Hypersonic Missile Arm Race: US Walking a Tightrope in East Asian Region

Source : http://sputniknews.com

 

Washington is walking a tightrope in the East Asian region: the Sino-American hypersonic missile arm race may prompt a rapid escalation of tensions between the two sides with certain destabilizing effects, military expert Eleni G. Ekmektsioglou notes.

The hypersonic missile arm race between the United States and China may prompt a rapid military escalation in the East Asian region, dragging it into the abyss of instability, PhD Researcher and Research Assistant at the American University School of International Service Eleni G. Ekmektsioglou noted.

According to the scholar "military thinking so far has been dominated by the use of brute force… instead of coercive force that leaves the final choice to the opponent."

"The latter [coercive force] would be more expedient in a regional conflict scenario where the United States faces a nuclear force while at the same time the objective at stake does not justify an all-out war effort," she elaborated.

The United States has been pursuing its conventional prompt global strike (CPGS) high precision technology, aimed at "striking a target anywhere in the world within one hour's time," since late 1970s. The idea has caught its second wind after 9/11, during the Bush administration.

Although CPGS had been initially meant for counterterrorism operations, very soon the concept has taken on a new meaning of a prompt "counternuclear" strike. "Counternuclear is broader and more comprehensive than counterforce since it targets nuclear warheads, C4ISR systems as well as production and storage facilities," the scholar elaborated.

The Obama administration praises the development of the CPGS program. However, Washington's course has triggered growing concerns among Chinese policy-makers. Beijing fears that the program is aimed at containing China.

"Specifically, Chinese experts talk about the scenario of China being subject to American coercion, a concern that is mainly due to US nuclear superiority, which — married to BMD [Ballistic Missile Defense] and a conventional pre-emptive strike enabled by CPGS — puts at risk the Chinese retaliatory capability," Ms. Ekmektsioglou emphasized.

In order to equalize opportunities, China kicked off its own hypersonic missile projects. The Chinese tests carried out in January and August 2014 had demonstrated clearly that Beijing entered the competition.

"Over the last several years, talk has heated up over Beijing's DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM), with a maneuverable warhead and range at around 1,500 km, taking many U.S. experts and high echelon officers by surprise," the scholar stressed.

The CPGS technology is considered a game changer in the traditional warfare. Indeed, its accuracy and speed that allows to penetrate an adversary's BMD systems may significantly bolster both US' and China's military capabilities. But on the other hand, it leads to "two-sided escalation situations."

A surprise attack and a tough response to it leave "no room for signaling and diplomacy," and, unfortunately, the "escalation control" is just a "wishful thinking" in the troublesome East Asian regional environment.

"Hypersonic weapons add to the complexity and elusiveness of the escalatory dynamics and this is something both sides will need to plan for," the scholar emphasized.

NATO will never invade Russia - McFaul

Source : http://m.rbth.co.uk

Former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul has said NATO is not planning to invade Russia and there is no need for the Russian leadership to deploy S-400 air defense systems on its Western borders. "NATO will never invade Russia," he twitted on Sunday.

The former ambassador said the Russian leadership is groundlessly concerned about the deployment of NATO armaments near Russian borders. "Russians should also relax about NATO defensive weapons near Russian borders since Russia tells us no plan to invade NATO countries," McFaul wrote.

"Only a complete fool would invade Russia. Thankfully no fools running NATO countries," the diplomat noted.

Previously the Russian Defense Ministry announced new S-400 "Triumf" long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems and "Pantsir-S" combined SAM and anti-aircraft artillery systems will enter service in the air defense divisions stationed in the Northwestern Federal District before the end of 2015.

"In all, more than 30 sets of modern SAM systems will enter service in the air defense divisions of the Western Military District (WMD) before the end of 2015 under the State Defense Order-2015 program," the WMD said in a press release.

You Can't Win Them All: This Time US May Lose New Arms Race

Source : http://sputniknews.com

The United States may lose a new arms race in today's multi-polar world, prominent US writer and publicist David A. Andelman says, stating that Washington is currently facing new multinational, multidimensional threats.

According to prominent American writer and publicist David A. Andelman, Washington is facing a new arms race, potentially far more threatening than during the Cold War.

"All that is history. But not the arms race. It's still going on, though in a vastly different, expanded and far more expensive format that's potentially even more threatening. And this time we may be losing," the writer stressed.

Mr. Andelman pointed out that this year Moscow demonstrated "three new, utterly modern armored vehicles" during its May 9 Victory Day parade. Russia is seeking to replenish its military arsenal that now includes new MIG-35 multirole fighters, advanced Pantsir mobile artillery weapon systems, Bora-class guided missile hovercrafts and stealth submarines.

"In all, we are looking at a potent 845,000 troops, 22,550 tanks, and 1,399 combat aircraft, with 70% of Russian equipment defined as "modern" in the next five years," the publicist underscored.

