NATO Eyes Deploying AMD In Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine -- The North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is holding talks with Kiev over Ukraine’s possible participation in the alliance's planned missile defense system n Europe.
According to the head of the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine, Marchin Koziel, the deployment of the system's elements is a priority for the alliance.

He says during the summit in Lisbon, NATO heads agreed on the possibility of involving non-member countries – or “third countries”- in the planned missile shield in Europe.

Thanks to “its ballistics missiles, technologies, know-how, experience or simply the process of European integration,” Ukraine is such a country, he stated speaking at a round table meeting in Kiev, reports the Rosbalt news agency.

The alliance and the leadership of the former Soviet republic are holding informal consultations regarding the issue on both political and technical levels, Koziel said.

After the February meeting between NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko, the latter announced Ukraine would participate in the upcoming alliance summit in Chicago.

NATO, for its part, noted that Kiev was interested in cooperation with the organization on the creation of the missile defense system.

Rasmussen also said that NATO will invite Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich to take part in the summit in May.

Ukraine had long been bidding to join the military alliance. However, after Yanukovich replaced his pro-Western predecessor Viktor Yushchenko, the country's policy made a u-turn.

The new leader signed a decree declaring that Ukraine would remain non-aligned to any political-military unions, but would still continue to cooperate with NATO and other blocks based upon common interests.

Angola: Ukrainian Military Attaché Confident About Strengthening Ties

LUANDA, Angola -- The new Ukrainian military attaché in Angola, colonel Olesksandr V. Galyts, manifested Wednesday, in Luanda, his confidence in strengthening ties between both countries in the military domain.
Colonel Oleksandr V. Galyts manifested this fact when intervening at a ceremony which served to accredit Ukraine's military attaché in the country, presided over by the director of International Affairs of the Defence Ministry, general José Higino de Sousa "Zé Grande".

The Ukrainian military attaché said also that he hopes his mission be successful, once Angola is an important partner and very interesting for Ukraine.

In turn, gen. José de Sousa Higino "Zé Grande" said he hopes to strengthen the cooperation and establish a more effective and efficient relationship.

British company to supply Russian naval vessels

Russia’s seamen are to get softer beds and fancier finishings as the Defense Ministry employs the services of a British company to furnish its vessels.

This has prompted controversy at home, naysayers say the money would be better spent on rockets and defending the country than making life easier for its sailors and that if they really feel the need to spend money on soft beds they could use the services of a Russian company.

Strong Box Maritime Furnishings is the name and Morskiye Kompleksniye Systemy its representative in Russia. The British firm also supplies the Royal Navy.

Army staffed by 10-20 percent conscripts soon -- Medvedev

President Dmitry Medvedev has promised that only 10-20 percent of the army would be manned by conscripts in the near future.

“The draft is to continue, but only those people who believe it to be important and necessary for themselves will do military service,” Medvedev said at a women’s forum, Gazeta.ru reported. The change is set to happen in the next five to seven years, he added.

“The rest is to be done by people serving under contract,” Medvedev said.

Earlier, Medvedev said the army would be in need of conscripts for the next 10 years. Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said earlier this year, that the army would be manned by 50 percent conscripts by 2017.

Army unfit for combat, says Hrytsenko

The Ukrainian armed forces stagnated in 2010 and 2011 due to lack of basic documents regulating its development, says Anatoliy Hrytsenko, a former Ukrainian defense minister and currently a parliamentarian from the Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense faction.

Hrytsenko said on Inter television channel that a national security strategy "has been left unsigned for a year," Hrytsenko's press service said.

"Nobody has bothered to endorse it. It means that a year has been missed in terms of planning and development. Not a single program document determining prospects for the armed forces development at least for a year, not to mention for 10 or 5 years, has appeared in the year and a half of [President Viktor] Yanukovych's rule. This has happened for the first time in 20 years," he said.

Ukraine has no armed forces development program, or an armaments development program, or a defense industry development program, Hrytsenko said.

"When a new administration comes, it should endorse a national security and defense strategy, which determines threats, national interests, and all the rest within a month at most. After that, a new doctrine is supposed to be adopted," he said.

"There is not a single combat-ready battalion in the Ground Forces, not a single combat-ready squadron in the Air Force, and not a single combat-ready unit in the Navy," Hrytsenko said.

The parliamentary committee on national security and defense has addressed the president three times, urging him to make a decision on a defense minister, but decisions on this have been postponed several times, he said.

It was reported earlier that Defense Minister Mykhailo Yezhel said recently that he hoped that key documents concerning national security policy would be endorsed by the end of 2011.

The National Security and Defense Committee is expected to consider a national security strategy and a new military doctrine next week.

Russia develops new generation of stealth destroyers

The destroyer of the new generation, which Russia has been working on for the interests of the national navy, will replace the three classes of oceanic zone vessels: torpedo vessels, large anti-submarine ships and, perhaps, Project 1165 guided-missile cruisers, a source from the Russian defense complex told theIzvestia newspaper.

