Ah, The Power Of The Written Word.

As Melissa Rossi from Yahoo News notes: 

With roughly 100,000 Russian troops amassed close to the border with Ukraine, warships deployed in the nearby Black Sea, and Russian tanks streaming down from the north, fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to launch an invasion continue to grow inside the former Soviet republic and among NATO allies.

She, obviously, forgets after  "Russian tanks streaming down from the north", to note that:

Russian airplanes, poised to kill, picked up and carried by mighty air-streams from Russian inhospitable steppes, flying like a thunder-birds from the east, covering the ground beneath their vulturous wings with threatening shadows foretelling the impending doom. The grass on the tired and foreboding ground and the leafs on the trees shudder in anticipation of an abrupt end to their innocent, anthropological global warming fighting, existence under the tracks of a grim merciless, environment polluting, Russian armor streaming from the north. Children of the surrounding villages run to their same sex families trying to scream in horror, nay--cry in desperation sensing the end of their hormonal therapy and the end of their dream to become a fluid gender happy warrior for a universal right to be all they can be. The war is coming. 

You see, this is how Western journos should write their reports. Come on--not enough drama, what kind of reporting is that? In the end, as this Melissa girl describes herself:

Author of "What Every American Should Know" series, gypsy with a laptop and travel writer. 

There you go, girl. Let your imagination fly. You can do better than streaming tanks from the north.

On a more serious note, nah.... I am screwing with you--this one is even more hilarious:

The commander of the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet has called for more aircraft carriers in the Pacific to dissuade China and Russia from conflict. Vice Adm. Karl Thomas made the comment after the U.S. concluded a 10-day naval exercise with Japan, Australia, Canada and Germany, The Wall Street Journal reported. Thomas, when asked about the threat from China and Russia, said it was important to show a united front to "other nations that might be more aggressive and authoritarian," the newspaper reported. He added that the U.S. and allies should use joint exercises to "deter aggression from some of these nations that are showing burgeoning strength [and] tell these nations that maybe today is not the day."

At this stage I have to ask a serious question--when was the last time Vice Admiral Karl Thomas looked at the calendar? I by no means imply that my peer (you know--the same age) begins to enter the Admiral Benson stage but somebody tell the guy that the only thing those carriers can do is to present Russia with a wonderful set of fat prestigious targets in case of someone completely off the hinges in D.C. decides to attack Russia (or China). Those carriers don't deter anything unless we are talking about some third world helpless nation.

I understand, the guy commanded carriers all his life, but somebody tell him--it is almost December of 2021 and Russia's Pacific Fleet continues to receive new ships. Three brand new ones--two subs and one corvette (finally properly called by TV the escort ship) pr. 20385 just arrived to Vladivostok to join the fleet.

 

While two latest SSKs Volkhov and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky are, traditionally, carriers of 3M14 and 3M54, pr. 20385 Gremyashchiy is this terrifying new iteration of a series of Russian corvettes capable of carrying...and you have guessed it already 3M22 Zircon. As none other than Vladimir Putin himself announced today, speaking at the investment forum:

МОСКВА, 30 ноября. /ТАСС/. Новая гиперзвуковая ракета морского базирования поступит с начала следующего года в Вооруженные силы РФ. Об этом заявил президент России Владимир Путин, выступая на пленарном заседании инвестиционного форума "ВТБ капитала" "Россия зовет!"."Мы сейчас испытали, и успешно, и с начала года у нас будет на вооружении уже новая ракета морского базирования, гиперзвуковая - 9 махов. Подлетное время будет до тех, кто отдает приказы, тоже пять минут", - сказал Путин.

Translation: MOSCOW, November 30. / TASS /. The new sea-based hypersonic missile will be procured to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from the beginning of next year. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the plenary session of the investment forum "VTB Capital" "Russia is calling!" “We have now tested, and successfully, and from the beginning of the year we will be armed with a new sea-based missile, hypersonic - Mach 9. The flight time will also be five minutes before those who give orders,” Putin said.  

Vladimir Putin doesn't have naval background or background in weapon systems, unlike Vice Admiral Karl Thomas, he has people who do and the reason Russia's President announces the arrival of Zircon is simple--surface fleets and from the sea deterrence as we know it are over no matter how many and how large aircraft carriers one has. I will talk about actual firepower and how it grows exponentially with such weapons later, when continue with Salvo Model I wanted to record video today BUT, some SOBs starting from the early morning are cutting trees in our community next to me and even with the closed windows the sound of their saws is horrendous. Maybe tomorrow. 

P.S. In somewhat pleasant news: my books (first and third) will be published in Polish and German language by respective Polish and German publishing houses. The contracts have been signed. I am truly grateful to my Polish and German readers who also played a role in this by making many non-English language countries aware of my writing. 

Russia's Pacific Fleet. Short Note.

Larchmonter445 asked me to expound on the "operational" exercises of Russia's Pacific Fleet which started before the Geneva "summit" and I start with fresh Zvezda report (in Russian) on the exercise of...sinking a Carrier Battle Group. Pay attention that in this short video the firing solution for anti-shipping missiles is calculated at 422 kilometers which is a routine over-the-horizon launch for missiles of P-800 Oniks or 3M54 Kalibr variety and the location of the exercise, which is  "in an area located 2.5 thousand miles (approximately 4.6 thousand kilometers) south-east of the Kuril Islands."

This is easily within the striking distance of Pearl by 3M14 of older versions and, depending on the positioning of the Strike-Search Group (KPUG) within the area, to San Diego by latest version of 3M14M whose range is stated above 4,500 kilometers. This all is about surface group, what is under the surface we can only guess. 

It is a little bit of a demonstration of the flag by a relatively modest size task force, which, nonetheless, packs a rather massive punch, plus good ol' combat training in the remote ocean zones is always a good idea. Considering the fact that Zircon (3M22) carrier, fully modernized Marshal Shaposhnikov, is in business at these maneuvers, one can start confidently calculate what size salvo Russia's Pacific Fleet will be able to get into the area when Admiral Nakhimov and "calibrized" Pacific pr. 949AM (Oscar IIs) such as Irkutsk, together with new Yasen-class SSGNs, starting from Novosibirsk, which is undergoing sea trials now, and follow-on of similar Krasnoyarsk, will join in. With the other two Yasens following in 2024 and 2027. All of them are carriers of 3M22 Zircons together with newest corvettes of pr. 20385 most of which are bound for the Pacific Fleet. Together with additional three pr. 22350 Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates. This is what will appear by 2025-2027, not to mention other forces.

So, as you can see, all this is a warm-up for for a much more aggressive Ocean-denial---> Ocean-control posture by Russian Navy in the Pacific, especially when Pacific Fleet's salvo will triple by 2025. There is also no doubt that such a fleet will make appearances in the Chinese ports as it has been done before and under the new circumstances all that becomes extremely significant. Especially considering a totally expected growth of the tempo of Russian-Chinese joint naval maneuvers. 

So, this return of Russia's Pacific Fleet to the ocean fits perfectly into the strategic realities of a de facto Russian-Chinese alliance and of restoration of Russia's presence in the blue waters of the ocean. So, here it is.