Zelenograd Yesterday.

 This is a classic leaker. 

Here is Zelenograd on the map. 

In reality it is more than 30 kilometers from the center of Moscow, more like 35-36 kilometers. As you can see yourself--this is the only modus operandi of NATO (because all of this is supplied by NATO) and it is pure terrorism--attacks on civilian targets, many of them apartment blocks. Well, for those emotional and immature types who demand immediately some "action" I want to stress--lucky for you you are not in any decision-making circuit. Having said that, I want to stress words by Dmitry Polyansky from his yesterday's interview to Daniel Davis. It is about European population which soon wake up to a new European reality. 

I am not going to delve deep into the operational peculiarities of what is coming and decision, highly likely, was already made, but there are ways, as I stated yesterday, to finish off France's nuclear deterrent without it being able to launch. After that France will be reduced to a drab poor poodle with no real military capabilities and that may coincide with strikes on whatever remains of Germany's military industry. No nukes will be used. Some people say that Kiev must go. Certainly possible, but in general--Europe as it exists today will go too. This is for those morons who watched too many movies and read to much hack BS by Tom Clancy. I post it here again:

An obsessive desire that in recent years has already broken through to the slogan to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia, reflecting a long-term, centuries-old strategy, as it now turns out. At some point in our history, after the creation of the UN, the OSCE and the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the prospects for coexistence and even cooperation with the West seemed very realistic to us. All this has gone into oblivion. Open war has been declared on us. For this, the Kyiv regime is used as a "tip". But everyone knows that this "tip" is helpless without material filling with Western weapons, intelligence, satellite systems, assistance in the training of military personnel and much more - everyone knows this. The Kiev regime and the Ukrainian state are openly being used as a geopolitical battering ram. Here some outspoken guys, I think, in the Belgian General Staff, publicly stated that they were preparing for a war with Russia, that Ukraine was helping them buy time. As they say, much more frankly.

This is Lavrov three weeks ago. Russia's diplomats, intel community, military are much more professional than their West's counterparts and they are very precise in definitions and meanings. When Russian diplomacy's top echelon--Lavrov, Ryabkov, Polyansky, Zakharova et al begin to speak in these terms that means only one thing--the decision has been made. Who will be first--that remains to be seen, many juicy and prestigious targets.  Anybody who thinks that the US will engage--I have news for them, or rather the question--with what? Does the US want to go nuclear? It is not about exchanging Chicago for St. Petersburg--this paradigm is long gone. It is more about if both US seaboards (hence my tireless work in trying to warn about realities--I live on the beautiful Pacific shore and I want the US to survive, vested interest, you see) survive at all. 

In related news, US self-proclaimed "expert" (who completely discredited and paraded himself as a hack with the "destruction"  of Rostov-on-Don SSK, which is fine and is in the first line service with Black Sea Fleet) H.I. Sutton continues coming to grips with underwater technologies which are beyond the grasp of the US Navy. 

Khabarovsk is an all-in bet on the Poseidon weapon. Her capabilities as a regular attack submarine without this weapon, while still viable, are sorely compromised. Poseidon (2M39, NATO reporting name Kanyon) is a strategic weapon designed to threaten coastal cities and strategic targets. Although much reporting on it is exaggerated or overly speculative, we can determine that operates as a weapon, not a general-purpose drone. Russia also claims that it can be used to attack tactical targets including aircraft carrier battle groups. The longer-term impact of Poseidon has yet to be felt. It has to be taken seriously by NATO navies but has not become the focus or pivot which Russia might have been hoping for.

LOL. He cannot even grasp strategic and operational realities of the Russian Navy, but then again--he is a product of the system (even without knowing his C.V.) which produced no viable military technology in ages and loses all its wars even against subpar opponents. 

So, naturally, he operates within tactical, operational and strategic rut which is in the foundation of a humiliation of the US Navy in and around Strait of Hormuz.  