Meanwhile, China is modernizing its People's Liberation Army at a steady pace. China's defense expenditures now amount "for more than a third" of all military spending in Asia. Furthermore, Beijing has already launched its first aircraft carrier Liaoning, a renovated 302-meter former Soviet vessel, and is currently building a second one, which is expected to be far more advanced.

According to the writer, China's military spending last year amounted to $216 billion, while Russia had spent only $84.5 billion. In contrast, the United States annually pours more than $600 billion in its military sector.

However, Mr. Andelman remarked that "such numbers don't tell the full story."

"Today's new arms race is not just with Russia, but an integral part of today's multipolar world. And certainly it's more expensive, in part because of the multinational, multidimensional threats…  At the same time, we must not be distracted from our greatest, potentially existential, threats: terrorism and its special warfare requirements, and the cyber arms race," he stressed, insisting that China and Russia are matching the US here "step for step."

The author believes that Washington should spend more if it wants to come out on top, slamming the Senate for voting down an essential appropriations bill, after it approved a $600 billion defense budget.

At the same time Mr. Andelman pointed to the Pentagon's decision to supply heavy offensive weapons to the Baltic states and Poland, "all NATO members directly on Russia's frontiers."

"None of this should suggest that any armed conflict is imminent. But it's quite clear that on multiple fronts this time, we're in a new arms race, with no clear winner," he highlighted.

Pentagon Says It Needs $270 Billion to Upgrade Nuclear Arsenal

Source : http://military.com

The United States will need to spend as much as $18 billion per year for 15 years starting in 2021 to keep the nation's nuclear stockpile and the weapons and vehicles designed to deliver these weapons viable, Pentagon leaders told lawmakers.

"We've developed a plan to transition our aging system. Carrying out this plan will be an expensive proposition. It is projected to cost DoD an average of $18 billion a year from 2021 through 2035," Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work told members of the House Armed Services Committee at Thursday's hearing on nuclear deterrence.

"The only existential threat to our nation is a nuclear attack. Nuclear weapons remain the most important mission we have," he added.

Work explained that keeping the country's nuclear enterprise modernized is especially important in light of the advancements made by Russia and China.

The U.S. Navy and Air Force have already seen problems creep up with operations and morale within their nuclear forces. Both services faced cheating scandals in recent years. The Air Force's two top leaders were fired in 2008 after former Defense Secretary Robert Gates faulted the leaders for losing focus on the nuclear mission.

The Pentagon is already pursuing several acquisition efforts to boost the nuclear triad, but many have high price tags and the Air Force and Navy are trying to figure out how to pay for them under restricted budgets.

The Air Force plans to announce a contract this summer for its next-generation bomber program, called the Long Range Strike Bomber, or LRS-B. The Navy is working with Congress to secure funding for its Ohio Replacement Program, a new-generation of nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines slated to arrive by the early 2030s.

The new LRS-B planes are expected to cost about $550 million each and the Navy hopes it can keep the cost of its Ohio Replacement submarines for under $5 billion per boat. Many defense analysts have called those estimates ambitious after the services have had a record for going over budget in recent years on other big budget acquisition programs like the Joint Strike Fighter and the Ford-class aircraft carrier.

Congress has identified a new National Sea Based Deterrence fund designed to identify money to pay for the Ohio Replacement submarines, however most of the needed money for the fund has yet to be identified.

Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., said Congress was working vigorously to identify money for the fund.

"We've created a mechanism within the budget process. We're ready and we're moving forward and we hope that the administration is going to help us solve this problem," he said.

Work said funding the Ohio Replacement Program was a critical priority, explaining that if it is paid for out of the existing shipbuilding budget – the funds needed will adversely impact other priority programs.

"This is our number one mission. We are going to pay for it (Ohio Replacement) no matter what. We appreciate the theory of the case behind this fund. There will have to be something like this to help us through," Work said.

Russian Saber Rattling

Work stressed that Russian, Chinese and North Korean nuclear weapons development continues to engender a dangerous and high-threat global environment.

"While we seek a world without nuclear weapons, we face the harsh reality that Russia and China are rapidly modernizing their already capable nuclear arsenals - and North Korea intends to develop nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them against the United States. A strong nuclear deterrent force will remain critical to our national security," Work said.

Citing the fact that senior Russian officials continue to make irresponsible statements about their nuclear forces, Work said the U.S. and NATO were not intimidated but rather strengthened in solidarity.

"As Secretary Carter has recently said, Moscow's nuclear saber-rattling raises questions about Russia's commitment to strategic stability -- and the profound respect that world leaders in the nuclear age have shown in the brandishing of these weapons," he added.

The Russian military is currently modernizing its arsenal of ICBMs and advancing its nuclear weapons' technologies, Work said.

Work stressed that Russia continues to violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF agreement, reached between President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s. The treaty is designed to eliminate nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with intermediate ranges identified as 500 to 5,500 kilometers.

