RIA Novosti – Russian frigate returns home after anti-piracy duty off Somalia

The Russian missile frigate Neustrashimy, which took part in the anti-pirate operations in the Gulf of Aden, returned to its home port of Baltiysk.

The Times – Russian military a ‘paper tiger’ despite symbolic comeback, says IISS

Russia may be flexing its military muscle once again, sending warships into international waters and dispatching long-range bombers on reconnaissance trips, but the former superpower remains a paper tiger, according to a respected London think-tank.

Associated Press – Russian Missile Fails in Test Launch for Fifth Time
Russia’s new sea-based ballistic missile has failed in a test launch for the fifth time, signaling serious trouble with the highly advertised major future component of the nation’s nuclear forces. The Bulava missile “self-destructed and exploded in the air” after a launch from the Dmitry Donskoy nuclear submarine beneath the surface of the White Sea.

BBC – Russian warships in Cuban visit

A group of Russian warships is to visit Cuba for the first time since the Soviet era.

BBC – Russian ship sails through Panama

A Russian warship has sailed through the Panama Canal for the first time since World War II.

Associated Press – Russia to Send Warship Through Panama Canal

Russia said Wednesday it is sending a warship through the Panama Canal for the first time since World War II, a short journey loaded with symbolic weight: the destroyer will dock at a former U.S. naval base, showcasing Russia’s growing influence in the region.

Associated Press – Russian warships hold exercises with Chavez’s navy

Russian warships have ended training exercises with Venezuela’s navy in Moscow’s first such Caribbean deployment since the Cold War.

BBC – Venezuela welcomes Russian ships

Russian warships have arrived for joint exercises with Venezuela’s navy, the first deployment of its kind in the Caribbean since the Cold War.

UPI – Russian ship thwarts pirate attack

A Russian frigate prevented the seizure of a vessel flying the Saudi flag from being taken over by pirates off Somalia’s coast Sunday.

Press Trust of India – Gorshkov’s Delivery to Indian Navy Delayed Until 2012

Russia today said the delivery of Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier to the Indian Navy would be delayed till 2012 as the vessel could be refitted only sometime in 2010.

AFP – Sailor charged with submarine deaths

A sailor has been charged for setting off the fire extinguishing system on the Russian nuclear submarine Nerpa, causing 20 people to be gassed to death

Reuters – Russia’s ageing navy still packs a deadly punch

Aboard the missile cruiser Moskva…

Associated Press – Russian sub survivors: Freon killed as crew slept

Dozens of crewmen were fast asleep on a nuclear submarine when freezing Freon gas poured over them from a firefighting system, survivors said Tuesday in the first eyewitness accounts of the Russian submarine accident that killed 20 people.

Washington Post – Russians To Probe Submarine Accident

Prosecutors opened a negligence probe Sunday into an accident aboard a new, nuclear-powered Russian submarine that killed 20 people, saying the victims appeared to have suffocated after a fire-safety system flooded two sections of the vessel with a gas that displaces oxygen.

BBC – Twenty die on Russian submarine

At least 20 people have died in an incident involving the failure of a fire extinguishing system on a Russian nuclear submarine

Defense Technology International – Moscow Eyes Strategic Port of Benghazi as Second Med Naval Station

Colonel Mummar el-Qaddafi, Libya’s longtime controversial leader, visited Moscow over the weekend and apparently offered the Port of Benghazi to Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev during their talks in the Kremlin last Saturday.

Associated Press – Russian ship passes Suez on anti-piracy mission

The Russian guided missile frigate Neustrashimy (Intrepid) is passing through the Suez Canal to join military vessels from other nations protecting shipping in pirate-infested waters off Somalia.

The Times – Russia displayed its military strength in the Mediterranean yesterday after warships heading to Venezuela passed through the Strait of Gibraltar in the second deployment of Russian naval vessels in the waterway since the Cold War.
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Daily Telegraph – Russia is to build eight nuclear submarines by 2015 as part of an ambitious plan to overhaul the country’s ailing navy.
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Daily Telegraph – Russian warships are sailing towards the Caribbean for the first time since the Cold War to take part in a joint naval exercise with Venezuela.
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RIA Novosti – Russia’s new carrier-based fighters will replace the Su-33 naval fighter in service with the Russian Navy after 2016.
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Los Angeles Times – The Venezuelan government announced Sunday that four Russian naval vessels will participate in joint exercises in the Caribbean this year, a move that could heighten already strained relations between Washington and Moscow.
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The Times – A new Cold War between Russia and the West grew steadily closer yesterday after the Kremlin gave a warning about ìdirect confrontationî between American and Russian warships in the Black Sea.

Associated Press – US cancels plan to send military ship to Poti.

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Reuters – Russia’s flagship cruiser re-entered the Black Sea on Monday for weapons tests hours after the Russian military complained about the presence of U.S. and other NATO naval ships near the Georgian coast.
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Defense Technology International – Moscow is flexing its muscles again in the eastern Mediterranean, and aims to reactivate old cold war naval installations with its ally, Syria.
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