The construction of the new destroyer may begin already in 2012. It is planned to assemble 14-16 vessels outfitted with sets of anti-ships missiles, anti-submarine torpedoes, cruise missiles to hit surface targets and long-range anti-aircraft missiles.

"It will be a universal ship that will be able to replace all three projects. It will leave behind large-anti-submarine ships with the help of state-of-the-art hardware. Its assault and anti-aircraft performance will outstrip present-day destroyers and guided-missile cruisers, except for Pyotr Veliky and several other vessels of this class," officials told the Izvestia.

The new destroyers will give the striking power to the surface fleet. The trump card of the new vessel will include its firing complexes. It will be possible to load the complexes with various missiles and torpedoes. The vessels will also be equipped with fifth-generation anti-aircraft systems.

Depending on the budget and the needs of the navy, the new destroyer may receive either nuclear or gat-turbine plants, officials also said.

During 15-20 years, the Russian Navy will receive 14-16 state-of-the-art destroyers. They will become the basis of the combat power of Russia's surface fleet. As a result, the fleet will be capable of forming small but strong assault groups consisting of a destroyer and three or four smaller vessels.

The Russian Navy has been developing the destroyer of a new generation for several years already. The plans were announced for the first time in the summer of 2009. In March 2010, Interfax news agency reported that Russia had started the development of the new generation destroyer. According to the agency, the vessel was supposed to be built with the use of the Stealth technology. It was also said that the new vessel would have a high level of ecological security, which was not typical of the Russian Navy before.

NATO may provide missile shield guarantee

NATO does not rule out the issuing of a written guarantee that it will not direct its planned missile defense shield in Europe against Russia, reported an alliance official as saying on Friday.

While U.S. officials have stated the shield is not directed against Russia, Moscow has yet to receive a written assurance. The U.S. says it needs the shield, which will be eventually deployed in the Mediterranean, Poland, Romania and Turkey, to counter the threat of missile attacks from Iran.

NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy Dirk Brengelmann said "It would be possible to have a statement in the long run" when asked if NATO could provide political guarantees of non-aggression.

Brengelmann also told the Moscow-based Ekho Moskvy radio station said that NATO leaders could sign the statement.

Sobyanin axes funding for the Black Sea Fleet

It has reported that the Mayor’s Office has scrapped the 2011 Moscow budget funding for Russia’s Black Sea fleet. The fleet is harbored in the Crimean town of Sevastopol in Ukraine. City Hall has traditionally bankrolled numerous international endeavors, ranging from children’s resorts in Bulgaria to sanatoriums in Israel, but the Black Sea fleet was always a flagship program for the previous mayor, Yury Luzhkov.

Luzhkov first began financially supporting the flotilla in 1994 as part of his Moscow-Sevastopol Fund, the declared goal of which was to preserve the fleet after the fall of the USSR. As part of the program, barracks were renovated, schools built for sailors’ children and teachers’ wages paid. The program even funded training missions for the Kerch antisubmarine ship and the Moskva rocket cruiser in the Mediterranean Sea. Funding for the program peaked in 2008, when it reached 160 million rubles. This year, 70.6 million rubles was earmarked for the fleet.

Luzhkov had always made no secret of his desire to see Sevastopol returned to Russian territory. Crimea was transferred from Russian territory to Ukraine as part of the USSR in 1954. Russia currently leases the base from Ukraine. In May 2008, Luzhkov was barred from entering Ukraine because “despite warnings he continued to call for actions that threaten Ukraine's national interests and territorial integrity," quoted Ukraine's Security Service as saying in a statement at the time.

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Vera Chistova, head of Moscow’s finance department, as saying on Wednesday that the program’s funds had been “ineffectively spent” and “distributed using skewed schemes.”

In August, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the cutback was reasonable. “Russia releases funds for rearmament so it makes no sense for the city to fund the armed forces,” said Sobyanin. Chistova backed Sobyanin on Wednesday saying that Defense Ministry has “enough resources to support their own military in Sevastopol.”

Konstantin Zatulin, a member of the committee of the State Duma for the CIS and relations with Russian nationals abroad, did not agree, however. “It was a poorly thought-out decision made by perfunctory, soulless people,” said Zatulin. “Is it such a large saving that it will seriously better the lives of Muscovites? They will not notice it, but in Sevastopol it will be very much noticed.”

General director of Political Information Center, Alexei Mukhin, warned that the move would hardly be welcomed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. “Working with Russian nationals abroad was recently named as a political priority for Russia, and this move contradicts the government’s policies,” said Mukhin. “That’s why after some time they will wind it back, and Sergei Sobyanin may well recommend that such a high status program not be dropped.”

Russia creates new mega-powerful ballistic missile

Russia's Defense Ministry reported about the progress in the domestic missile industry. First and foremost, the first missile regiment has been rearmed completely with state-of-the-art Yars mobile missile systems. Secondly, Russian engineers have developed Liner sea-based strategic missile. The new missile is said to be twice as more powerful as the Bulava missile, which had a number of failures during test-launches.