"Russia continues to violate the INF treaty and our goal is to return them to compliance to preserve the viability of that treaty. We will not allow them to gain significant military advantage through INF violations," Work added.

Chinese nuclear modernization is also on the Pentagon's radar, Work explained. The Chinese are placing multiple warheads on their ICBMs, expanding their mobile ICBM force and continuing to pursue sea-based nuclear weapons.

"However, we assess that this modernization program (China) is designed to ensure they have a second strike capability and not to seek a quantitative nuclear parity with the United States or Russia," Work said.

When addressing the funding challenges expected to make the modernization of nuclear weapons a reality for DoD, Work said the stepped up effort would require about 7 percent of the Pentagon's annual budget.

"The choice right now is modernizing or losing deterrence. Without additional funding, sustaining this level of spending will require very, very hard choices that will impact the other parts of our defense portfolio," he explained.

HASC Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said spending 7 percent of the Pentagon budget on its top security priority seems reasonable and appropriate.

"It seems to me that it is not unreasonable to say that it's in the ballpark," he said.

US Air Force mulls plans to replace Russian rocket engines

Source : http://uk.reuters.com

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force competition to develop a rocket propulsion system to end dependence on Russian rocket engines drew broad response from companies, the Air Force said on Friday.

“There is interest,” Lt. General Samuel Greaves, who heads the Air Force’s Space and Missiles Systems Center, said during a webcast hearing of the House Strategic Forces Subcommittee.

Russia’s RD-180 engines power the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rockets that fly most of the military’s satellites. The Air Force hopes for at least two public-private partnerships to end reliance on those engines.

ULA is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing.

Congress has banned imports of the RD-180 as part of trade sanctions against Russia for its involvement in Ukraine.

“We do not have the capability within the United States today to replace (the RD-180) engine, so whatever we come up with will be a new engine,” Greaves said.

The Air Force intends to divide $160 million in seed funds among four companies before the end of 2015. After 12- to 18-month study contracts, two systems would be selected for development. Initial proposals were submitted this week.

Part of the military’s space launch conundrum could be resolved by the certification last month of privately owned Space Exploration Technologies’ (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket.

About 60 percent of the military’s satellites are the right size and mass to fly on Falcon 9, with a heavier lift Falcon that could handle the full lineup of military spacecraft expected to debut this year, SpaceX Senior Director Jeff Thornburg said.

SpaceX, owned and operated by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, and Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, already are working on methane-fueled rocket engines.

The Air Force’s solicitation also brought proposals from AeroJet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc, which is working on an Atlas 5 engine replacement called the AR1, and from Orbital ATK, which is proposing solid-fuel and liquid propulsion systems, the companies said.

Estimates to replace the Atlas rocket engine range from $200 million for an AR1 to $800 million for Blue Origin’s BE-4, ULA president and chief executive Tory Bruno said.

US Marines launch new deployments to Bulgaria to reassure allies

Source : http://www.marinecorpstimes.com

A U.S. Marine Corps unit equipped with tanks, light armored vehicles and artillery will be sent to Bulgaria this fall as part of American plans to help reassure NATO allies worried by Russia's involvement in Ukraine, a top commander said Thursday.

As part of the European Reassurance Initiative, about 155 Marines with the Black Sea Rotational Force will conduct six-month rotational deployments to Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria. The rotations will begin by early September and at least three are planned over an 18 month period.

Brig. Gen. Norman Cooling, deputy commander of Marine Corps Europe and Africa, said the Marines will be equipped with four Abrams main battle tanks, six light armored vehicles and three howitzers. He spoke as NATO defense ministers met Thursday in Brussels.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said this week that more American military equipment would be positioned in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Germany as NATO seeks to bolster its forces in Eastern Europe.

"It's certainly our intent to convince the Russians and [President Vladimir] Putin to refrain from aggression and return to the community of peaceful nations," Cooling said.

The ultimate goal in introducing the combined arms company, like other measures sought by NATO and U.S. European Command, is to assure U.S. allies and protect their territorial integrity, said Capt. Richard Ulsh, a spokesman for Marine Corps Europe and Africa.

"With these tanks and artillery we will enhance the collective capability between the Marine Corps, our allies, and our international partners," Ulsh said. "... This further emphasizes the stance we've maintained all along and that is that we will face security crises together, but now we can do it with tanks and artillery."

Cooling said in addition to being a deterrent, the Marine unit would train with Bulgarian, Romanian and other allied forces over the next 18 months to improve the ability for U.S. forces to operate with forces using different equipment and methods. Marines will move through in six-month rotations.

"Ideally this culminates with integrated exercises with units from more and more allied nations that are able to call for fire from one another's artillery, our tanks maneuver in support of their infantry units, and vice versa," he said.

The U.S. already regularly conducts maneuvers with allied countries. In Romania on Thursday, U.S Navy Adm. Mark E. Ferguson III, a top NATO commander, said recent exercises have shown that the alliance is capable of training and operating across northern and Eastern Europe.

