New Delhi: India will become the world's sixth operator of a nuclear-powered submarine next month when Russia's K-152 Nerpa attack vessel reaches the country's shores ahead of its formal induction into the Indian Navy.
The submarine, christened INS Chakra, is expected to reach the Indian shores, with its home base as Visakhapatnam, anytime in March, according to navy officers here.
The other global naval powers operating nuclear-powered submarines are the US, Russia, Britain, France and China.
The attack submarine was handed over to the Indian Navy by Russia at a ceremony in the Far Eastern Primorye territory on Jan 23.
Codenamed Akula-II by NATO, the Project 971 Shchuka-B class vessel will be on a 10-year lease with the Indian Navy till 2022 under a contract worth over $900 million signed in mid-1990.
Under the deal, Russia trained Indian submariners on operating the Nerpa for over a month in the Pacific Ocean ahead of its handing over.
With a displacement of over 8,000 tonnes, the vessel can touch a maximum speed of 30 knots and can operate at a maximum depth of 600 meters.
The vessel can lurk in the deep sea without having to surface for 100 days waiting for its prey to appear and to strike hard at will.
Manned by a 73-member crew, the vessel is armed with four 533mm torpedo tubes and four 650mm torpedo tubes.
The Indian Navy operated a nuclear-powered submarine 1987-1991 when it had a Soviet-origin Charlie class vessel, also named INS Chakra, in its fleet. The submarine was returned to Russia after the three-year lease ended.
Nuclear-powered submarines, being silent killers, are considered key weapon platforms in view of the surprise element in case of an attack. They are an important part of India's nuclear doctrine, as these can help in completing the nuclear-weapon triad or the capability to fire nuclear arsenal from platforms over the land, air, and under the sea.
Though Nerpa was originally scheduled to join the Indian Navy in 2009, an unexpected on-board explosion in November 2008 when it was undergoing sea trials in the Western Pacific by the Russian Navy sailors resulted in the death of 20-odd personnel due to a toxic gas release.
India will add another nuclear-powered vessel to its submarine fleet in the next six to 10 months when the indigenously built INS Arihant that is undergoing trials joins the fleet.
Two more Arihant-class submarines, with miniaturised nuclear reactors designed and developed with Russian help, will join the naval fleet in the next four years.
India currently operates 14 conventional diesel-electric submarines. Of them, 10 are Russian-origin Kilo class vessels and four are German HDW vessels
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/russian-submarine-to-reach-indian-shores-mid-march-180705&cp
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Showing posts with label russia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label russia. Show all posts
Friday, March 2, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Multiple Wolf Attacks in Small Russian Towne
Moscow - A pack of wolves attacked inhabitants of a Russian provincial town on Tuesday, cornering some residents in buildings until police came to the rescue, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday.
The wolves were reported by local residents from several locations in the city of Petrozavodsk, some 660 kilometres north-west of the capital Moscow.
The carnivores forced some residents to take cover in an apartment building and a hotel, police responding to the scene found. The officers were ultimately forced to open fire to clear out the wolves.
One of the wolves attacked police officers and was shot dead. The remainder of the pack took cover in a nearby forest, the report said.
Wolves are widely considered a pest in Russia and, outside of nature preserves, are hunted legally, sometimes with the government paying a pelt bounty.
Attacks on humans are rare. Those that do generally take place in Russia's sparsely inhabited central Siberian and Far Eastern districts.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/news/article_1688271.php/Wolves-attack-corner-residents-of-Russian-town
The wolves were reported by local residents from several locations in the city of Petrozavodsk, some 660 kilometres north-west of the capital Moscow.
The carnivores forced some residents to take cover in an apartment building and a hotel, police responding to the scene found. The officers were ultimately forced to open fire to clear out the wolves.
One of the wolves attacked police officers and was shot dead. The remainder of the pack took cover in a nearby forest, the report said.
Wolves are widely considered a pest in Russia and, outside of nature preserves, are hunted legally, sometimes with the government paying a pelt bounty.
Attacks on humans are rare. Those that do generally take place in Russia's sparsely inhabited central Siberian and Far Eastern districts.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/news/article_1688271.php/Wolves-attack-corner-residents-of-Russian-town
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Russia Holding Firm against Military intervention in Syria
Reporting from Beirut—
As diplomats attempted to craft a compromise, Russia remained firm Wednesday in its pledge to veto any U.N. Security Council resolution that could open the door for international military intervention in Syria.Meanwhile, fighting raged anew in the troubled Middle East nation, with nearly 70 additional deaths reported by opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose bloody crackdown on street protests has led to calls from the Arab League and Western powers for him to step aside.