Officials from the ministry said that the first missile regiment armed with latest Yars missile complexes was on full duty. The complexes are equipped with RS-24 thermonuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles. The missile was developed by engineers of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology under the guidance of academician Yuri Solomonov. The missile has been created with the use of technological solutions used in Topol-M systems, which significantly shortened the terms and costs of the production.

The new missile will strengthen the combat capacity of Russian missile troops, as well as the nuclear deterrence potential of Russian strategic nuclear forces. The RS-24 missile will replace the outdated RS-18 and RS-20 ballistic missiles as their service terms are drawing to an end. In the future, Yars and Topol-M missile systems will make the basis of the strike force of Russian missile troops.

The missiles are capable of breaking through any air defense system during the upcoming 15-20 years, Sergei Karakayev, the commander of the Russian missile troops said. This remark is especially important against the background of the current dispute between Moscow and Washington regarding the creation of the missile defense system in Europe.

The sea-based Liner strategic missile, the tests of which started successfully with the launch on May 20, is capable of carrying from nine to twelve warheads. Thus, Liner is more powerful than Bukva, specialists of Makeyev's State Missile Center said.

The Bukava missile can carry only six low power class warheads, whereas the Liner is capable of carrying 1.5-2 times more. Engineers also said that the Liner missile can be equipped with warheads of different power classes.

The Liner missile surpasses all modern solid-fuel strategic missiles of Britain, China, Russia, the USA and France. The military equipment of the missile (four medium power class warheads) is comparable to the US Trident-2 (also four warheads).

Sineva and Liner complexes will guarantee the existence of the group of 667BDRM project submarines for 35-40 years, i.e. till 2025-2030.

It is worthy of note that Russia's Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov approved the start of the serial production of Bulava missiles in the beginning of July. The missiles are to be deployed on board submarines. The Yuri Dolgoruky sub performed a successful launch of the Bulava missile at the end of June. The Bulava will make the basis of the perspective group of strategic nuclear forces of Russia before 2040-2045.

China's First Aircraft Carrier Starts Sea Trial

BEIJING, China -- China's first aircraft carrier, which the People's Liberation Army purchased as an unfinished hull from Ukraine in 1998, has begun its inaugural sea trial, the defence ministry said Wednesday, a move likely to stoke concerns about the nation's rapid military expansion.

Beijing only recently confirmed it was revamping an old Soviet ship to be its first carrier, adding to worries among its neighbours over the country's military build-up and growing assertiveness on territorial issues.

"According to trial plans, the first sea trial will not take long," the defence ministry said in a statement.

"After returning to the shipyard (in the port city of Dalian), the carrier will continue its refit and test work."

Beijing last month sought to play down the capability of its first carrier, saying the vessel would be used for training and "research".

Chen Bingde, the nation's top military official, only provided the first official acknowledgment of the aircraft carrier in a Hong Kong newspaper interview in early June.

But media reports and military analysts have said for years that the 300-metre (990-foot) ship was in development.

The ship, called the Varyag in Ukraine, was originally built for the Soviet navy. Construction was interrupted by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Andrei Chang, head of the Kanwa Information Centre, which monitors China's military, told AFP the trial would likely only last about an hour.

"The first sea trial is just for testing different items, like whether the engines work or not," he said, adding that from Soviet and French aircraft carrier experience, on-off sea trials would continue for another year or two.

Last week Japan voiced concern over China's growing assertiveness and widening naval reach and over what it called the "opaqueness" of Beijing's military budget.

The carrier project also comes amid heightened tensions over a number of maritime territorial disputes involving China, notably in the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas and is claimed by several countries.

The issue has heated up recently with run-ins between China and fellow claimants Vietnam and the Philippines, sparking concern among its neighbouring countries and the United States.

In September, a row erupted between Japan and China over the disputed Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in Chinese, located in the East China Sea.

China reportedly bought the ship's immense armoured hull -- with no engine, electrics or propeller -- in 1998 from Ukraine, for $20 million.

Chang pointed out that he had not seen any form of arresting gear on the carrier -- the mechanical system that rapidly decelerates a plane as it lands -- in photos he had seen so far.

"That's very strange. It's very complicated technology and the Chinese haven't installed it -- we couldn't find it," he said.

"That means they can't land any fighters, probably only helicopters."

China's People's Liberation Army -- the largest armed force in the world -- is extremely secretive about its defence programmes, which benefit from a huge and expanding military budget boosted by the nation's runaway economic growth.

The PLA also operates the country's navy.

173rd Airborne BCT Soldiers Jump Into Ukraine With Paratroopers From 5 Nations

YAVORIV, Ukraine -- More than 200 paratroopers completed the first multi-national airborne operation of Exercise Rapid Trident 11 at the International Peacekeeping and Security center here, July 26.

The U.S. Paratroopers of Battle Co., 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, U.S. Army Europe were joined by soldiers from Ukraine, the U.K., Moldova, Poland and Canada.