My Talking Head Today.

Daily Mail should hire some competent people who can explain to them the difference between SSK and this: 

That thing carries Poseidon. As I explain: 

And it looks dramatically different on the inside. What also seems to be left outside a discussion of Poseidon is its dual purpose, with anti-shipping capability being its other mission. With its speed of 100 knots, it is not-interceptible by any known means and when this thing blows up several tons of high explosives directly underneath aircraft carrier, the result will be all too predictable. For a good measure, in case, God forbids, real war, Poseidon can detonate a nuke too, but then the whole CBG will cease to exist. Not by Zircon and Onyx alone, you know.

Merry Christmas.

To everyone and let there be peace and calm. Of course, we know that this is impossible with neocons in charge in D.C. but for good people of this planet--let your wishes come true and stay healthy and prosper. Just to remind how Putin now weeps in his Main Kremlin Palace because he is denied shopping in Paris by Germany's Defense Minister and how he gazes across the Red Square at GUM.

To find solace there, I guess))) Moscow is magical at Christmas(es) (both Catholic and Orthodox) and New Year. 

But still sticking to my business, Bernhard of MoA published an interesting piece on, and you may have guessed it, hypersonic weapons and the paper from Naval Post Graduate School. Worthy of reading, believe me.

   U.S. Navy Acknowledges Russian Weapon Superiority

I will gladly elaborate more on this issue, including within the larger framework of European (in)security and will explain why things maybe changing faster than we may expect. In fact I was already preparing this explanation for video too. The gap is growing and the US is trying desperately to do something about it but there is very little what could be done. Now that Putin admits that Russia and China work on joint projects in developing advanced weaponry I doubt that the combined West can do anything about it. As I am on record--the gap is not years, it is generational, weapons and CONOPS of the 20th century against the warfare of the 21st. 

Scott Ritter is pretty straight-forward in his predictions. 

Russia is operating on its own timeline, one that seeks a rapid resolution to these issues. While Russia has agreed to direct talks with the U.S., and multilateral talks with NATO and the OSCE, these talks will not be allowed to drag on. Should the U.S. not agree to the Russian demands outright (never going to happen) or a reasonable counterproposal (highly unlikely), and should the U.S. go forward with its plans to deploy the Dark Eagle hypersonic missile system to Europe (prompting a Russian response to deploy weapons systems of its own that place the totality of Europe under the immediate threat of annihilation), then the outcome is a foregone conclusion—Russia will destroy Ukraine militarily.

But I have my doubts about timetable for Dark Eagle to start with and, once and if deployed, about its real capabilities, especially against Russia's anti-missile systems which are already in place. As Scott notes further:

Moreover, Russia may very well deploy hypersonic weapons into the Caribbean, either in Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, or a combination thereof, to counter the threat to Moscow posed by U.S. systems in Europe.  

True, but (K-329) Belgorod is already in IOC and Khabarovsk is getting ready, that is 12 Poseidons. But even 6 of them is enough to... well, I don't want to go there. 

This is K-329 in June. So, there are options... many of them.

Belgorod Is On Her Way.

The rebirth of Soviet favorite "nuclear loafs", as they are known in Russia, project 949A.

Russia has tested a giant new nuclear submarine in open waters for the first time, just days after a tense standoff in the Black Sea with Britain involving a Royal Navy destroyer. The ‘Belgorod’, believed to be the largest submarine developed anywhere in the world in 30 years, was trialled in the White Sea over the weekend, according to Russian state media. Once approved for use, the vessel will be capable of launching nuclear strikes with six intercontinental ‘Poseidon’ torpedoes. It will also act as a mothership for smaller, deep-diving submarines with robotic arms that can tamper with or even cut vital cables that lie on the seafloor.

This is the carrier of Poseidon. 

Truth is, she and her weapon systems are an incredible achievement in underwater technologies and change the whole strategic deterrence paradigm.