Russia & CIS Defense Policy Blog

DATELINE: MOSCOW July 29

In the wake of the July 21 deadly gun and bomb attack at the Baksan hydropower plant in southern Russia, police patrols at energy and other strategic facilities must be reinforced and special equipment installed to identify explosives and radioactive substances.

First Deputy Interior Minister Mikhail Sukhodolsky gave the instructions at a session of a task force for crime prevention.

“Sukhodolsky gave instructions to reinforce police patrols and also to supply the personnel in charge of the security of fuel and energy facilities with relevant technical equipment – detectors of explosives and radioactivity, explosion containment chambers, built-in and movable metal detectors,” a statement issued on Wednesday by Sukhodolsky’s press service said.

“During the debate on adopting additional measures to tighten security at top-priority, hazardous and life-support facilities, it was noted that the Russian government had worked out several instructions directly concerning the Interior Ministry in relation to the blasts at the Baksan hydropower plant,” the statement said.

“The recent attack on the Baksan hydropower plant demonstrated the need to plan and implement a set of additional measures to protect strategic facilities from such attacks,” it said.

Source: Interfax-AVN

DATELINE: MOSCOW July 29

Russia’s major aircraft holding Sukhoi has completed preparations to carry out tests of the Su-25 attack plane equipped with a electronic warfare (EW) system.

“The flight tests of the attack aircraft will start in the near future,” Sukhoi’s chief designer Vladimir Babak told Interfax-AVN.

He said the program of tests with the EW system would be completed within a year and a half.

“The delay in the beginning of flight tests of the new EW system on the attack aircraft stems from certain difficulties of the suppliers, not problems in financing,” he said

Babak said the EW system will be tested on the upgraded Su-25SM.

“After the completion of the tests all upgraded one-seat Su-25SM jets and new two-seat Su-25UBM aircraft will be equipped with the EW system,” he said.

He added that the installation of the modern EW system on Su-25 will significantly enhance the combat potential of the attack aircraft.

Source: Interfax-AVN

DATELINE: KOROLYOV, near Moscow July 27

Plans for building up Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) involve putting five satellites in orbit next year, the general director of Russian satellite manufacturer Information Satellite Systems said on Monday.

“This year we are launching six GLONASS-M satellites for replenishing the orbital group. In December, a new generation satellite, a GLONASS-K, is planned to be launched. Next year, five satellites are planned to be launched simultaneously with flight tests of the GLONASS-K satellite,” Nikolai Testoyedov told reporters.

Three of the five GLONASS-M satellites due to be added to GLONASS next year would be put in orbit via a triple launch by one Proton rocket. Each of the other two would be launched individually. “In other words, this is the start of the precision replenishment of the group through individual launches,” Testoyedov said.

The latest series of GLONASS replenishment has been carried out through triple launches.

Information satellite Systems is based in Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk region.

Source: Interfax-AVN

DATELINE: MOSCOW July 27

Seven generals and more than 260 officers were convicted of various crimes in the first half of 2010, Russia’s Chief Military Prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky said.

“The rate of misappropriations, embezzlement and abuse of power has increased. Two hundred and seventy officers were convicted for such crimes, including seven generals,” Fridinsky said at a meeting of senior officials of the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday.

Fridinsky also spoke about measures to combat corruption.

“Corruption cases increased by almost 26% in the first six months of 2010,” the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

Source: Interfax-AVN

So while overall crime in the ranks appears to be down the number of corruption cases is actually through the roof this year. This seems to be in line with other reports showing that throughout Russian society Medvedev’s reforms seemingly have triggered an increase in bribe taking. To quote The Moscow Times piece:

The average bribe has nearly doubled from 23,000 rubles ($760) last year to 40,000 rubles ($1,320) in the first six months of 2010, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday.

Bribes have become more expensive because those engaged in the widespread practice are rejecting small bribes as too risky amid a Kremlin-led fight against corruption, the ministry said.

“The authorities are fighting corruption, and bribery has become more dangerous,” said Albert Istomin, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry’s department for fighting economic crimes, which released the new bribe figures.

“Therefore, people are not ready to take the risk for a small sum,” he said by telephone.

The army mirrors the society it serves so this is to be expected as officials become more desperate to cash-in one more time in the face of coming reforms.

DATELINE: MOSCOW July 27

Russia’s main military prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky said the number of crimes reported in the Russian army this year has dropped.

“The number of crimes committed in the first half of 2010 in the Russian armed forces and other troops and military bodies was down 10.5% from 2009,” Fridinsky said on Tuesday.

The number of grave crimes including those which resulted in damage to people’s health has decreased, as has the number of military service evasions, down by almost 50%, Fridinsky said.

“The number of crimes committed by officers is down almost 11% in the past half year,” Fridinsky said.

He added that over 270,000 servicemen, their family members, and other citizens had their violated rights restored over the last six months.

Military prosecutors revealed over 128,000 violations of laws, reversed 5,500 illegal acts issued by commanders, and prosecuted some 17,000 officials. A total of 3.3 billion rubles was returned to the state by prosecutors. Over 4,660 people were convicted for various crimes, Fridinsky said.

Source: Interfax-AVN

DATELINE: YEKATERINBURG July 26

Rosenergoatom plans to start up the BN-800 fast-neutron reactor at the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant in September 2013 and expects to begin commercial power production in 2014, the company’s Deputy General Director Oleg Sarayev told Interfax.

“There are no doubts about the launch of the BN-800 from the point of view of fuel supply. We are now planning to launch this reactor, namely to start it up in September 2013,” he said.