He also noted that NATO successfully relocated the Allied Joint Force Command temporarily from Italy to Romania for exercises this month involving 1,000 troops from 21 nations, as the alliance continues to hone its ability to react to Russia's moves in Ukraine or other security challenges.

Rozas Airfield in Northern Spain May Become NATO Drone Base

Source : http://sputniknews.com

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Spain joined NATO in 1982. Today Spain maintains two military bases with a permanent US presence – an air base in Seville and a combined air and naval base in Cadiz.

"In Rozas they carry out testing of military drones since March 2011 in complete darkness and opacity," Spanish lawmaker Ramon Vazquez Diaz said.

Diaz believes that these activities and major investments in airfield infrastructure demonstrate that NATO intends to convert the location into a key piece of its network in Western Europe.

"The heads of the [Spain's] Air Force… have admitted that Rozas airfield is ideal to establish a NATO drones base," the lawmaker added.

Diaz accused local authorities and the Spanish government of hiding plans from the public and not allowing lawmakers to inspect the facility.

Earlier in June, US and Spanish governments signed a controversial amendment to the Bilateral Agreement on Defense Cooperation that allows a permanent US Marine Corps presence at Spain’s Moron Air Base.

US deploying 250 military vehicles 'incl. Abrams tanks' near Russian border

Source : http://www.strategic-culture.org

 

RT - Washington plans to station hardware, including tanks and armored vehicles, in a number of European countries, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced on Tuesday. Nukes withdrawn in the 1980s will not return to Europe.

Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania will be hosting the new hardware, and it will be possible to move it around for exercises, Carter said as he stood with his Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts on a visit to Tallinn.

The hardware will include Abrams battle tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and self-propelled howitzers."Their purpose is to enable richer training and more mobility to forces in Europe," Carter told a news conference.

However, his colleagues made it clear that putting more American hardware close to Russia's borders is a message to Moscow. "In global terms Russia is no match conventionally to US or to NATO, but here in our corner of the world, Putin believes that he enjoys regional superiority," Estonian Defense Minister Sven Mikser said, adding that his country is ready and willing to host the vehicles immediately.

Romanian lawmakers have also approved the construction of two new NATO centers in the country's capital in a unanimous vote on Tuesday.

US and NATO allies have repeatedly slammed Russia for what they call "aggression," accusing it of being involved in the war in Ukraine. NATO recently announced plans to bolster its rapid response force in Europe to 40,000.

Last week Russia's President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would respond to NATO encroaching on its territories "accordingly."

“If someone threatens our territories, it means that we will have to aim our armed forces accordingly at the territories from where the threat is coming. How else could it be? It is NATO that is approaching our borders, it’s not like we are moving anywhere,” he said at a media conference.

However, Putin added, at the moment he could "see nothing that might prompt us" to take retaliatory measures. Moscow "will analyze everything" and stay alert.

Douglas E. Lute, the US Ambassador to NATO, believes American heavy weapons in Europe are not going to violate the NATO-Russia Founding Act, because military hardware will “only” be stored in Europe to facilitate military training and make them more effective, while also cutting back on logistics spending, RIA Novosti reports.

Lute also said the hardware will be placed in Europe without crews. Personnel will be rotated in and out as needed.

Washington is not considering re-deployment of nuclear weapons to Europe. They used to be stationed there some 30 years ago, the US permanent representative to NATO stressed. Nevertheless, Russia's Defense Ministry is worried that conventional heavy weapons will cause an escalation.

“If America’s heavy arms, be it tanks, artillery systems or other heavy military hardware are deployed to Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, it will be the Pentagon’s and NATO’s most aggressive step since the end of the Cold War a quarter of a century ago,” General Yury Yakubov, a senior Defense Ministry official, was quoted by Interfax as saying last week.

Russia is not aggressive but defending its interests - Putin

Source : http://m.rbth.co.uk

Russia is not behaving aggressively on the international arena and does not claim superpower status, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 19, Putin said he didn't like former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon's remark that Russia is behaving increasingly more aggressively.

"I didn't like what you are saying about an aggressive nature of our behavior. We are not behaving aggressively. We've started defending our interests more and more resolutely and consistently. We calmly kept silent for a long time, I'd say for a decade, and proposed various elements of cooperation. But we were gradually pressed and pressed on and were ultimately pressed against a line we could not cross," Putin said.

"Russia doesn't claim any hegemony or any ephemeral superpower status," Putin said. "We are not imposing our standards and our behavior and development models on anyone. We want equitable relations with all members of the international community, including the U.S., the European Partners, and those in Asia," he said.

"Don't seek to reshape the world but proceed from something that already exists, treat each other with respect and look for common solutions to common problems," he said.

Siege Of Kaliningrad: US To Move Military Equipment Into Lithuania

Source : https://rickrozoff.wordpress.com

VILNIUS: Lithuanian government ratified on Wednesday a bilateral agreement with the United States on its military presence in Lithuanian territory and investments into Lithuanian defense infrastructure.

