of Ukrainian state funds, and political disputes between Moscow and Kiev have prevented large-scale production of the aircraft.
The recent thaw in Russian-Ukrainian relations saw Moscow renew long-stalled funding to Ukraine for eventual joint production of the plane.
There are up to 300 transport aircraft in service with the Russian Air Force, including An-12 Cub, Il-76MD and An-124 Condor transport aircraft.
The An-70 is intended to replace Russia's An-12 military transport aircraft.
Russian Airborne Troops Commander Lt. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov said in May that his service had ordered 40 An-70 planes under the new state arms procurement program for 2011-2020.
SEVASTOPOL, June 24 (RIA Novosti)

Wow, I really thought this was a dead program.  Russia has been making alot of announcements regarding weapons purchases....I wonder if this is real or just another bit of propaganda?

And the French betrayal begins.

via RiaNovosti.

Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said Tuesday it had signed several contracts with the French defense firm Thales on the transfer of technology and delivery of communications equipment for Russian armored vehicles.
"The first contract involves transfer of technologies to Russia, which now will have the right to produce officially licensed thermal imagers at Vologda Optical and Mechanical Plant," said Igor Sevastyanov, Rosoboronexport deputy director general.
"The second contract provisionally allows Russia to bring in communications equipment for integration into Russian armored vehicles for testing," Sevastyanov said. He added that the communications equipment would be mounted on T-90 tanks and BMP-3 armored personnel carriers.

My problem with this is that this gear will eventually wind up in the hands of our enemies.  Whether its the Iranians or the Chinese, the Russians are a gateway supplier of advanced technology.

What should also give many PAK-FA fans pause is Russia even needing to procure this type of tech transfer...to even demand it in order to complete the buy of Mistral BPC's.

Are they truly capable of producing a 5th gen fighter if they can't even get communications gear into BMP-3's and T-90's?

photo from RiaNovosti.

New justification for Mistral BPC's. Island Patrol!

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.
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".

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.

Russians are ready to build the Mistral. Which one?

Ria Novosti is reporting that the Russians are ready to build Mistral class vessels.  Read it here.  My question is ...Which one?  I never realized but in the video above, the Mistral comes in 4 different classes.  From a small 16000 tons to a large 21000 tons version.

In the end it really makes little difference, but the implications are clear.  The Russians are trying to get into the power projection game and they seek to have the ability to have a sustainable presence whenever they decide to project that power.  

The Russian military has a powerful airborne force which makes this move even more telling.  Sustainable power arrives by sea...not by air.  We should remember that fact.