Russian Military a 'Mirage'

choi

(1) Italy To The Rescue. Strategy Page, Feb 6, 2012.
http://strategypage.com/htmw/htarm/articles/20120206.aspx

Quote:

"Russia has finally signed a purchase order for 60 (not the 2,500 originally discussed) Italian LMV (Light Multipurpose Vehicles) M65 "Lynx" armored vehicles.

"Building a foreign armored vehicle design in Russia is an admission that the local defense industries have not kept up. For many Russians, it's a humiliation for something like this to happen. Russia was a pioneer in armored vehicle design before World War II, and for several decades after.

"M65 provides much better protection than the [Russian-made] Tigr

Note:
(a) The news a year ago was Russia would buy 2,500 Iveco LMVs.
(b) Iveco LMV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iveco_LMV
(LMV: Light Multirole Vehicle; In Afghanistan the Lince vehicles have proved decisive in saving passenger's lives in several attacks with IED.
(c) Iveco
All this is in sharp contrast to the old days. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, it had five million troops in its armed forces. Now it's less than one million in just Russia (which got about half the population of the Soviet Union, and most of the territory). (an acronym for Industrial VEhicle Corporation; a subsidiary of Fiat Industrial, having been demerged from the Fiat Group at the start of 2011; created on 1 January 1975 by Fiat manager and mechanical engineer Bruno Beccaria (1915–2001) through the merger of five companies; Headquaerters  Turin, Italy)
(d) GAZ-2975
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAZ-2975
(russian nickname "Tigr"; is the military version of the GAZ-2330 "Tigr"; section 3 Operators: People's Republic of China[--]Co-production license with Beijing Yanjing Automobile)

(2) Where Have All The Russian Soldiers Gone?  Strategy Page, Feb 6, 2012.
http://strategypage.com/htmw/htatrit/articles/20120206.aspx

Quote:

Russia's "army was short a third of the privates (lowest ranking enlisted troops) they were supposed to have. The Russian military (mainly the Army and Interior Ministry paramilitary units) are supposed to have a million personnel. But officials admitted last year, off-the-record, that the real number is closer to 800,000 and falling fast.

"But the biggest problem is that the number of 18 year olds is rapidly declining each year. The latest crop of draftees was those born after the Soviet Union dissolved. That was when the birth rate went south. * * * The number of available draftees went from 1.5 million a year in the early 1990s, to 800,000 today. Less than half those potential conscripts are showing up

"With the exodus of the best leaders, and growing number of ill-trained and unreliable conscripts, the Russian military is more of a mirage than an effective combat (or even police) organization.

"All this is in sharp contrast to the old days. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, it had five million troops in its armed forces. Now it's less than one million in just Russia (which got about half the population of the Soviet Union, and most of the territory).

Note: For NCO, see non-commissioned officer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-commissioned_officer
(a military officer who has not been given a commission; Non-commissioned officers usually obtain their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks; In the United States Army, United States Air Force and United States Marine Corps, all ranks of Sergeant are termed NCOs, as are Corporals in the Army and Marine Corps0

Cf: military rank
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_rank

View the table headlined "Common anglophone military ranks" in the right lower corner of the web page.

Below "corporal" is private--the lowest rank in the army.

(3) Why Islamic Radicals Don't Last. Strategy Page, Feb 6, 2012.
http://strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20120206.aspx

(4) France Leads The Way. Strategy Page, Feb 4, 2012.
http://strategypage.com/htmw/htairfo/articles/20120204.aspx

Quote:

France is ignoring the arms embargo against China. "This is done by disregarding the installation of dual-use Western equipment in weapons systems. The latest example is the use of French Arriel 2C engines (built under license in China), for the Z-9WE combat helicopter. The Arriel 2C engine is only supposed to be used for Chinese civilian helicopters, and is used for over 300 of them. Earlier models of the Z-9 use Chinese designed and built WZ8A engines. These were not satisfactory. So now China is advertising the use of Arriel 2C engines in its Z-9WE combat helicopters. * * * The Z-9 is a license built version of the French AS 365N Dauphin.

"This use of Western engines in military helicopters is not new. Five years ago China installed Canadian PT6C-67C engines in its Z-10 helicopter gunship. China shrugs off foreign protests at this

Note:
(1) Turbomeca
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbomeca
(Founded 1938 [by Joseph Szydlowski and André Planiol]; Headquarters  Bordes, France; Parent  Safran SA)  

(i) Joseph Szydlowski
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Szydlowski
(1896 in Poland-1988 in Israel; Jewish-Polish-French-Israeli)
(ii) Safran
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAFRAN
(Founded 2005; result of a merger between the propulsion and aerospace equipment group SNECMA and the defense conglomerate SAGEM; The name Safran, literally meaning "rudder blade", was chosen from 4,250 suggestions; Headquarters Paris)
(b)
(i) Arriel. Turbomeca, undated.
http://www.turbomeca.com/english ... -engines/arriel-45/
("Since its launch in 1977, there have been 28 different versions of the Arriel, powering 28 different light and medium helicopter types. Today, there are two basic variants in Turbomeca’s Arriel family: Arriel 1 and Arriel 2. Takeoff power ranges from 700 to 950 shp. The 6,000th Arriel was delivered in 2005, and the 10,000 was delivered in 2011")

shp: shaft horsepower
See horsepower
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsepower
(section 8 Shaft horsepower
(ii) Where does Turbomeca get the names for its products? Turbomeca, undated (in the web page for "FAQ")
http://www.turbomeca.com/english ... a-in-brief/faq-106/
("Most Turbomeca engines bear names taken from the Pyrenees mountain range that forms the backdrop to the company’s headquarters. Names of lakes are used for turbo-shaft engines, mountain peaks for the single-spool turbo-jet engines, mountain passes for twin-spool turbo-jet engines, winds for turbo-generators and valleys for turbo-propeller engines. Such is the inspirational power of nature!")

Pyrenees
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrenees
(a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain; section 1 Etymology)

(c) Harbin Z-9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbin_Z-9
(d) CAIC WZ-10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAIC_WZ-10
(built by Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC); Introduction 2010)
(e) PT6C. Pratt & Whitney Canada, undated
http://www.pwc.ca/en/engines/pt6c
("1,200 to 2,000 shaft horsepower class")
(f) China Developed Z-15 Engine With Turbomeca. Global Times, Mar 11, 2011
http://forum.globaltimes.cn/forum/showthread.php?p=58638
("Chinal dropped Pratt & Whitney in favor of a joint Chinese-Turbomeca developed engine to power s that country’seven ton, Z-15 multirole helicopter, Turbomeca CEO Pierre Fabre confirmed at Heli-Expo")


(5) Hugh White, Submarine Shopping Should Start With a Few Key Questions. The Age, Feb 7, 2012 (available now)
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion ... 20120206-1r1p6.html

Quote:

"The American century is behind us, and the Asian century lies ahead. America will remain strong enough to be a strategic force in Asia if it chooses, but will it choose? In the American century, America was richer and stronger than all of Asia put together, and choosing to lead was easy. In the Asian century, China has a bigger economy than America's. It must choose either to work with China or compete against it. America has never faced such a choice because it has never faced a country richer than itself. No one knows what America will do - least of all America's leaders.

"How we answer this question is central to our choices about submarines because submarines would be central to any independent defence capability. Submarines are likely to be the most cost-effective way to raise the risks for any aggressor trying to project power against Australia by sea.