Retired admiral says Russia losing its navy

[unhappycamper]

Retired admiral says Russia losing its navy
By Vladimir Isachenkov - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Nov 27, 2009 9:09:24 EST

MOSCOW — Russia's once-mighty navy faces further dramatic decline after 2015, when most Soviet-built ships will have to be mothballed, a retired admiral was quoted as saying Friday.

The warning follows comments by Russian officials they were planning to buy a French amphibious assault warship able to carry at least a dozen helicopters or to land forces.

Russia currently has no big ship with the power to anchor off coast and deploy troops onto land. With the likely decommissioning of other aging warships, distant deployments would be impossible, Retired Adm. Vyacheslav Popov said in remarks carried by RIA Novosti news agency.

"If things remain as they are, we will have to mothball most ocean warships by 2015," Popov was quoted as saying. "That will sharply reduce the navy's capability," which he said was now five to six times less than Britain's or France's, and 20-30 times smaller than the U.S. Navy's.

Popov and other retired military officers have described the Russian navy as being in a pitiful state — a sharp contrast to the Kremlin's attempts to flex military muscle abroad.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/11/ap_russia_navy_112709/

[rpannier]

1. Interesting

Thanks

[Captain Hilts]

2. The Russians can design anything and maintain nothing. Interesting. nt