For many of the Battle Co. Soldiers, it was the first time jumping alongside partner nations as well as their first time having a foreign -- in this case Polish -- jumpmaster.

“This is my first time working with this many partner nations and this is my first time being a jumpmaster alongside a partner nation,” said Maj. Jarrett Hunter, operations officer for 2nd Battalion., 503rd Infantry Regiment.

Though the paratroopers speak different languages, the actions remain the same.

“There are some minor differences in the way we do things, but they coordinated well with our jumpmasters and if there was any slip in the translation of anything, then our jumpmasters would repeat it,” said Spc. Harry Spore, also of Battle Co. “Actually it’s probably one of the best exits I’ve ever had.”

“We started out with rehearsals and a lot of them go through the same commands so it worked out really well,” Hunter said.

“They use the same hand and arm signals, they did a great job I thought, so it felt real good,” said 1st Lt. Colby Park, a platoon leader for Battle Co.

Pfc. Dominick Kuczynski, of Battle Co. helped bridge the language gap, translating for the Polish Soldiers.

“It was a good icebreaker for me to go up to the Polish group and introduce myself and start speaking Polish to them,” he said. “I am Polish as you can tell by my last name, so it was a pretty awesome experience talking to them and socializing with them before the jump.”

It became apparent early, however, that no matter one’s country or language, there’s an automatic sense of kinship that gets built between airborne paratroopers and it was on display from the initial brief to the drop zone.

“It was my first time jumping from a big aircraft but it was great. I liked it,” 1st Lt. Serhiy Shulilvov, of Ukraine’s 95th Airborne Brigade said.

“I think having airborne in common provides a different camaraderie,” Park said. “You have something in common that you can relate to and talk about whether that be your parachutes compared to our parachutes, how you land compared to how we land, it definitely has a lot of talking points.”

“It’s a great time, it’s motivating for our Soldiers, and for the partner nation Soldiers,” Hunter said. “It takes a unique person to throw themselves out of a perfectly good aircraft and that right there will bring different nations’ paratroopers together.”

At the end of the day, all Soldiers and countries involved were able to train together and learn more about each other.

“There’s some minor differences in the way we do things but we’re all out here to jump together and get to know each other,” Spore said. “For them show us how they train and for us to show them how we train.”

“I think it’s great because in both theaters this unit (173rd ABCT) has been deployed in we’ve had to work with different partner nations,” Hunter said.

“This gives the youngest Paratrooper on the ground a chance to understand how our partner nations work and get to understand the level of professionalism that they have, and the partner nations get to understand the level of professionalism we have.”

“It’s an excellent experience,” Kuczynski said. “I was curious to see how our allies actually work together and how they jump and the different techniques they use.”

Russia to have foreign army and US ballistic missiles?

The scandal connected with the recent statement from the designer of ballistic missiles Topol-M and Yars, Yuri Solomonov, regarding the possible failure of the state defense order for 2011 is gathering pace in Russia. President Dmitry Medvedev ordered to find the alarmists, whereas Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov did not rule out the fact that his department will strive to dismiss the defense officials who were involved in the scandal.

Mr. Solomonov accused the Defense Ministry of the possible failure of the state defense order in 2011. According to him, the ministry refuses to conclude contracts to deliver strategic missiles to Russian Armed Forces. The head of the ministry said in response that the products of defense complex enterprises were overpriced.

President Medvedev said that since the production of the Russian defense complex was overpriced, the ministry could either order defense products from other companies or purchase them from other countries.

"You must purchase only high-quality hardware on transparent prices, not on the prices, which certain companies may like," Medvedev said July 12 during his meeting with Vice Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.

"The Defense Ministry must look into every contract in detail and analyze its prime cost. You must realize well what it is all made of. This is big money, so you shouldn't buy rubbish," the president added.

It appears that someone is certain that foreign-made defense products can satisfy all of Russia's defense needs. Maybe Russia could hire a foreign army in this case? If the above-mentioned statements can be referred to the scandal with Yuri Solomonov, then it would mean that Topol=M and Yars missile systems are rubbish. If so, are there any replacements for them? It would be ridiculous to believe that Russia could replace its ballistic missiles with other missiles made in foreign countries.

What is the point of the scandal? Is it possible to say that domestic defense enterprises set high prices on their products? If it is true, what is the reason for it?

Ivan Rodionov, a professor of Higher School of Economics:

"I am no stranger to the work of the defense complex, so I can say for sure that the main problem is the market relations that were introduced for the state defense order system. During the Soviet times, the prices were determined by the state. The state was forming the order and assigning the funds for defense enterprises. This practice was abolished in the beginning of the 1990s. So what do we have now? The system has proved to be absolutely unreliable under market conditions. The amount of defense orders from the state has decreased considerably. As a result, the defense complex wrapped up the serial production and started manufacturing its products piece by piece. Needless to say that it is economically profitable to make, let's say, 200 aircraft, rather than five. Therefore, the growth of prices is based on small orders.