After a closed-door meeting, U.N. diplomats said progress had been made to overcome Russia's objections. "But there are a lot of difficult issues and we are not there yet," said British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, according to the Associated Press.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said, "I think we have a much better understanding of what we need to do to reach consensus."
But Moscow continues to oppose any U.N. move that calls for Assad to step down or would slap new economic penalties or an arms embargo on Damascus.
Behind Russia's resolute stance is its longtime relationship with Assad and his family, who have run Syria for four decades, as well as a web of business and security interests, and deep discomfort in Moscow with the concept of foreign-mandated change in leadership. Russian diplomats say they were deceived last year when a U.N. resolution designed to protect Libyan civilians morphed into a Western-led bombing campaign that doomed the long-ruling government of Moammar Kadafi.
Moreover, opposition to the resolution will not cause significant damage to relations between Russia, the West and the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, predicted Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the journal Russia in Global Affairs. Other concerns, such as the situation in Iran and Afghanistan, keep Washington and its allies engaged with Russia, he said, and Moscow's relations with gulf countries are already bad.
"Russia has nothing to lose," Lukyanov said.
U.N. action could help determine the future of Syria as it nears the one-year anniversary of a protest movement that was met by the government crackdown and has since evolved into armed rebellion that has left the country on the precipice of civil war.
A draft U.N. resolution circulating in New York would authorize unspecified "further measures" should Syria not comply with its terms, including a "political transition" in which Assad would cede power.
The Arab League and its Western allies, including Washington, are pushing the proposal. But Syria, backed by Russia and other nations, calls the scheme an affront to its sovereignty.
Moscow, which last year joined with China to veto a U.N. resolution that would have condemned the Syrian crackdown on dissent, is concerned that the revolt in Syria, along with other "Arab Spring" movements, are part of a Western conspiracy to dominate the Middle East, Russian analysts say.
Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's envoy to the European Union, said the current U.N. draft was "missing the most important thing: a clear clause ruling out the possibility that ... [it] could be used to justify military intervention in Syrian affairs."
"For this reason," he said, "I see no chance this draft could be adopted."
Violence continued to ravage Syria on Wednesday, with an opposition coalition, the Local Coordination Committees, reporting at least 68 more deaths, more than half in clashes outside Damascus. The military has been clearing armed rebels from towns near the capital after insurgents brazenly advanced to within a few miles of the capital, embarrassing the government.
The official government news agency reported that four military officers, including a brigadier general, were killed Wednesday and six were wounded in a confrontation with an "armed terrorist group" outside Damascus.
The United Nations has reported more than 5,000 deaths since protests against Assad's rule broke out in March.
Casualty figures cannot be independently verified because journalists' access is limited in Syria.
Also on Wednesday, Iran reported that 11 Iranian pilgrims had been abducted in Syria, the latest in a series of kidnappings of Iranian citizens. Iran is a close ally of Syria, but Tehran has advised its citizens to hold off on bus tours to the nation.
Kidnappings, mostly of Syrians, have become a regular feature of the conflict, reflecting a generalized breakdown in law and order, human rights activists say. Abductees are often used as bargaining chips to gain the release of kidnap victims held by the other side, observers say.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Russians DOing Research at Both Poles
The journey
After having drawn a lot of attention from thepress, Koen left form Zaventem Airport on 15 December for Cape Town, where he spent a few days. His departure for the Russian Novolazarevskaya base was delayed due to a violent storm. On 23 December, Koen took his first steps in Antarctica and described his experience as “a marvelous and very special experience. The thermal shock was enormous. The cold stung my hands, feet and nose. It certainly felt like we were on the coldest continent on the planet.”
Arrival at the Princess Elisabeth Station
After another flight leaving from the Russian base Koen was able to reach his final destination: the Princess Elisabeth Station – just in time to celebrate Christmas in Antarctica! Koen arrived at the station at the same time as a team of German scientists from the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe - BGR), who will do geophysical research in the Sør Rondane mountains. However the German team had to postpone their research, given that the Mary Arctica, the ship bringing the helicopters they need to get, was blocked 130 km off the coast for several days. The Mary Arctica finally arrived at Crown Bay on 5 January, and Koen left this morning with other members of the station team to help offload equipment from the ship.
Meanwhile in Brussels…
To keep you up to date with Koen’s adventures at the station, an article and a photo gallery will be posted every two weeks during his stay in Antarctica. We are also organizing teacher workshops (one on 25 January for the Flemish Community and one on 1 February for the French-Speaking Community) in the Class Zero Emission space at the headquarters of the International Polar Foundation (IPF) in Brussels. During the workshops, teachers will be able to chat with Koen and ask him questions via Skype video conference.
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