According to the announcement from Lithuanian Defense Ministry, the agreement between the governments of Lithuania and the U.S. stipulates prepositioning and stationing of the U.S. military equipment, weaponry and vehicles in Lithuania and the U.S. funded development of Lithuanian Army’s infrastructure.

A two year agreement which can be extended is due to come into force as soon as both sides exchange diplomatic notes.

Juozas Olekas, Lithuanian Defense Minister, said the agreement fortifies one of the country’s key security interests to have defense support from the strategic partner in Lithuania.

“Furthermore, U.S. funding will step up the development projects of national training areas aimed at enhancing the conditions for combined training and readiness for defense,” a Defense Ministry statement quoted Olekas as saying.

The funding under the U.S. European Reassurance Initiative will be used to develop Airbase in Siauliai, where allied air forces conduct air policing missions in air space over the three Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The funding will be allocated to develop training areas in Rukla and Pabrade, as well as other military infrastructure objects in Lithuania, said the Ministry.

Under the agreement, roughly 15 million U.S. dollars will be allocated to these projects this year. The European Reassurance Initiative announced by the U.S. President amounts to 1 billion U.S. dollars.

The agreement on closer military cooperation between Lithuanian and the U.S. follows a high profile visit in Lithuania by the General Phillip Breedlove, the Commander U.S. European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, a day before.

Breedlove met with top Lithuanian Defense officials to discuss security issues in the Eastern Europe and assess how defense commitments from NATO allies are being practically implemented in Lithuania. Last year NATO allies agreed to strengthen collective defense, particularly in the Eastern Europe.

Rotating forces of the United States were deployed in Lithuania in spring 2014 and have been attending joint military exercises in the Baltic States since then.

Putin: US exit from Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) pushes Russia into new Arms Race

Source : http://sputniknews.com

Sputnik - The ABM Treaty between the US and Russia was aimed at avoiding a strategic imbalance, however, Washington backed out of that treaty in 2001.

"The military conflicts do not lead to the Cold War, but global decisions do, such as the US unilateral exit from the Anti-Ballistic Missile [ABM] Treaty. This really is a step which pushes us towards the new round of arms, as it changes the global security system."

According to Vice Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral James Winnefeld, the United States will install the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system in Romania, completing Phase 2 of the European Phased Adaptive Approach by the end of 2015.

The BMD systems were previously limited under the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty between the US and Russia.

Philippine, US troops to hold naval drill

Source : English.news.cn

MANILA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines and the United States will conduct a new round of naval drills off Palawan province in southwestern Philippines next week, military officials said on Thursday.

The annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training, or CARAT, will start at the Naval Station Apolinario Jalandoni in Puerto Princesa City on June 22, said the Navy's Philippine Fleet.

The fleet's public affairs officer Liezl Vidallon said the exercises, which will run until June 25, are meant to "enhance interoperability" among Filipino and American navy forces.

Vidallon said the CARAT exercises include gunnery exercise, helicopter crash and salvage, deck landing qualification, visit, board, search and seizure, and weapon system introduction.

The two sides will also be pursuing other activities under CARAT including community service, engineering civil action projects in Palawan, according to Vidallon.

"It will be held east of Palawan, not in the disputed islands. They will be held in our territorial waters," he said.

He added that the CARAT exercises will involve the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth and the Philippine Navy's BRP Gregorio del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz.

Vidallon could not immediately say the exact number of personnel and assets that will be involved in the exercise.

Russia: If US would stationing heavy weapons in Eastern Europe, we will be forced to appropriate countermeasures

Source : http://www.rtdeutsch.com

The supreme General of the Russian Armed Forces Yuri Jabukow has announced that, if the United States would, as announced stationing heavy weapons in Eastern Europe, Russia react appropriately and its military presence will continue to expand on the western border as well. There would be no binding obligations which would prohibit Russia to strengthen its own armed forces in the western part of the country.

Should the US heavy weapons, whether tanks, artillery systems or other military hardware embarrassed the Baltic states or Eastern Europe, this would be "the most aggressive step the Pentagon and NATO since the end of the Cold War before a quarter of a century," said Jabukow compared to Interfax.

The Russian Foreign Ministry warned the US and its European allies against "dangerous consequences" that would have an increase in the presence near the Russian border. It was hoped that the situation in Europe could be preserved in the direction of a new military confrontation before another slide, it said in a statement.

The stationing of heavy weapons along the eastern borders of NATO would violate crucial content of the basic treaty between Russia and NATO in 1997. There, the Western alliance had undertaken not to station substantial combat units permanently in Eastern European member states.

"In fact, many believe both in Washington and in European capitals that the so-called 'Russian threat' is nothing but a myth", it said in the statement. "It is common, such as the United States practiced this here to use propaganda to divert attention from their own responsibility for the unconstitutional coup in Ukraine and the misdeeds of the regime in Kiev, which is unwilling to end the fratricide in the Donbass. "

It is to be feared that the US military strategy in the "eastern" NATO completely lose touch with reality and the political interests of the European people, it is said in the statement of Defence on.