"The people started leaving the enterprises because of the lack of funds - they couldn't get their salaries for months. The state was not funding the development of defense science, no new arms were created. The quality of production was declining. Nowadays, after 20 years of such an approach, we are forced to say that our arms can be overpriced indeed.

"However, if someone in this country wants to find a replacement to domestic arms, I would like to remind the situation, in which Russia found herself during WWI. Prior to the war, Russia depended on the shipments of aviation engines from France. During the war, the French restricted the export of their engines, which created very big problems for Russia.

"One should change the system of work in the defense industry to improve the situation. We must refuse from the market system at this point. The state administration of the defense order is not efficient either, but our defense enterprises will not survive under market conditions," Mr. Rodionov said..

Leonid Ivashov, the President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems:

"One can name a number of reasons why we are having this situation today. It amazes me why the President, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, receives information about the state of affairs in the defense industry from a person like Dvorkovich. He is not a military man! What does he understand?! All of that affects the relations between the Defense Ministry and the defense complex of the country. What about the person who heads the Defense Ministry? (Mr. Anatoly Serdyukov, the Defense Minister, used to sell furniture - ed.).

"All of those things testify to the mess that we have in the country in practically all spheres. Just look at the statistics of man-made catastrophes. The main problem of the conflicts between the Defense Ministry and the defense complex of the country is the market relations. There is no state standard for the prices. Even the president admits that we have corruption everywhere, so it is obvious that there is corruption in the defense industry of the country - there is big money there.

"The defense industry depends on many factors, such as fluctuation of prices on raw materials, including metals. Inflation plays its role too. It's enough to compare the prices that we have now and the prices that we had last year. It seems that Defense Minister Serdyukov is unaware of that. The fluctuation of world prices on raw materials is another very important factor that regulates the cost of defense products. They use gold, platinum and other precious metals when manufacturing defense products. Everyone knows how gold prices have grown recently.

"The state must interfere in the situation. The state is supposed to minimize the risks in the industry to save it from collapse. If the system remains unchanged, the disruption of the defense order may occur on a regular basis. The sad experience, which Libya has been having recently, shows how the relations between the countries are built. Little has changed since the Middle Ages at this point. If you're weak, those who are stronger will destroy you.

"Replacing Russian arms with foreign products is a ticking bomb - look at what happened to Iraq. They simply deactivated Hussein's air defense systems, which he had bought in the West.

"A ballistic missile and a nuclear submarine is not a piece of furniture. The state defense order system must be transparent. Defense Ministry officials and entrepreneurs must not have an opportunity to line their pockets on that. Otherwise, we will continue to make the same mistakes."

Delays Complicating Ukraine's Armoured Vehicle Shipment To Iraq

KIEV, Ukraine -- Delays caused by slow parts suppliers are complicating Ukraine's manufacture of shipment of armoured vehicles to Iraq, but the weapons will still be shipped on time, a government official said Thursday.

Some Ukrainian firms manufacturing components for a batch of BTR-4 armoured personnel carriers for the Iraqi army have missed deadlines and are holding up final assembly, said Valery Predko, director of the Malyshev factory.

Malyshev is Ukraine's top combat vehicle manufacturer. Its BTR-4, a troop transporter, is the main item in a $2.5 billion dollar arms deal Baghdad signed in 2009.

Ukraine is scheduled to deliver a batch of 62 BTRs to Iraq by the end of 2012, and the delivery will take place on time despite delays caused by parts suppliers, Predko said.

'Our customer should be confident that he will get what he ordered on time,' he said. 'We will do everything possible to make this happen.'

Delays and quality problems with an initial batch of 10 BTRs sent Iraq in January caused a scandal in the Ukrainian government, which has high hopes of selling the country's weaponry in the international arms market.

A second batch of 30 vehicles shipped in April and was accepted into the Iraqi army in May, Predko said.

Iraq's military will by contract from 2011-2013 receive a total 420 of the Ukraine-manufactured BTRs, as well as transport planes and maintenance support.

Ukraine To Deliver 26 Armored Vehicles To Iraq

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine on Wednesday announced that it began the delivery of 26 armored vehicles for the Iraqi armed forces.


The state-owned Malyshev Plant SE, based in Kharkiv, east of Ukraine, will deliver the 26 armored personnel carriers (BTR-4) as part of the 2009 agreement signed between the two countries.

The BTR-4 armored vehicles were designed by Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau. The personal carriers were built at the Malyshev Plant, according to its Director General Volodymyr Mazin.

The Malyshev Plant will now begin work on the second batch of armored personnel carriers. However, there has not been set a date for the delivery of the next 62 vehicles.

In 2009, Iraq and Ukraine signed an agreement for the purchase of 420 BTR-4 armored vehicles. The last set of armored carriers will be delivered in March 2012.

The contract was worth $2.4 billion and also includes 32 aircraft and repairs.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced that its military adopted a indigenous anti-tank missile system capable of destroying low-altitude, slow-moving aerial targets, the first of ten ordered.