Initially, the new power unit at the Beloyarsk NPP was expected to be commissioned in 2012, however, this deadline was postponed due to the sequestered financing of the project in 2008-2009, he said.

“Nevertheless, we have full confidence that start-up will be possible in 2013. Both full capacity and operation at the industrial level are slated for 2014,” Sarayev said.

By now, the reactor construction has been funded by approximately 37-40% of the total investment. The total cost of the BN-800 is estimated at 67 billion rubles.

China has showed interest in the BN-800 project. Currently talks continue under a contract for construction of such reactors in China, and an intergovernmental agreement regarding such a project could be signed before the end of 2010, he added.

The company continues to develop the BN-1200 reactor with a 1.2- gigawatt capacity, Rosenergoatom’s Advisor to the General Director Nikolai Oshkanov said.

The project is due to be completed in 2014 and licensing will take about another two years, he said.

The cost of this project will be comparable to the price of conventional NPPs, he said. Most likely, the Beloyarsk NPP will also serve as a platform for building the BN-1200.

The Beloyarsk NPP is the only power plant in Russia and worldwide that uses a fast-neutron reactor, the BN-600. The plant is currently used as a site for building another analogous reactor, the BN-800, that has a higher capacity.

Source: Interfax-AVN

DATELINE: FARNBOROUGH July 26

Two Ilyushin Il-76MF military transport aircraft will be delivered to Jordan next year.

“The aircraft are being produced. In line with our contract obligations we plan to deliver them in 2011,” head of the Rosoboronexport Air Force Property Export Department Sergei Kornev told Interfax-AVN at the Farnborough International Airshow.

Il-76MG is an overhauled version of the Il-76MD aircraft. It is furnished with the latest on board equipment and new PS-90A-76 aircraft engines with a thrust of 14.5 tonnes. The carrying capacity has been raised from 50 tonnes to 60 tonnes compared to its predecessor. During trials the Il-76MF had a range of 6,200 kilometers carrying 40 tonnes of cargo. Its range with a payload of 60 tonnes is 4,200 kilometers, and with a standard payload of 20 tonnes – 8,500 kilometers.

Source: Interfax-AVN

DATELINE: FARNBOROUGH July 26

Russian state-owned arms trader Rosoboronexport does not rule out the possibility that Brazil could purchase an additional batch of Mil Mi-35 helicopters.

“Brazil is now considering the possibility of acquiring an additional batch of helicopters but this is all at the talking stage, so it is premature to speak of numbers,” head of the Rosoboronexport Air Force Property Export Department Sergei Kornev told Interfax-AVN at the Farnborough International Airshow.

He said that a contract for the delivery of 12 Mi-35M helicopters was signed. “We delivered the first batch of three Mi-35 helicopters.

They were transferred at a special ceremony attended by the Brazilian defense minister the general director of Rosoboronexport, and the first deputy head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation. It was an important historic event,” Kornev said.

The Mi-35M is a strike helicopter for round-the-clock operations.

Helicopters of this type are used by the Russian Air Force and CIS nations and in some countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.

Source: Interfax-AVN

DATELINE: FOROS July 26

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is currently visiting Ukraine, has met with the Russian intelligence agents deported from the United States.

“I met with them. We talked about life,” Putin told journalists on Saturday.

Asked whether they really sang karaoke songs during the meeting, Putin said: “Yes, we did, though not at karaoke, we sang “Where does Homeland begin from?” accompanied by live music.”

Asked about the future fate of the spies, the prime minister said, “They will be working.”

“I am sure they will work at worthy places. I am sure they will have an interesting and bright life,” the prime minister said.

Putin also confirmed that Anna Chapman was among the agents.

“There is not much I comment on here, I already said that this is the result of a betrayal, and betrayers always end up very sadly, normally, from drinking, drugs or under the fence. Just recently somebody ended his existence this way, but what for is unclear,” Putin said.

The prime minister confirmed he knows all betrayers by their names.

Asked whether he is going to punish them, he said, “This is not a correct question.” “It cannot be resolved at a press conference, they live by their own laws, and these laws are well known to all secret services.”

The life of Russian intelligence agents is “very hard,” Putin said.

“Just imagine: first, you need to learn the language to the mother tongue level, think and speak the language, and do what is prescribed by the mission in the interests of your home country for many, many years, without relying on the diplomatic cover and subjecting to the daily risk yourself and your relatives unaware of who you are and who you are working for,” Putin said.

“It is not my task to assess their work, it is up to specialists, their bosses, and the end consumers of the information of this kind, the supreme commander-in-chief – the Russian President,” the prime minister said.

Source: Interfax-AVN

The song is from the movie Sword and the Shield, one of the greatest Soviet spy movies — from an era when such films were entirely different from today’s Salt and Jason Bourne movies.

DATELINE: MOSCOW July 26

Russian Soyuz-2-1V light-class carrier rocket that will liftoff from Plesetsk Cosmodrome does not require construction of a separate launch pad, Space Troops commander Oleg Ostapenko said at a session of the Space Troops Military Council.

“No construction of a separate launch pad is required for operating the Soyuz-2-1V carrier rocket. One of the existing launch pads will be reequipped for this rocket’s liftoffs,” the commander was quoted as saying in the Russian Defense Ministry’s Space Troops press release obtained by Interfax-AVN.

The first launch of the Soyuz-2-1V “is due to take place from Plesetsk Cosmodrome as and when the launch pad and the carrier rocket itself are ready,” he said.

The Space Troops Military Council focused on prospects for developing an orbital group for military and dual purposes, spacecraft launch and control vehicles, missile attack warning systems and outer space control and missile defense systems for the 2011-2020 period.

Source: Interfax-AVN