The comments came in response to an article in the New York Times on Saturday, which states:

"In an important step to prevent a possible Russian aggression in Europe, the Pentagon is determined to battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other heavy weapons to station 5 for # 000 American soldiers in some of the Baltic and Eastern European countries."

January Oberg, director of the Transnational Association for Peace and Future Research, explained that those who would be responsible for such decisions, have simply no idea:

"I think what we see here, is conflict-illiteracy. He said that the people who decide such things - especially in the US, but also at NATO headquarters and in the foreign and defense ministries in Europe - no idea of ​​negotiation processes, conflict resolution, confidence-building and all other things, we have means of which had worked during the first Cold War. "

Air Force may deploy F-22 warplanes near Russia's border

Source : http://www.presstv.ir

The United States is planning to send warplanes to Europe in order to stop Russia’s “aggression” in the region, says US Air Force Secretary Deborah James.

Describing Moscow as “the biggest threat” in the region, James said it is “extremely worrisome on what's going” on in Ukraine.

"I could easily see the day -- though I couldn't tell you the day exactly -- when the F-22, for example, rotates in is a possibility. I don't see why that couldn't happen in the future," she was quoted as saying by Military.com.

Washington relations with Moscow are icy over the conflict in Ukraine. The Kremlin is accused of supporting pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

The New York Times reported last week the Pentagon is ready to station heavy military equipment in countries on Russia's border to face a possible “Russian aggression.”

Unnamed officials said the weaponry, which includes battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, was enough for as many as 5,000 American troops.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an announcement following the Pentagon’s decisions for deploying more military equipment in Europe.

Putin announced that his country would add intercontinental ballistic missiles to its nuclear arsenal this year.

“More than 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles, able to overcome even the most technically advance anti-missile defense systems, will be added to the make-up of the nuclear arsenal this year,” Putin said.

"It does concern me," Kerry said. "Nobody should hear that kind of announcement from a leader of a powerful country and not be concerned about what the implications are."

In an interview with Press TV over the weekend, American political commentator Stephen Lendman warned about Washington’s aggressive policies against Moscow, saying tensions with Russia may spark the flames of another world war.

“This is a willful provocation along with previous ones, along also with repeated belligerent military exercises, provocative events, provocative things going on to literally try to get Russia, to do something stupid to provoke a confrontation that America could blame on Russia,” Lendman said.

“The idea that America should continue theses provocations risk the possibility that we literally could have what I call the unthinkable another global war,” he added.

Canada, US defense officials meet for building closer ties

Source : http://news.xinhuanet.com/english

OTTAWA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Defence Minister Jason Kenney on Monday met with visiting United StatesDeputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work here, hoping to build closer cooperation between the two countries in defense.

The American defense official is here ahead of celebrations organized to mark the 75th anniversary of the Permanent Joint Board on Defence (PJBD), a bilateral advisory body on defense cooperation between the United States and Canada, according to a document posted at the website of the Ministry of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces Monday.

In the meeting, Kenney and Work discussed common defense issues and current security challenges facing Canada and the U.S., including the defense of North America and the efforts to fight the Islamic State.

Another meeting of the PJBD will be held in Ottawa, the Canadian capital, Tuesday to focus a host of topics on Canada-U.S. defense and security engagement in the Western Hemisphere and cooperation in global defense matters.

The PJBD, established at the inaugural meeting held in New York, on Aug. 18 1940, by the then Canadian Prime Minister King and U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, has been serving as a strategic- level consultative body on matters affecting the defense and security of the northern half of the Western Hemisphere as well as more global defense and security issues that have implications for North America.

US, China Agree to Hold Joint Military Drills

Source : http://www.almanar.com

The US and China have signed a rare agreement to strengthen military relationship as Beijing said that progress can only be made if Washington respects China’s South China Sea ambitions.

The vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, Fan Changlong, and the US Defense Secretary, Ashton Carter, signed the dialogue understanding at the National Defense University in Washington, DC.

Washington and Beijing said they will look to collaborate on issues such as disaster response, peacekeeping, and counter-piracy, whilst entertaining the possibility of the two countries conducting drills together in the future.

Russia says will retaliate if US weapons stationed on its borders

Source : http://mobile.reuters.com

A plan by Washington to station tanks and heavy weapons in NATO states on Russia's border would be the most aggressive U.S. act since the Cold War, and Moscow would retaliate by beefing up its own forces, a Russian defense official said on Monday.

The United States is offering to store military equipment on allies' territory in eastern Europe, a proposal aimed at reassuring governments worried that after the conflict in Ukraine, they could be the Kremlin's next target.

Poland and the Baltic states, where officials say privately they have been frustrated the NATO alliance has not taken more decisive steps to deter Russia, welcomed the decision by Washington to take the lead.