The Stugna-P system was developed by Luch Design Bureau, which is based in Kiev, and implemented features of foreign models of the same class.

The laser-guided system has a range of 4 kilometers and is capable of destroying armored vehicles, small fortifications and even helicopters flying at low altitude.

China Aircraft Carrier Could Be Ready By Summe

NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- China's first aircraft carrier could begin trials as early as this summer--a move that would drastically alter the appearance of the balance of power in the region, the chief of US forces in the Pacific said Tuesday.
The craft was purchased from the Ukraine over 10 years ago, and is generally accepted as symbolic of China's desire to be a military power capable of topping America's decades-long hold on the West Pacific.

"Based on the feedback from our partners and allies in the Pacific, I think the change in perception by the region will be significant," Admiral Robert Willard told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Willard also made note of the "remarkable growth" of China's military.

The US Pacific command under Willard has five aircraft carrier strike groups, which it has used to demonstrate American power across an important global trade region.

However, China's military build-up, which includes the swift development of ballistic missiles and cyber warfare capabilities, has ruffled feathers in the region.

Willard said that China has increased and improved its fleet of both conventional and nuclear-powered submarines, which had prompted a proliferation of submarines in the Asia-Pacific. Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia were also mentioned as countries that have either acquired or announced their intention to acquire or increase their submarine fleets, reported the Associated Press.

Ukraine To Boost Military Cooperation With Russia In 2011

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine plans to expand its cooperation with Russia in the military sphere, Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Hryhoriy Pedchenko said on Saturday.He said the agreement was reached at the meeting with his Russian counterpart, Army Gen. Nikolai Makarov, in Brussels on January 27.

Pedchenko said Ukraine and Russia will hold a series of command-staff exercises and tactical maneuvers in 2011.

"We have considerably expanded our military cooperation. If last year we had 40 such exercises, this year we will have 81. This is a great step forward," Pedchenko was quoted by UNIAN agency as saying.

He said such cooperation is very important for Ukraine as Russia has great experience in this sphere.

"They have many well trained officers, specialists and this is very important for us," he said.

Russian Black Sea Fleet Strengthens Presence In Ukraine

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Russian Navy plans to increase its presence on Ukrainian territory by adding urban infrastructure and civilian manpower to its naval assets in Sevastopol.
he command of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet intends to build a housing estate (“mikrorayon”) for 20,000 personnel of the fleet, their dependents, and civilian service providers to the Russian fleet in that city.

The housing estate and associated service infrastructure is planned to occupy both sides of Kazachya Bay, alongside the base of a Russian “marine infantry” (amphibious landing troops) regiment.

The government of Russia will finance this program from a fund dedicated to the socio-economic development of Sevastopol. That fund currently stems from the 2010 arrangements to subsidize Ukraine’s consumption of Russian gas.

The socio-economic fund’s value is deducted from the value of that subsidy. This portion, consequently, helps to consolidate Russia’s military foothold on Ukrainian territory.

The head of the Sevastopol city administration (by law a Ukrainian government appointee), Valery Saratov, has expressed gratitude in announcing this Russian building program.

On April 21, 2010, Presidents Viktor Yanukovych and Dmitry Medvedev signed the agreement to prolong the Russian Fleet’s basing rights in Ukraine beyond the 2017 expiration date, by another 25 years, with a further five-year extension option to 2047.

In return, Russia agreed to grant a 30 percent discount on the price of Russian natural gas to Ukraine, if that price exceeds $336 per one thousand cubic meters (tcm).

It now turns out, however, that an implementation mechanism and even a common understanding of that arrangement are lacking. On April 18, 2010 in Moscow, the Russian and Ukrainian Finance Ministers, Aleksei Kudrin and Fedir Yaroshenko, respectively, started negotiations on implementing the April 21, 2010 agreements.

The Russian side seems more interested in quibbling and stalling, than in delivering. Kudrin insisted that “a new agreement” must be negotiated to define “concrete terms and parameters, on which implementation would depend.”

For his part, Yaroshenko seemed to plead for overcoming a deadlock: “For us it is important to reach a common interpretation, define a common methodology for implementing this agreement in real life”.

While Kiev sounds anxious about Moscow delivering “in real life,” Moscow may well turn its side of the bargain into a dead letter. The price of gas seems unlikely to stay above $300 per tcm (unless Moscow decides to practice overt extortion and by the same token subsidize its own extortion of Ukraine).

Below that price level, Russia can still pressure Ukraine into further concessions, in return for further discounts on the gas price. This would probably be that “new agreement” to which Kudrin is alluding.

Moscow is well placed to implement the naval base extension agreement while bargaining over implementation of the gas price agreement. The April 2010 arrangements are asymmetrical in that the naval base agreement is self-enforcing while the gas agreement is not.

Ukraine lacks the power to withhold implementation or the former, while Russia has ample means to set conditions for implementing the latter.

