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Russian bombers and submarines continue to make unpleasant surprises for NATO
30.08.2007 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/96504-russia_nato-0

The resumption of flights for Russian strategic bombers made NATO express serious concerns on the matter. In addition, NATO closely watches tests of a new Russian submarine. This news made "the most democratic country in the world" see that Russia is an equal rival for NATO. The NATO command is seriously concerned about the surprises that Russia makes.

When Russia’s strategic aviation recommenced flights in the areas of its traditional patrolling the Pentagon and European headquarters were shocked to learn the news. Russian aircraft have not patrolled the air space above the Atlantic waters within the past fifteen years, which made NATO believe that it held the absolute power there.

There are even some hysteric statements saying that the recommencement of flights by strategic aviation of the Russian Federation may mean the start of a new cold war. But some experts scoff at Moscow’s attempts to scare Europe with its outdated airplanes as they call the Russian strategic bombers.

Russia currently tests a new submarine called Amur in the Baltic Sea. The NATO Navy is closely watching the test, and the more information the NATO command gets about the submarine and the test the gloomier it grows.

The non-nuclear submarine of the Amur class is a fourth generation submarine that can deliver salvo missile attack at various targets. The level of its acoustic field is several times lower than it is registered with the world’s most noiseless submarines of the Kilo class.

The submarine is equipped with a new generation radioelectronic arming. What is more, the construction of the submarine allows supplying it with special power installations with chemical generators that help considerably increase its submerged endurance and cruising range.

Amur can operate in any part of the world ocean with the exception of areas covered with solid mass of ice, under any weather conditions, in shallow and deep waters. The Amur armament consists of ten vertical containers with cruise or anti-ship missiles together with missiles to hit surface targets. There are also four torpedo-tubes with multi-purpose torpedoes to deliver against a ship or above-water targets at short range. Amur can deliver a massive missile attack within at least two minutes.

Because of the low noise that makes it hard to detect such submarines experts in the West call them ‘the black hole in the ocean’. Chief designer of the project Yury Kormilitsyn said that the submarine was designed as an underwater hunter able to destroy any targets, surface battleships, transport ships or submarines, to deliver torpedo and missile attacks, to set mine barriers, and also to destroy targets with the help of soldier swimmers.

NATO experts fear that the submarine will be exported to other countries such as Venezuela that contends against the USA for domination in Latin America.

It is quite logic that Russia is actively reviving its military industrial complex and recommencing patrolling of the strategic aviation. In the past years, the West traditionally treated Russia as a weak part that regularly proposed peace initiatives and demanded peace for its own security. So, the West saw the role of Moscow as that of a petitioner.

But when Russia exhausted all the opportunities to make all countries friends it decided to pursue its own interests. That made the West and Europe first of all realize that Moscow would have its own way independently and may act even contrary to Europe’s interests.

After the breakup of the USSR the USA felt its global responsibility that later transformed into unrestricted domination over the world that allowed Washington to apply a neoconservative doctrine and intrude countries with unwanted regimes. Now the structure of the one-pole world is coming tumbling down.

Russia is not the only country that disagrees with the present-day model of the world order, and Moscow knows how to make others hear its opinion. Russia can definitely be an equal rival to NATO in the sky and at sea.

Vladimir Anokhin
Pravda.ru