But others in the region were more cautious, fearing their countries could be caught in the middle of a new arms race between Russia and the United States.

"If heavy U.S. military equipment, including tanks, artillery batteries and other equipment really does turn up in countries in eastern Europe and the Baltics, that will be the most aggressive step by the Pentagon and NATO since the Cold War," Russian defense ministry official General Yuri Yakubov said.

"Russia will have no option but to build up its forces and resources on the Western strategic front," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

He said the Russian response was likely to include speeding up the deployment of Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave bordered by Poland and Lithuania, and beefing up Russian forces in ex-Soviet Belarus.

"Our hands are completely free to organize retaliatory steps to strengthen our Western frontiers," Yakubov said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said: "We hope that reason will prevail and the situation in Europe will be prevented from sliding into a new military confrontation which may have dangerous consequences."

ALLIED ARMY

The Pentagon said on Monday the U.S. military was in the process of deciding where to store a battalion's worth of military equipment in Europe. The decision is part of a long-term effort to maintain equipment for a heavy brigade in the region to facilitate U.S. rotational training with NATO allies.

"This is purely positioning of equipment to better facilitate our ability to conduct training," said Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, noting that two battalions of equipment already was stored there.

Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, told Reuters in December the equipment set for the full brigade would be about 160 M-1 tanks plus M-2 Bradley fighting vehicles and self-propelled howitzers. A Pentagon official said on Monday the total number of vehicles would be about 220.

U.S. officials said a proposal under review envisages storing a company's worth of equipment, enough for 150 soldiers, in each of the three Baltic nations: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Enough equipment for a company or possibly a battalion, or about 750 soldiers, would also be located in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and possibly Hungary.

The idea was that, in the event of an attack on NATO's eastern border, the United States could quickly fly in troops who would use the equipment, cutting out the weeks or months it would take to transport convoys of gear overland across Europe.

However, the U.S. proposal could cause tensions within NATO, an alliance that often struggles to accommodate more hawkish members such as Poland or Lithuania alongside other states that want to avoid a military stand-off with Russia at any cost.

Speaking after talks in Warsaw with the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, Polish Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said he expected a final U.S. decision on the equipment within a few weeks.

"They know how important this is to us, because we want to build a permanent U.S. presence, the allied army here on the Polish territory," Siemoniak told reporters.

"It seems to me that such enterprises, that is equipment warehouses, are a very crucial step when it comes to building such a presence."

A spokesman for Lithuania's foreign ministry, Kestutis Vaskelevicius, said any increased NATO presence was intended to improve the security of the Baltic states. "(It) is not directed against anyone, and it does not threaten anyone," he said.

 

TWO-SPEED NATO

Since Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula and a rebellion by Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states - countries with a history of Russian occupation - have pushed NATO for a muscular response.

But proposals for a permanent NATO combat presence in eastern Europe were blocked by Germany and some other alliance members. Instead, NATO intensified exercises, rotating troops through the region and set up a command headquarters for a rapid reaction force in north-west Poland.

Sources close to the government in Poland, and other states in the region, said that response persuaded them they could not fully rely on NATO, and that their best bet in the event of an attack was that the U.S. military would come to their aid.

At a NATO summit in Wales last year, agreement was reached on "pre-positioning" military equipment in eastern Europe, but the Pentagon's plan appeared to go further and faster than measures envisaged by the alliance.

The initiative could force some former Warsaw Pact countries now in NATO to make uncomfortable choices.

Bulgaria and Hungary both say they are committed members of the alliance, but they have maintained close cultural and commercial ties to Moscow, and may not want to jeopardize those links by storing U.S. military equipment on their soil.

Rosen Plevneliev, the Bulgarian President, said it was too early to say if his country would join the Pentagon's initiative.

"At the current moment there is no proposal whatsoever to the Bulgarian government upon which we can start discussions," he said.

US may force Russian military’s hand: Moscow

Source : http://www.presstv.ir

Potential US military buildup near Russia’s borders may force the Russian military to respond in kind by reinforcing its frontier presence, says a Russian military official.

Army General Yury Yakubov, a coordinator from the Russian Defense Ministry’s general inspectors directorate, was responding to reports that the United States Department of Defense is planning to concentrate US heavy military hardware near Russian borders.

"If US heavy hardware including tanks, artillery systems, or other fighting vehicles does appear in some Eastern European and Baltic countries, this would mark the Pentagon and NATO's most aggressive step since the Cold War time of the past century,” he said on Monday.

“And Russia won't have anything else to do but bolster its forces and resources on the Western strategic theater of operations," the official noted.

Yakubov said the response would be initialized by the reinforcement the forces along Russia’s western border.
 
The comments came amid continued high tensions between Russia and the US-led Western military alliance of NATO over the crisis in Ukraine, which the West accuses Moscow of having a hand in. Russia denies the allegations.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that the Pentagon was ready to store heavy military equipment in East Europe to face a possible “Russian aggression” in the wake of the crisis in Ukraine.