Since those agreements were signed, Moscow has announced plans to replace old warships of its Black Sea Fleet with new ones, increase that Fleet’s tonnage in net terms, and upgrade the fleet’s weaponry.

Modernization plans as announced during 2010 envisage adding one cruiser, several frigates, and several submarines by 2015.

In addition, one Mistral-class amphibious attack ship (out of four planned for procurement from France) is supposed to be allocated to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Russia’s naval presence in Ukraine underscores the Ukrainian government’s lax interpretation of the country’s non-bloc status.

Ukraine’s current authorities have legislated for this status, and drastically curtailed cooperation with NATO, without developing a clear definition of the non-bloc status, or an international legal-political framework to ensure its observance.

Within this grey area, Russia suggests that it would consider modernizing and operating itself the Ukrainian radars in Sevastopol and Mukacheve, as contribution to a common anti-missile defense system.

Russia’s entrenchment in the Crimea has caught NATO, the United States, and the European Union distracted and wrong-footed. Some other actors now seek to develop a soft-security answer.

On January 20 in Strasbourg, the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a resolution on the full range of security challenges in the Black Sea region.

Inspired by Romanian MEP’s, and intended for submission to the European Parliament’s plenum, the resolution expresses particular concern about the extension of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s lease on Ukrainian territory.

The resolution suggests that the EU should develop a conflict-prevention and early-warning system. This would serve to build confidence throughout the region and help prevent threat of force, its use or escalation.

Such a system would focus on arms transfers and naval activities. The proposal regards Russia as a desirable partner in such a system, alongside the EU and the Black Sea region’s countries (members or non-members of the EU). This area today faces key challenges that the EU cannot ignore.

Ukraine Defence and Security: Report

LONDON, England -- Ukraine’s defence spending fell slightly in 2010, by 0.60% to US$3.229bn, or US$70.90 per head.

Defence expenditure therefore stood at 2.7% of GDP and 7.3% of government spending, both relatively high figures for the developed world, indicating how important defence is perceived to be in Ukraine.

Defence spending grew rapidly through the last decade, slowing considerably at the end of the decade as economic turmoil affected the country – indeed, in dollar terms, expenditure fell by 33.51% in 2009, though this figure is distorted by the effects of the hryvnia’s volatility.

In 2011, BMI expects defence expenditure to rise considerably as Ukraine’s economy returns to growth and new geopolitical concerns drive higher investment in the armed forces.

BMI forecasts that spending will grow by 18.30% in dollar terms to US$3.830bn, representing a rise of 11% at constant prices. Over the next decade, we expect defence spending to grow at relatively high rates, slowing towards the end of the forecast period.

In real terms, growth will remain above 10% until 2014, and above 5% until 2018. As spending on other areas is scaled back, and defence prioritised (a spending strategy that is the mirror image of many developed countries), we expect defence expenditure to rise as a proportion of government outlay, to 10.4% by 2019.

However, it will remain at 2.7% of GDP for the remainder of the forecast period as Ukraine’s economy grows. By 2019, BMI expects Ukraine’s defence spending to total US$11.343bn, or US$261.80 per capita.

Ukraine’s prospects of joining NATO in the near future are remote since the election of President Yanukovich in 2010. Indeed, in June 2010, parliament approved a law submitted by Yanukovich which effectively ended Ukraine’s NATO accession bid through affirming military ‘non-alignment’.
While NRCU reported in November that NATO was still ‘leaving the door open’ for the strategically important country, and Ukraine still actively participates in NATO missions, membership is no longer a policy goal for Kiev.

The country is increasingly looking to align itself with Moscow, and public support for NATO membership has plummeted. The rapprochement with Russia and coolness towards NATO membership do not necessarily mean that Ukraine is ‘turning its back on the West’.

Indeed, Russia and NATO moved closer in late 2010, just as Kiev was distancing itself, and EU accession is still a policy goal. But there seems little doubt that the days in which Ukraine was ploughing a course imperfectly towards EU and NATO membership and pushing away from Russia are over, at least temporarily.

Ukraine's long-term political trajectory is far from certain, with the coming years likely to prove crucial to the country's convergence prospects through 2019.

Weak institutions remain the greatest challenge to long-term stability, though we also highlight systemic tensions in bilateral relations with Russia and growing demographic issues as additional threats likely to confront future governments. Going forward, the worst case scenario for Ukraine would entail a continuation of the status quo.

With Ukraine's Blessing, Russia To Beef Up Its Black Sea Fleet

MOSCOW, Russia -- Moscow's upgrade to its Black Sea Fleet – headquartered with Ukraine's blessing at Sevastopol – could make waves around the Black Sea, where NATO has a strong presence.
Just a year ago Ukraine was insisting that Russia would be required to vacate the Crimean naval base of Sevastopol when its old lease expired in 2017. That would have posed serious problems for Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet, which is headquartered there.

But today, after pro-Moscow President President Viktor Yanukovych took office in February, Russia appears completely secure in its military foothold on Ukrainian soil until at least 2042.