The weaponry, which includes battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, was enough for as many as 5,000 American troops, the daily wrote.

US CENTCOM Chief Meets Iraqi Kurdistan President

Source : http://english.farsnews.com

TEHRAN (FNA)- Commander of the US Central Command Gen. Lloyd J. Austin met with head of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Massoud Barzani to discuss deployment of American commando and Black Ops teams in the Kurdistan region.

A source in the Iraqi Kurdistan region who asked to remain unnamed due to the sensitivity of the revelation said the KRG President and the US CENTCOM commander also discussed a number of other issues, but declined to reveal any other detail about discussions and agreements in the meeting.

Iraq's Kurdistan region has been serving as a regional station for US, Israeli and British special operations teams, where French weapons have also been stored in large depots.

The source in Kurdistan said Barzani, who is nearing his second term in office and should legally give way to another politician, is seeking to win Washington's support for changing the law to continue his rule by granting major privileges, including establishment of more US and Israeli bases and stations in Kurdistan.

But, officials in Baghdad voiced concern over the meeting, saying visits by senior US officials and Israeli diplomats to the Kurdistan region reciprocated by Kurdish delegations' visit to the United States together with US Vice-President Joe Biden's support for Barzani's independence plans are alarming.

 

 

 

Poland, Lithuania discussing plans with Washington to harbor US army equipment

Via : http://www.strategic-culture.org

Warsaw and Vilnius are in talks with Washington about the permanent stationing of US army equipment warehouses, officials from the two countries said. Heavy weapons may be stored in the Baltic States, Romania, Bulgaria and possibly Hungary.

The Polish Defense Ministry tweeted that during his recent visit to Washington Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak was given assurances that a final decision on stationing the warehouses would be taken shortly.

Citing US and allied officials, the New York Times reported on Saturday that heavy equipment would be stored in each of the three Baltic nations: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, plus some Eastern European countries - Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and possibly Hungary.

The Pentagon's far-reaching proposal requires approval from Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter and the White House. Should the move be given the go-ahead, it would be the first deployment of military hardware in Europe since the end of the Cold War 25 years ago. The plan falls short of a permanent boots-on-the-ground presence.

When NATO initially expanded into the Baltic States in 2004, permanent stationing of equipment and troops in these countries wasn’t undertaken - a mark of respect to Russia’s interests. But with the unfolding Ukraine crisis, NATO and Washington began to bolster forces in the region, openly sending a message to Moscow that NATO will defend its alliance members.

“This is a very meaningful shift in policy. It provides a reasonable level of reassurance to jittery allies, although nothing is as good as troops stationed full-time on the ground, of course,” James G. Stavridis, a retired admiral and the former supreme allied commander of NATO, now dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, told the New York Times.

According to the newspaper, the Pentagon is "poised to store" battle tanks, infantry vehicles and other heavy weapons for 5,000 American troops in the Baltic and Eastern European states. The stocks, planned to be stored on allied bases, would be reportedly the same as the Pentagon kept in Kuwait for over a decade after the 1990 US invasion of Iraq.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Juozas Olekas also told Reuters on Sunday that Vilnius is getting ready to host heavy US military equipment. Talks are underway with Washington on a permanent location for the arms.

"We think that at least part of it [Abrams and Bradleys] will be in Lithuania and we are in the process of preparing our military infrastructure, so it can be used for such pre-positioning. It is almost ready," Olekas said.

"We have been in talks with our American allies about locating equipment here on a permanent basis, in order to increase our security and support the soldiers stationed here," he added.

"If the decision is taken, it will be very positive for our security," Olekas concluded.

Estonia’s Defense Minister Sven Mikser has said the US proposal will be discussed with NATO countries on June 24-25, the Delfi news portal reports.

Since Crimea’s reunion with Russia, concerns have been growing in Moscow over a sharp increase in the intensity of the training of NATO troops along Russia’s border. Since the outbreak of the military conflict in eastern Ukraine, NATO forces have stepped up military drills in the Baltic States and Eastern Europe.

Around 50 vessels from 17 countries, involving some 5,600 troops, are currently taking part in the US-led BALTOPS exercise in the Baltic Sea. NATO member states, such as Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Turkey, the UK and the US have sent naval forces to take part in the drill. They were also joined by three NATO partners – Finland and Sweden, which both have access to the Baltic Sea, and also Georgia. The show-off of anti-submarine warfare, air defense, interception of suspect vessels and amphibious landings runs through June 20.

The head of the Main Operation Directorate of General Staff, Lieutenant General Andrey Kartapolov, said in April that the intensity of NATO’s operational and combat training activities grew by as much as 80 percent in 2014, with bombers from the US Air Force performing strategic tasks during their military exercises. Russia has also increased the number of flights of its long-range ‘Bear’ Tupolev-95 bombers near NATO members’ air space, as well as carrying out large-scale drills on its own territory.