In a quiet announcement Monday, Moscow revealed that – with Ukrainian consent – it will "upgrade" its Black Sea fleet over the next decade with at least 18 new warships, including six new frigates, six submarines, two giant troop-landing ships, and new squadrons of naval aircraft.

"I am quite sure that the Russian Black Sea fleet will stay in Ukraine till doomsday," says Kirill Frolov, an expert with the official Russian Institute of Commonwealth of Independent States.

The Russian naval upgrade is likely to cause waves around the Black Sea, which is bordered by NATO members Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey, as well as Ukraine and Georgia.

The NATO aspirations of Ukraine and Georgia, both former Soviet republics, had stirred strong concerns in Moscow. But with NATO rules stipulating that member countries may not host non-NATO foreign military bases on their soil, Mr. Yanukovych's agreement to prolong Russia's grip on Sevastopol would seem to block Ukraine from even considering joining the alliance for decades to come.

Since the narrow electoral victory Mr. Yanukovych in February, Ukraine's previous pro-Western drift has gone into sharp reverse. The Slavic neighbors now seem headed into a full strategic embrace.

Under former President Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine was committed to quickly joining NATO, but Mr. Yanukovych put an end to that last April by quietly closing down the government commission that was preparing for the move.

According to an agreement last week between Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and his Ukrainian counterpart Mikhail Yezhel, Kiev is now on board with Moscow's wish to restore the potency of its Black Sea naval arm.

Until now, the Black Sea fleet has been mostly rusting at anchor in Sevastopol since the collapse of the USSR almost two decades ago.

When Russia and another NATO aspirant, Georgia, fought a brief summer war in 2008, Ukraine – which sympathized with Georgia – complained about the use of Black Sea fleet warships deployed against Georgia from Ukrainian territory without Kiev's permission.

Russia now says it will inform Ukraine about any future movements of the fleet in advance. Some Ukrainian analysts say that's not enough.

"If the fleet is situated on Ukrainian territory, any actions it makes should take Ukrainian interests into account," says Andrei Yermolayev, director of the Sofia Center, an independent think tank in Kiev. "I think Ukrainian military specialists, security experts and politicians have to be given facts about the modernization. We have a right to know what are Russia's plans, goals, and strategy."

Last week the two defense ministers also agreed to broaden military cooperation, including holding joint war games in Russia's southern region next summer.

"We think that modernizing the Black Sea Fleet is beneficial for Ukraine as well as Russia," says Mr. Frolov of the Russian Institute of Commonwealth of Independent States. "First, Russia is paying an enormous rent for the use of this base. Secondly, the fleet not only protects Russia but also Ukraine."
Last April, when Yanukovych agreed to extend the Russian Navy's lease on Sevastopol by 25 years in exchange for a 30 percent discount on Russian natural gas, the Ukrainian opposition in parliament hurled smoke bombs and denounced the deal as "a black page in Ukrainian history."

But protests Monday were muted, with Ukrainian analysts pointing out that the bargain to retain the Russian fleet in Sevastopol remains widely popular among Ukrainians – polls show that about 60 percent approve – and many hope the Russian presence will yield further economic benefits.

"I don't think anybody is very indignant about the Russians modernizing their fleet," says Viktor Nebozhenko, director of Ukrainian Barometer, an independent Kiev think tank.

"It's their own business. It would become intensely popular among Ukrainians if they decided to build some of those new ships in [the languishing Soviet-era military shipyards near the Ukrainian port of] Nikolayev," he adds. "We need the jobs."

Expired Ammunition Cause Of Ukraine Warship Incident - Navy Source

SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine -- The artillery shells that exploded on board a Ukrainian warship during military drills off the Crimean Peninsula, were expired, a source in the Ukrainian Naval Forces said on Saturday.
Ukraine's UNIAN news agency reported earlier in the day that two artillery shells had gone off on board the Kirovograd medium amphibious assault ship late on Friday, seriously injuring four servicemen.

The incident took place at Crimean training ground Opuk during the Vzaimodeistviye-2010 (Cooperation-2010) military exercises.

The injured servicemen have been reportedly admitted to hospital in a grave condition.

"Firing expired artillery shells is a common practice that allows to kill two birds with one stone: both to train and to get rid of obsolete ammunition," the source said, adding that the incident would have been prevented if drill monitors had checked the ammunition's expiration date.

"During gunnery exercises, a ship is strongly shaken - even ceiling lamps in corridors fall down. It's quite possible that the expired shells detonated. Fortunately, they were quite small, and no one was killed," he said.

Ukraine's defense authorities have provided no official comments over the incident. UNIAN said the defense minister, Mykhailo Yezhel, had been supervising the drills on Friday.

In 2008, during military drills off the Crimean peninsula, a missile exploded just seconds after it was launched from a Buk-M1 (SA-11 Gadfly) missile system. No one was killed in the incident.

Although the Ukrainian military authorities declared the drills "successful," then-Defense Minister Yury Yekhanurov admitted that missiles used by the country's military were "obsolete."